It’s an exciting time, with businesses all over the world dividing into two groups – those that want a social media strategist, and those that have no idea what a social media strategist can do for their business.

Courtesy of big5concept.com

As we keep saying, social media is new, so new, that half the world still doesn’t know what it is. The question on everyone’s mind remains – is social media so lucrative that you should consider hiring someone to manage it for you? The answer is yes!

Let’s take a look at why your business should hire a social media strategist.

There are 3 Types of Social Media Manager

• A rare, qualified person who is available for hire, and will work for you managing and maintaining your social media strategy.
• The common DIY approach, where you or a staff member takes on the additional responsibility of managing your social media.
• The social media strategy company, or outsourcing your social media to a qualified company who can get you the results you need.

For small businesses who can’t afford to hire a social media strategist, doing it yourself is fine – but keep in mind as you grow you will eventually need to hire someone for the full time position.

Bottom line is that you need an expert if your social media campaign is going to be worth anything. That’s why people are hiring trained social media strategists. We’re in that ‘goldrush’ period, where businesses are only just discovering the incredible returns of something as simple as a Facebook page.

The Social Media Expert Jitters

If you’ve been working with online marketing for a while, you’ll know that the internet is made up of expert-experts. Everyone wants you to think that they know the most about a particular subject. Tragically many don’t know a thing. This is also true of the ‘social media expert.’

A lot of these experts spend hours on Twitter and Facebook, but they don’t know the first thing about strategy or marketing. To find a real social media strategist look for credentials, or hard evidence. Claiming to be a guru is not enough – where’s the proof?

Benefits By the Dozen

To nail down the benefits of an authentic social media strategist, let’s consider this list:

• Saves you time
• Saves you the hassle of doing it yourself
• Saves you money, as your time isn’t wasted
• Makes you money as your community grows
• Builds your community for a boost in sales potential
• Broadens your market research resources
• Brings you closer to your clients, so brand loyalty develops
• Shows the world your company is modern and progressive
• Gives your business a greater growth advantage, and the potential for more success than others businesses in your field.

With all of these advantages, why aren’t more businesses hiring social media strategists? Simply put – because they have no idea what to expect from them yet. As time moves forward and companies come to terms with social media strategy, suddenly we’ll see an influx of new jobs in this sector. In the meantime, hire your own social media expert to get ahead. You don’t have to wait for everyone else to catch up!