Every business has to make the tough decision whether they are going to outsource their social media management or keep it in-house. Sometimes the decision is easy because the business doesn’t have a marketing budget, or doesn’t have the time to manage their social media themselves.
Courtesy of hotsocialbuzz.com
But the question is, will your social media be better off with a professional social media management company? Is keeping it in-house the right thing to do? Let’s explore the outsource-in-house dilemma.
1. The Brand New ‘Just Discovered Social Media’ Company
There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to outsourcing or keeping it in-house. For the company that has only just realized they should be doing social media marketing, hiring a professional company is the right thing to do.
This is because the chances of anyone in your company knowing how to actually design and implement an effective social media strategy are virtually zero. Most of them won’t even know how to set up a Facebook business page.
Save yourself months of struggle, frustration and a massive learning curve, and hire a professional social media company or manager. It doesn’t have to be permanent, but in that ‘year’ you can send an employee for proper social media training. Then do it in-house.
2. The Tech Savvy Company With No Social Media Experience
If you work in a technology related field, your employees might find social media marketing interesting, and are ready to learn it immediately. In this case you should think about waiting for awhile before rushing out and hiring a social media company to handle your campaigns.
If your employees have the time and the will to learn, then sign them up for a social media strategy course, so that they can eventually become your social media manager. If your employees simply have no time, or no interest in learning – then go with a social media company. Many of the best SM companies develop your social campaigns just as well as a staff member would.
3. The Medium-Large Business That Needs Social Media Marketing Now
Most medium to large sized business can afford a comprehensive marketing budget. In this case, it’s always a good idea to either hire your own social media manager, or outsource to a professional social media management company.
With every project they handle, these companies learn the best ways to leverage social media for your business. They are always ahead of the curve, and stay clued up about the latest trends in social media. If you have the money to spare, you won’t get better returns than from a company that works to make you money from social media.
Your Personal Business Needs
At the end of the day you need to ask yourself the tough questions. Here are some to get you started. Be honest, if you aren’t you might make the wrong decision and regret it later!
- Are your employees capable of handling a social media campaign right now?
- Does anyone in your office have experience with social media marketing?
- Do your employees have the aptitude to study social media marketing?
- Do you or your employees have the time needed to run a campaign?
- Do you have the money to hire a social media manager or business?
Think hard about the answers to these questions. Imagining that a particular person can run a successful social media campaign, is not the same as them actually doing it with a good ROI. Consider your goals, and what you want from your social media – that will help you choose what’s best for your business. A great social media strategy will help establish you as a thought leader, a bad one will lose you time and money.
Do you outsource your social media marketing? Who do you use? Let us know!
