Why Outsourcing To A Social Media Marketing Firm Is Both Sane And Logical
October 23, 2012 - 9 minutes read - Social Media, Social Media Marketing“Outsource social media?! Are you crazy?!”
“Outsourcing” has become a dirty word over the years. I’m not saying you should ship your business to China or India. There are plenty of honest, hard-working Americans who would love to take your social media strategy to the next level. “No one knows my business like me” — is one argument I often hear from business owners who are afraid to turn over the reins to an “outsider.” Yet, after the initial consultation, they can see that we’re on the same page after all.
“Do you truly believe your business is so complex that no one else could possibly get it?” I wonder. If that’s the case, then how can you expect to capture prospects with a single phrase, advertisement or landing page? Communication is an art, but it’s one that social media managers have down pat. We excel at cherry-picking the most relevant, important nuggets and using them to create viral sensations. Contact us to learn more!
Top Benefits of Outsourcing To A Social Media Marketing Firm
Save Money.
The decision to outsource work to a social media marketing firm can be difficult — especially if you’re not used to thinking of this area as a separate budget. Many companies dump social media responsibilities onto an existing employee without much training and expect miracles. They may not think about all the hours wasted figuring out new technology, reading posts, or finding content. Often people with paid training, vacation time, sick pay, pensions and salaries stretching into the tens of thousands have more productive ways of spending their time doing other tasks.
“The hidden costs of full-time staff disappear,” Lydia Dishman writes for Entrepreneur magazine. “Business owners won’t have to pay for employment taxes, benefits, office space or equipment. If the relationship with the SM virtual assistant doesn’t work out, their contract can be terminated without the expense of unemployment insurance.”
Engage Audiences.
It can be a challenge for businesses to find a fun, fresh tone that will appeal to audiences online. It’s not always easy to detach yourself from the last shareholder meeting or step outside your own wonky skull for a moment. Outsourcing puts you in contact with professional content producers who understand how to tell your story in a compelling manner and draw in traffic that is most interested in topics relating to your business. Here at Mod Girl, our copywriters hold four-year degrees in Journalism and English, so you get the very best.
Monitor Closely.
Time constraints can be a big problem for companies too. According to Social Media Examiner, 59 percent of marketers spend 6 hours or more on social media each week. A third of these people invest 11 hours or more weekly. It can be challenging to set aside so much time for brand monitoring and response, but the danger if you don’t is that others may step in to fill the void. As we saw with Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women,” a media sensation can ignite out of nowhere — and you do NOT want to be the last person to find out in that case! A study by Technical Assistance Research Programs (TARP) found that one disgruntled customer tells an average of 10 people about the experience — and each of those people tell another five for a total of 50 negative impressions — which can be very costly for businesses. Of course, that study was done in the 1990s… before social media really exploded… so now one disgruntled customer has the potential to reach an audience of thousands — if not millions! I don’t mean to scare you, but it’s imperative for businesses to be in control of relevant conversations online. (May the odds be ever in your favor!)
My Personal Experience with Negative Social Influences
Unfortunately, the odds are not in my favor! I know all to well what disgruntled and unstable individuals can do to your company via social media. Even after the hoards of happy, raving customers and amazing results I have achieved, I am still struggling to maintain a positive reputation. As my luck has it, I have a competitor who is set on destroying my company name, Mod Girl Marketing (thanks to a harmless situation with an X-employee of this company who now works for Mod Girl Marketing). If you Google “Mod Girl Marketing” you will know what I’m referring to! Although these allegations are complete garbage it still has a negative impact on my business. (All of the clients listed on my testimonials page and portfolio, are my clients and they will personally confirm that.) I will soon write an entire blog post on this situation to clear the air. Regardless, I know firsthand how damaging negative content can be for your company. This unfortunate situation has allowed me to learn the ins and outs of reputation management, what to do, what no to do, and what social properties have the most weight and why. I would say I definitely have an advantage in this area due to my personal experiences that I am still dealing with and will probably be dealing with for awhile. I know this much is true, I have not and will not let the same unfortunate situation happen to any client due to my extensive knowledge, resources, connections, and determination!
Outsourcing & Content Marketing Are On The Rise
The Content Marketing Institute reports that 62 percent of B2B marketers rely on outsourced content, compared to 55 percent last year.
They also found that 60% of marketers plan to increase content marketing expenditures over the next year.
Experienced marketers with over 3 years of experience are more likely to outsource tasks (23%) than beginners, according to Social Media Examiner’s 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.
Last year, the number of people outsourcing to social media marketing firms DOUBLED from 14 to 28 percent!
This year, the number of outsourcers crept up to include 30 percent of all marketers (B2B and B2C).
Design, analytics and content creation were the top categories these companies outsourced.
The Bottom Line:
Outsourcing social media work is not nearly as scary as it sounds. Having a trusted partner invested in your business frees up more time for you to focus on the core processes of your business, while we keep the “hype” engine churning. Since we do SEO, Content Production, Web Design and Social Media, we guarantee that you will see positive results from our thoughtful efforts. Why not give us a try?
Tags: audience, business, company, engage, firm, Marketing, Money, outsourcing, social, social agency, Social Marketing, Social Media
