A guest blog from Joel Hughes
Businesses of all types, shapes and sizes are starting to take a long hard look at social media, and one of the key questions which quickly comes up is:
Who can look after my social media needs?
Companies are unsure of whether their current internal resources can (or even should) meet this demand, whether they need to recruit for a new role or whether they can outsource the work to a consultancy or agency.
Unsurprisingly there is a huge swathe of companies who are more than happy to say they can handle all aspects of your social networking needs. This sounds attractive…
…but is this a good move for your business?
Should business outsource?
To answer this question we need to focus on a core principle of social media: it’s social – it’s personal – it’s about your business and it should come from the heart – it needs to reflect your passion.
Social media allows your passion to be communicated to your target audience(s) in a very direct way – and in a manner which bypasses the tired cynicism of advertising. It allows your business to enter into conversations with the public – this creates an opportunity to enable a positive brand experience by illuminating your passionate expertise and you’re willingness to help.
But who knows your passion?
And this is the key really. Who knows your passion? I mean really knows it?
You.
Yes you.
You know the passion for your business because it is in your heart.
And it’s this very passion which we want people to engage with via social media.
Training
With the proper training the key people within your organisation can be equipped with the hands-on knowledge they’ll need to update social media channels (in accordance with company guidelines) whilst, at the same time, projecting the all important passion.
But be careful and don’t be fooled – setting up (say) a Twitter account doesn’t take very long but don’t let this trick you into thinking that this means you don’t need training – just ask Habitat!
So no outsourcing then?
Does this mean that everything needs to be done in house and there is no place for outsourcing?
No.
There is a place for outsourcing but we need to ensure that your valuable passion is still communicated – you don’t want somebody speaking on your companies’ behalf who knows next to nothing about your business. You wouldn’t send someone to represent your business at a real world networking event who was not fully equipped to positively portray your company; be polite and communicate your essential messages – the same goes for social networking.
A Hybrid Option
A further scenario is where the outsourcing company works very closely with your business – handling the day-to-day operations of your social media but (and this is a big but!) does so in perfect synchronicity with your business voice. The third party may need training, may need access to the companies’ brand guidelines, tone of voice guide etc. They may need direct access to the key decision makers within the company so that the information can be located quickly (people ask questions on social media…and expect timely answers!).
A further benefit of this approach (or of any approach where your business retains ongoing access to social media expertise) is that the business’ social media strategy is constantly kept abreast of all the latest changes in the world of social networking. Being made aware of these changes and understanding the ramifications is critical if the business is to adapt their social media strategy to take advantage of any such opportunities.
To Finish
Irrespective of your approach, it is highly recommended that there is an internal stakeholder at your company who is really clued up with social media (there’s that training again!). And not only clued up but given remit to spend company time on social media – it needs to be part of the role (yes, that quite rightly raises questions about measurement and return on investment – we can look into those in further posts).
Hopefully this has given your business some food for thought on whether outsourcing control of your social media is right for you.
==
You can find out more about Joel att www.jojet.com, blog.jojet.com and joelhughes.com
photo credit: woodleywonderworks
Fine question Joel. As with anything, the parties involved have to be sufficiently aligned regarding objectives and the ways in which those objectives will be achieved.
As long as expectations are well managed and no-one risks losing their shirt in the process, social media can be outsourced to people and companies that some track record of producing results.
Good points…. but is there a value in a service that manages Social Media for the small business?
Small Businesses often haven’t dabbled in Social Media and in some cases it actually “scares” them. I have friends who own small businesses and they won’t sign up for Twitter ’cause they don’t “get” it. They think that it’s a new language.
However, they neglect to recognize that there are “big” businesses like Dell, that are using Social Media to drive incremental revenue to the tune of 6.5M last year.
So, if they’re not going to take the time to learn about FB and Twitter, I think they should look into an outsourced model. Better to have a presence, than no presence at all. I would just add that it’s the outsourced company’s job to ensure that they are in tune with their clients business to promote authenticity and effectiveness,
Hi Shaun,
Thanks for the comment.
I agree it can be effecively outsourced if the third party can ‘tune’ into the brand voice of the company and they are able to answer any social questions which arise (which basically means they have the right company staff involved)
Joel
Ps sorry if any tpos, this is via my Blackberry, in a car, at night (and no, I’m not driving)
I think part of it is educating clients about the benefits of getting into social media marketing. I’m sure a lot of the traditional businesses have not really grasp the benefits of being in facebook, twitter and such services.
Hi John,
You say “Better to have a presence, than no presence at all” – hmmm are you sure!? Is it better to have a terrible presence than no presence at all? I’m being extreme but I’m sure you get the point!
With the case of small business I think the correct package is some sort of manage service (which is not done in compete isolation) which gently gives them encouragement to take over the reigns. Perhaps with the outsourced roles & responsibilities progressively shifting their centre of gravity over time. The first step in such a program is obviously some education to help them “get it”
Which, as if by magic, leads into Maren’s comment…
Hi Maren,
Education is most definitely the key – I couldn’t agree more.
I had a skype call with @deanholmes in the states earlier today – he handles the social media things for some BIG social media clients and many of the points we’ve raised above came up in the that call. Dean mentioned that with some clients it is “education, training, crawl, run, walk” (a poor summary sorry!) but you get the idea.
Thanks for your comments
@Joel_Hughes
came here through google. I agree to Maren and Joel’s opinions. Entrepreneurs and Marketers should be well educated in incorporating social media processes to get the desired results. They should have also good communications skills.