Outsourcing Social Media

Social media is beneficial for any and every business.

Whether you’re increasing brand exposure, making a sale, or generating leads, an active social media presence can help you connect with your customers. But, social media can be a huge time expense especially if you’re single-handedly running a small business or you are part of a small team! Let’s dive into why it’s beneficial for small businesses to seek outside assistance from a digital marketing agency rather than hiring someone in-house full-time.

What is outsourcing?

Outsourcing has a bad reputation when it is done poorly. But outsourcing can be done ethically and it can beneficially support your business and another business! Outsourcing social media management means you’re metaphorically handing over the keys to your social media accounts to a third-party agency. For a small business owner who is already spending most of their time on business development and operations, finding spare hours to strategize a content strategy can be difficult.

When you hire an outside agency to handle your social media presence, they spend time evaluating your business’ current social media accounts, researching your industry and target audience, and checking out what your competitors are doing on social media. Once the research phase is done, they’ll begin posting relevant, quality content that speaks to your audience. 

Do I Need to Outsource Social Media Marketing?

It can be difficult to balance owning and managing a business. Add managing active Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts on top of that! With that being said, it’s important to know when you’re in over your head. The top three arguments we hear are:

1. Why not just hire an intern or delegate the task to someone in the office? Social media is more advanced than it was 5 years ago. Social networks are constantly changing and you need to stay ahead of the game to keep up with your competition. You can utilize an intern or an in-house employee to help capture content (photography, quotes, etc) in-house or assist with social media but in the end, you need a specialist that can dive straight into your social media presence to produce real results.
2. We post when we can. According to Smart Insights, 63% of customers actually expect companies to offer customer service via their social media channels, and 90% of social media users have already used social media as a way to communicate with a brand or business. This means you need to be available at all times to engage with customers, provide customer service, and provide valuable content that isn’t just a simple sales message. 
3. I don’t want an outsider controlling my voice. We know your small business is your livelihood. If you’re concerned about your company’s messaging coming across incorrectly, sit down with who you’re hiring and communicate your company culture, voice, and brand. 

If any of the above sounds like you, then it’s time to consider outsourcing your social media marketing and management. 

What can I outsource?

Social media managers do more than simply manage your Facebook and Instagram accounts. Here are a few of the tasks an external social media manager can take care of for your business:

• Social Media & Content Strategy: The overall management of your social media pages includes planning what types of content to post and when searching for keywords and hashtags to include in posts, and developing original content such as images and blog posts to share.
• Consistent Branding: Setting up profiles is one step. Making sure all of your social media accounts have consistent branding and voice takes your presence to a whole other level. 
• Engagement & Monitoring: It’s important to engage in conversation with other social media users – other businesses, potential customers, or industry leaders. Also, you need to keep an eye out for any mention of your company and interact with those posts in a timely manner. 
• Customer Service: According to Adweek,  54% of customers prefer social messaging channels for care over the phone or email. Replying to reviews, questions, or complaints from users in a timely manner is crucial. 
• Email Marketing: Build an email list and send out a monthly newsletter that features company news, popular posts, a testimonial, and a call-to-action to make a sale.

Benefits of Outsourcing

Social media requires really great storytelling. What you say on your channels has seconds to capture the attention of your audience, and turn prospects into clients! It’s not quite as simple as snapping a photo of your product and hoping you get more likes than last time. Here are some of the benefits of outsourcing:

• Consistent content that is on brand. Having a professional social media specialist handling your profiles will help your organization produce content that your audience likes and needs. With the right agency, you can expect a clear posting schedule. At Get Online NOLA, we work to find the days and times that are best for posting on each network for our clients. We also prepare a monthly social media calendar in advance so our clients know what is being posted and when to expect to see it. 
• Save time and money with outsourcing social media. You’re probably thinking how can I save money when I’m paying someone to do it? While you will be paying an agency when you outsource your social media, it’s still cheaper than what you would pay a full-time employee(s) to manage your accounts. Think about the various costs such as a laptop, office space, salary, etc. 
• Focus on what you’re good at. As a business owner, it’s important to know when to delegate things you aren’t proficient at. Instead of spending time coming up with topics for posts and researching your competition, you can focus on more important aspects of your business like finances and management. Don’t waste your time trying to master a new skill you know little about. Spend more time doing the stuff you’re good at.
• Get the most out of your budget. Test and monitor ads to ensure optimal performance is achieved. Having someone who is a PPC expert can help to possibly save a percentage of the advertising you’re currently spending. 

At Get Online NOLA, we help businesses shine online by offering outsourced social media services! Sign up for our email newsletter below and get the best business tips straight to your inbox.