Should you manage your own social media or outsource it to a professional?

A question I was asked on The BackSeat a few weeks ago and what a good question.

My answer to this question is both and here are my reasons:

Outsourcing social media management to a professional

Firstly, when outsourcing to a social media professional make sure they know what they are doing!  There is no point hiring someone who is just like you, in other words, you know some of it but not all of it and sadly there are plenty of those in the social media industry.  Check their credentials, just because someone has 50,000 followers on Twitter does not mean they are a social media expert.  A social media professional is  someone who has a good understanding of how to best market your business online.  They will also have the ability to understand your customers and how you can connect with them to generate leads.

I do recommend that you outsource only a portion of your social media activities to a social media consultant or social media strategist because they, like you are specialists in their field.  Hiring a social media consultant or strategist will:

• Save you time because they will create a portion of the content for you.
• Research current trends in online marketing and social media so you are up to date.
• Research content for you to use in your social networks.
• Position you to connect with your most likely customers strategically.
• Monitor conversations to pick up on opportunities for you.
• Continuously test to see what is working and what is not working.
• Bring to your attention anything you need to be aware of.
• Plan marketing campaigns to raise your visibility.
• Constantly work at building your digital footprint.
• Constantly look at ways of generating leads for you.

Generally you will also find that you will need to change strategies and campaigns regularly. My recommendation would be to hire a social media strategist or consultant on a small retainer to oversee the smooth management of your online experience as a whole, from your website right through to your social media networking.

Managing your own social media

I’m a strong believer that you know your company best. I’m also a strong believer that your staff are your brand advocates. I also strongly believe that power comes in numbers and if you have a team you can work leverage this opportunity to widen your exposure.

I recommend that while you have a social media strategist that you and your staff also take an active role in managing your own social media, especially when it comes to engaging and developing content from within the business.  You know when you are hosting events, what products you are producing and where and when. Your team knows your business because they are being involved with the day to day running of it. They also bring out the personality of your business.

The advantages of managing a portion of your own social media:

• You will begin to spot opportunities for your business, e.g. a new product.
• You will begin to understand your customers better and this means you can provide better service.
• You will be able to answer your customers questions which will give you insight about problem areas.
• You maintain your brand personality.
• Raises your profile and your credibility.

A social media consultant can certainly help train and show you and your staff how to do things. The social media consultant can get things set up and oversee the smooth running of your online presence but ultimately you need to build the relationships with your customers so that you can create a better experience for them which will ultimately result in loyal customers.