Why You Shouldn’t (or Should!) Hire Someone To Manage Your Social Media Accounts

I’ve been asked (many times) – should I outsource my Social Media management to someone else?

It’s a tough question to answer because I think there are many variables to take into consideration.

1) does the person/company REALLY know your business

2) would you have that person/company answer your phone for you and be able to handle any PR crises?

3) is that person/company as passionate about your business as you are?

I do admit, that I have managed social media accounts (and still manage one national account) but here’s the pickle….

I strongly believe that the power of Social Media comes from authenticity.

It’s REAL relationships with REAL people (albeit from behind computer/smartphone screens).

I completely understand that Social Media is REALLY time consuming and overwhelming.

But, if you want to build quality relationships, you can’t always outsource this.

I love what author and speaker Scott Stratten aka @unmarketing says:

“Automating tweets is like sending a mannequin to a networking event.”

I love this quote, and I believe the same idea applies for outsourcing all your content as well.

Having said this, there are certain circumstances where you can outsource.

If you can find someone who is deeply interested in your business. Someone who really knows what’s going on at your company. Someone whom you’d trust to answer your telephone hotline with inquiries.

I personally think that the people who know your business best are the ones that are involved in the day-to-day operations.

Who is the person that deals with customer service? Who is the person that handles complaints and compliments? (Note: this may range from accounts receivables to operations management to marketing to everyone in between)

So what can you outsource?

You can outsource setting up your accounts: Creating the infrastructure for a Facebook Page, Twitter Profile, LinkedIn Company Page, YouTube channel and/or blog can be time consuming and challenging. Someone who is competent in design, marketing, etc. will save you time and money.

You can outsource some of your blog posts: There are some AMAZING writers in the world of Social Media. Many of whom who “get” how to write properly for Social Media. Ideally, I would recommend you ask them to guest post, instead of having them post AS your business.

For example, let’s say you are an Executive Coach, and you write advice/tips to help your clients with breakthroughs in their professional life. Well perhaps you could get a guest blogger to write about how THEY made a breakthrough (even better if it was because of YOUR help!).

Or, if you are a Corporate Law Firm, you could ask a guest blogger who is an Accountant or Bookkeeper to write about managing all your receipts for tax time.

You can hire someone to help you set up your overall strategy: ensuring that you are using the right tools, at the right time, using the right messaging.  They can also help eliminate overwhelm by helping you set up an Editorial Calendar to manage all your content.

According to State of the Online Marketing Services Industry, as found on Hubspot the following elements were outsourced.

 

There are many different ways you can ethically outsource some of your content.

But just remember, you want people to buy from your business because they feel connected emotionally.

You just want be sure you connect with your target audience ethically, responsibly and strategically.

Just as long as you are listening and connecting.