Many business owners and agencies have been there:
Is it time to outsource social media marketing?
As a team member of a digital marketing agency that specializes in social media page management, part of me wants to say (universally) YES. Hiring a professional for any task is usually a good idea.
But the entrepreneurial side of me wants to say, “You can hustle and do it yourself! Just do it correctly.”
Either answer is technically correct, but there are a few things you can check for in terms of what professional social media marketing looks like. That way, you’ll be able to make a decision if it’s time to outsource social media marketing.
Is your response time on social media channels under 60 minutes?
How soon are you getting back to people who have asked questions or left comments on your profiles? In the social media biz we call this activity “engagement,” and it’s the holy grail of digital customer acquisition and support. In fact, 42% of customers who use social media for customer service want a response in 60 minutes!
Is that unrealistic? Maybe.
Is that the connected world we live in? You bet.
If you don’t have sophisticated notification systems in place to alert you of these important interactions, you could be missing out on golden opportunities to engage with your customers!
Don’t let potential customers fall through the crack because you were, you know, working.
Are you generating leads from your social media efforts?
If you’re not, you should be.
If you’re not sure, we can fix that.
Some folks may just be after Likes or brand awareness, but a good portion of business owners are actually using social media for lead generation.
New connection on LinkedIn with a prospect? Follow up and see if there’s a fit for your services.
A lot of Likes on your Facebook post? Make an ad out of it and drive traffic to one of your website pages. Pro tip: Make sure your web pages have conversion points.
If you already know you get some leads from social media, but not sure how many, there are different ways to figure out where your leads are coming from while using social media:
- You can use URL tagging with Google Analytics
- You can use web forms with “How did you hear about us?” dropdowns
- Offer social media only coupons and cross reference redemption
- Train your sales staff to ask about the customer referral
Don’t get us wrong though, because engagement is valuable, but the real pros know how to turn those Facebook Likes into leads. Social media agencies and consultants can make a plan and give you rates based on your needs.
Are you a good writer?
It had to be said.
The currency of the digital age is the transfer of information, and if you’re not communicating effectively, you’re flat broke—In terms of digital currency, that is.
Here’s a quick checklist:
- Do you have more than 2 exclamation points in your copy? Nobody is that excited. See!?!?!?!
- Same for the ellipsis… Take it easy on those, one for every 3 posts is more than enough.
- Do you write your own tweets, or just port them over from Facebook? You might not want to do that because people will miss part of your message.
Without getting too deep into my spelling and grammar rant, just know that there are nuances to each social media platform and professional social media marketers will know this and take advantage.
Do you have a written social media content strategy?
This is a biggie. If you don’t have a strategy written down and easily accessible, how will you know if you’re off strategy? A professional firm or social media marketing consultant should definitely provide this, along with brand tone and a bunch of other marketing stuff. But if you’re doing it on your own the 4-1-1 strategy is a good start.
So, should you outsource social media management or not?
Well, you’re the boss, so it’s up to you! But if you’re not at least meeting some of the above requirements at the bare minimum, it might be nice to look around at social media management pricing or consultation.