Like most companies, you probably have questions about when to engage in social media & strategic services from someone on the outside of your organization. In this post, we provide answers to some commonly asked questions. These will help you figure out if you need a social media team.

Can I take care of my social media by myself?

If you operation is small, it might seem like the cheapest option to handle your social media on your own. This is the course of action that a lot of companies take while starting out. But, there’s actually a lot to think about when deciding whether or not to do your social media by yourself – is it actually the most cost-effective option?

While doing social media on your own won’t cost you a monetary investment on the surface, it will require an expense of your most important resource: time. In a small business, you probably already have a LOT going on – acting as CEO, CMO, CFO, New Business Development, and more. So, curating Instagram posts and engaging your audience on Facebook might seem like a significantly less important task. So you’ll either put it on the back burner or make it a priority and risk dropping the ball on something else.

The time you put into social is usually directly proportional to what you get out of it. There are shortcuts, and plenty of research to show you what works best. However, you still have to invest the time to learn those things. People who don’t have the time to prioritize their social media strategy often never see improvements because they don’t have time to analyze traffic, engage with users, or find out what’s working and how to better attract their audience.

Another huge part of social is keeping up with the current trends. Digital Marketing is constantly evolving to include new tools, platforms, and capabilities – especially when it comes to social media! As a small business, it can often feel like you’re constantly treading water to stay afloat and tackling social media by yourself can feel like another weight on your back.

So, doing your own social media might save you money, but what’s the real cost?

It can be very easy to spend your most valuable resources and time figuring out how to best use social media. Then, actually putting the time in to use it that way. On the flip side, if you haven’t put the time in to learn how to best use social media, then you’re likely to spend a lot of time on something that may provide very few results. There is no reason that you shouldn’t expect the amount of time put in to show clear and quantitative results.

Should I hire an in-house social media manager?

The benefits of hiring an in-house social media manager:

• Having someone in-house allows you to work closely with your social media manager. This gives you a greater degree of control over the content, branding and overall tone of their work.
• It also allows you to better integrate social media and content marketing into the rest of your business
• You and your social media marketer can easily bounce ideas off of each other and collaborate.
• You likely have better industry knowledge. Giving your social media manager access to you as a resource can make their copy more convincing to your customers.
• You are present and able to handle social media related conflicts or issues in a timely manner.
• Your social media marketer work amongst your other employees will give them a more organic feel for your company culture and brand.
• The ability to create and pursue long brand story arcs or campaigns.

Should I hire an independent contractor to do my social media?

• Independent contractors don’t require things like health insurance and vacation pay.
• If you are hiring a social media manager for just one ad campaign it won’t crush morale to let your marketer go at the end.
• An independent contractor is likely to be more hands-off. They’ll take more initiative, leaving you to deal with the management aspects of your business.
• Independent contractors are always staying up to date with current social media and trends. After all, it’s a job requirement. You won’t have to waste time training them on new tools or capabilities – because they’ll already know.
• Contractors have worked with a variety of businesses and will have experience deciding what social media strategy works best for your industry.
• Ideation and Creativity are definite plusses for hiring an independent contractor – they often have a collaborative group to bounce ideas off of, as well as graphic design and photography skills at hand.
• An independent contractor may be more self-sufficient. Areas such as video production, design, copywriting, using web tools and running reports in addition to content development might be in their toolbox.

Not all social media marketers are created equal:

There are many different types of social media professionals. Finding the right one for your needs can be a tricky process, but a worthwhile one.

MAKE Digital Group has the experience needed to be the social media marketer in whatever capacity you need. The right message at the right time can be instrumental in making your company launch to a whole new level of success. Integrated social strategies empower organizations to listen to, shape, and capitalize on the conversations taking place about their products, their company and their industry. MAKE knows how to harness that knowledge for brands through methods that translate into results and increased traffic.

Experienced and persistent–the perfect digital partner for today’s marketer with many demanding responsibilities. Let us be your social media team.
MAKE: ideas happen today.