The reason most businesses outsource things like bookkeeping and accounting is because they're just not good at it. They didn't go into business to do their books. It's the same thing with your social media marketing services and digital marketing. You probably didn't start your lawfirm or restaurant or dentist office because you're a social media rockstar (if you did, we're officially impressed.). Here are a few reasons that we've found to outsource your social media marketing services:
Have you been here?
"I'm just going to check Pinterest really quick"
...3 hours later....
"Just one more pin!"
All business coaches will tell you to dedicate your time to immediate income producing activities. While social media marketing is a great way to bring in new sales and introduce your business to new potential customers, it's not an immediate tactic. It takes time, effort, and constant engagement to nurture your followers into customers. Spend your time on your business, let a professional handle your social media.
Not to be too harsh here, but you're probably messing it up. There are a lot of elements to social media that you're probably not aware of and with the constant changing social landscape, you need someone to keep up with trends, new features, and content.
Did you just use a hashtag on LinkedIn? Shame on you. Facebook keeps disapproving your ads? You've probably got too much text on the ad. Pushing content from Facebook to Twitter? Back away from the keyboard right now!
The point here is that just because you use a social network for yourself doesn't mean that you necessarily understand how to use it for a business. It's a common mistake. Outsource it.
Or you're also spending time on networks that aren't beneficial to your business. A social media expert will have a clear understanding of the benefits and downfalls of each network. Do you actually know where your customers are hanging out online? It's important to focus your social media marketing services to the networks where your personas live. For example:
Targeting women 30-45? You MUST be on Pinterest.
Targeting teens? Instagram is where all the cool kids are.
Targeting B2B? You'll probably have the best success employing LinkedIn.
See what I mean? If you're targeting teens and focusing any amount of time on Pinterest or LinkedIn...you're just wasting time.
What is the purpose of your social media marketing? What is the goal? What is the tone/voice you'll take? Will you take a stance on hot-button issues? Who will you interact with? How will you handle poor reviews?
All of these questions come back to one thing...CONTENT. Content is King. If your content sucks, your pages suck. It's as simple as that. You need to understand who your brand will be online and how your posts will benefit your reader. Is it entertainment? Education? Something else?
Good content can take hours to come up with...do you have extra hours to spend here? Probably not. A good social media expert will be able to capture your voice and create content that your followers will want to see and read. They'll also understand that some sort of media has to be included.
Did you know - Tweets with images receive 18% more clicks, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets.
Social media has long been thought of as childs play or a fad. It's not that at all anymore. There is big business to be done on social media, but taking time to understand it, utilize it, and create great content just doesn't fit into most people's schedule.
Spend your time on the things that you're great at in your business and outsource the rest. It'll save you headaches and will increase your bottom line in the end.
Do some of these points apply to you? I bet the did. Want to see what recommendations we'd make for your social media marketing services? Get a FREE (no...seriously) Social Media Evaluation! No obligation, no risk, just tips. :)