Lee Cleary
While a social media presence is vital to the marketing strategy of any business nowadays, there is quite a bit of debate around the best way to navigate the vast landscape of platforms, hashtags, 140 characters, etc. Most small to mid-sized businesses don’t have the time to manage their social channels effectively, nor the luxury of hiring 10 full time, social media focused employees in-house.
With this being the case, what’s the best option? Should you hire an internal social media manager or outsource to a team of experts? Hiring an in-house Social Media Manager can be tempting when considering their daily proximity to the brand and onsite accessibility, but there are cons that far outweigh the pros.
Social media is the only type of media that truly never sleeps; people are online all day and night and they expect you to be, too. One to two individuals can’t realistically manage multiple channels at all hours of the day. However, employing an agency allows for multiple people, working in shifts, to be monitoring your pages for customer service, questions or any other issues that require immediate attention. Studies have shown that fans, who turn to social for questions or complaints expect an answer well within the same day and in most cases, within an hour of posting. Keeping several people in the loop helps keep your customers happy and prevents smaller issues from growing into larger ones.
Multiple eyes on your channels also helps with creativity. With one person at the helm, it can be easy to get stuck in a rut and generate posts that after time, start to sound the same, look the same and lack engagement. A team of social media aficionados constantly collaborating, brainstorming and viewing platforms from the perspective of many types of businesses sparks unique and cutting edge quality content. Going this route also allows for multiple people to edit posts before they go out – not just for spelling and grammatical errors – but for repetitiveness and originality. After all, fans follow your brand because they’re looking for current, impactful and engaging glimpses into your business. If you can’t provide that, what’s the point?
One final benefit to having a team of social media pros on your side is in relation to the ever-changing trends that social media is oh so famous for. Not only do current networks change on a near-daily basis, but new social networks emerge regularly. Because of this, it can be difficult to pinpoint which platforms are worth investing resources into. A team of experts has the bandwidth and foresight to stay on top of these trends. It’s their job to quickly learn what changes mean for any particular business, how you can use them to your advantage and make adjustments on the fly.
A team of experts can take your social media strategy to the next level and with their constant research and new ideas working towards the benefit of your business, becoming a leader in your industry is never out of reach. Do you have any tips to keep in mind when hiring a Social Media Team?
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