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You may be considering social media outsourcing. We get it.
It requires more expertise and time to run social campaigns than most companies are capable of dealing with in-house.
This is especially true for smaller marketing teams that struggle with social media.
So it’s common for both big and small brands to outsource social media.
As a result, by putting your online presence in the hands of professionals, you’ll see actual returns on your investment.
If you’re on the fence about social media outsourcing, this guide outlines the benefits, challenges, and key considerations.
The biggest advantages of outsourcing social media
Defaulting to doing social in-house might seem logical.
However, keeping in mind the following key benefits of outsourced social marketing may be worth your while.
Expertise on demand and scalability
The same as you would hire an SEO expert to improve your search ranking or a sales rep to close more sales, experienced social experts can produce meaningful results for your business.
Despite the assertion that social media channels are much easier for marketers to handle, their argument is incorrect. As social media plays an important role in lead generation and customer retention, you can’t afford to neglect it or leave it in the hands of those who don’t know what they’re doing.
You can outsource social media to:
- Evaluate your current social media presence and identify opportunities and weaknesses.
- Produce specific outcomes such as more leads, faster replies, and better brand awareness).
- Grow your presence on specific social media platforms (for example, gaining more Instagram followers, managing a Twitter community)
Social media experts possess the resources and expertise to accomplish all of the above. By making use of their expertise, you can scale your business more quickly.
The ability to access premium marketing tools
Additionally, social media outsourcing gives you access to some very powerful digital marketing tools.
Smaller brands often do not have access to premium analytics, reporting, and advertising tools. This is because they are either costly or require specialized knowledge to run.
In contrast, agencies use powerful tools, such as Sprout Social, to encourage the growth of their clients. A lot of the tools that an agency provides become “yours” as a result of working with them.
Here are 5 things to consider before you outsource social media
Let’s be fair: not every company needs to outsource social media.
Social media management in-house is a fair game for teams with the right talent and processes. In addition, outsourcing is much more than just handing over the keys to your social presence and hoping for the best.
If you’re fairly certain that you want to outsource social media, make sure you answer these five questions first.
1. “How much time should my business invest in social media marketing?”
There’s a good chance that you want to outsource because you’re time- and resource-constrained, right?
However, agencies aren’t mind-readers or miracle workers. To begin with, they’ll need:
· Brand assets and creative assets
· Original content
· Guidance on KPIs and goals
As a brand, you are responsible for setting expectations and empowering the people whom you hire.
2. “Have our values and voice been established?”
Each agency has clients of varying sizes and shapes.
However, how social experts approach any given client in terms of messaging varies dramatically from brand to brand.
For example, managing a Facebook community of small business owners over 50 will be completely different from, say, managing a fashion brand targeting Gen Z on Instagram.
Establishing your brand voice is crucial to establishing your mission and uniqueness and to making any new hire’s job easier. Connecting your agency with a style guide that highlights how to communicate with your target audience is just as important.
3. “What is the goal of our social media marketing?”
In other words, you need to determine what your end-game is when it comes to social media outsourcing.
Is it brand awareness? Is it improved customer service? Is it increased sales?
There is no correct answer here. Accordingly, your answer will ultimately affect both your budget and the strategy of the agency you hire.
4. “How well has our social media strategy been documented?”.”
It’s important to remember that there are different levels of outsourcing social media.
Certainly, some brands might need an agency to brainstorm their social presence from scratch.
However, others may benefit from integrating freelancers into existing workflows or approval processes. The more documented your process is, the more effective it will be.
5. Have we plateaued in our social presence? Is it time for a fresh perspective?”
Answering this question should be fairly straightforward.
Specifically, are you increasing your key performance indicators (KPIs)? If you’re not sure how to pronounce those, then you need help.
What are the benefits of social media outsourcing for your business?
Scaling fast may require outsourcing social media.
There are so many social media experts out there that can help, whether you struggle with your own presence or don’t have the time or talent to budget in-house.
Don’t forget to document your plan and define your social media goals so you get the results you’re looking for.