Driving traffic to your website and generating new leads and revenue is key for your company’s success.
The majority of companies accomplish this by creating a following through social media. It is a powerful Digital Marketing tool for spreading brand awareness to your key-demographic.
Anyone who has experimented with social media can tell you that it is a very time-consuming strategy, but it works if implemented correctly. To do so you must create a variety of content, a social media schedule for that content and a means to track your progress.
Luckily there are several different approaches to managing your companies social media presence. By educating yourself on what services are available, what your budget is, and what style of campaigns have proven successful you can set up a social media schedule that is consistent and that will engage your viewers.
Are you beginning to feel the pressure? That’s Okay, there are many alternatives other than handling it yourself. Below is a list of the pros and cons of different social media management strategies.
The “DIY” Strategy
Pro: Who knows your company better than you do? From our experience, the greatest benefit you gain from managing your own social media platforms is that you save money. It also gives you the freedom to post what you want, how you want it to look, and who it reaches. This is a great option for new startups who don’t have a lot of wiggle room in their budget.
Con: If you don’t have the creative skills for graphic design, copywriting or the experience and knowledge of the various social platforms you could end up being ineffective and pumping out content that is sub-par. In worst-case scenarios, you could cause harm to your company’s brand image by posting content that does not align with your company’s core values.
Another con is time management. Do you have the time to dedicate to content creation and creating a social media calendar? If you are inconsistent, your social following isn’t going to grow as well as you intended.
The “Team Work Makes The Dream Work” Strategy
Pro: By granting a few of your senior staff members admin access to your company’s social feeds you can grow your audience through collaboration. By creating incentives to have your employees engage with your company’s social pages you can quickly grow your following while providing value to your employees. This not only frees up your work time, but it saves you money by dedicating a small amount of staffed time for content creators who are already on the company’s payroll.
Con: Your employees will have varying writing styles. Therefore it is important that you establish a proper writing and brand guide or you run the risk of confusing your brand messaging. If your writers aren’t aligned with the brand image and core values of your company they could cause harm with poor representation.
Inhouse, Full-time Social Media Specialist
Pro: You can hire a social media specialist who has years of experience in the field. This specialist will have strong industry knowledge and will understand what campaigns will work for your company. They will understand how to read the analytics and how to tweak and improve using that data.
If you wish to hire an entry-level social media specialist you can look forward to lots of enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. Their salary is much lower than an experienced specialist. You also have the benefit of creating a grateful employee by investing in their education while you gain the advantage of avoiding any “bad habits” others may have gained along their career path.
Con: A social media specialist who has years of experience will come at a price. Another disadvantage is they could be “stuck in their ways”, not willing to experiment with social media tactics because they know what works and what does not.
Hiring an entry-level specialist has its own set of disadvantages. Learning proper social media management tactics takes time and resources. You may have to invest in additional training. You’ll need patience knowing that they will make mistakes along the way.
Hiring a Freelancer
Pro: Freelancers tend to work out of their homes, so the absence of overhead expenses means that they will most likely come at a lower cost than a firm. Additionally, being a freelancer is a highly competitive field, so you’ll have multiple candidates to interview and choose from.
Con: Freelancers can be deceiving, double-check their portfolio, and be one hundred percent certain that their past clients are genuine. Due to the competitive nature of their field, they may add an extra flourish to their past projects.
Social Media Management Firm
Pro: There is no need to babysit a reputable firm, you are hiring professionals. A social media management firm has the resources to dedicate multiple experts to your social media campaign. It is advantageous to have a variety of content that will expertly be branded for your company. A firm is process-oriented, they will work towards obtaining the best results for your specific goals. With qualified experts reviewing your analytics they will optimize your campaigns to bring you additional results.
Con: Social Media Management firms have overhead expenses including a brick and mortar location and employees. Hiring a company of this caliber is an investment, but it is worthwhile.
By no means is it a one size fits all situation, through evaluation, weighing pro’s and con’s and understanding what sacrifices the company is willing to make, you have several options to choose from and one of them is sure to fit.
If you are unsure how to proceed with your social media management we suggest trying to manage it yourself until you feel it is worthwhile to fiscally invest. Social media management is an investment, whether it be time, energy, or money. Once you begin seeing results, you’ll be grateful you dedicated your assets to the endeavor.