3 Reasons Why You Need A Social Media Marketing Consultant
People often ask us 'Why do we need to hire a social media consultant when our business already has a full time marketing manager?' It's actually a great question. But the reality is, in the technology savvy world we now live in, we ask, why wouldn't you?
It's not the 1970s, 80s, 90s or even early 2000s anymore. We live in a ridiculously fast paced world, where the reality is the technology and advancements that go behind something as technical as digital and social media is ALWAYS changing. To think your full time marketing manager can stay on top of these advancements along with doing the day-to-day responsibilties that also come with their job is a colossal mistake.
Thus we give you three reasons why you need a socila media marketing consultant whether you are a marketing manager for a company or even a business owner that thinks you can do all this stuff yourself.
- Save Money - Yup, you read that right. Digital and social media is always evolving so keeping tabs on all the changes takes a ton of time. Your time is better served at seeing the overall growth of your business or running your business if you own it. Is spending chunks of hours every few days just making sure you understand the changes Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and the rest of the social networks are making really the most efficient use of your time? By relying on a professional consultant you save money becaue they use their time making sure your company is doing the appropriate things, and progressing as these spaces change, while you can spend your time making sure your company continues to increase in size and grow. Plus, a lot of these firms have access to tools and enhancements that if you tried to purchase them yourself you would be spending a fortune anyway. Think about it, people spend hundreds of dollars a year on oil changes for their automobile. There is no doubt in my mind people could change their own oil for a lot cheaper by quickly reading a how-to manual and doing it themselves, but the auto shops have better equipment and knowledge to do it quicker and more efficiently. The same logic applies to professional social media consulting and management. They have accesss to premium social media tools, they know the best strategies, and they do it for you.
- Maintain Consistency - We have come across a lot of companies that first had their marketing team manage their social media identity. The problem with this is when one employee left the company and another one started, the companies' social media identity took the hit. There were huge lapses in activity, customers ignored and an inconsistent company voice. This is detrimental for a businesses' social media strategy. By hiring an outside consultant to manage your social media initative, you will have assurance your company has a consistent, progressive, and strong social media presence... even during transitions in your marketing department.
- Protect Your Company - If you rely on your marketing department to manage your entire social media identity you have a disaster waiting to happen. What happens when employee "X" who exaggerated their knowledge of social media creates your company pages incorrectly? It becomes a HUGE nightmare for you to figure out when she leaves the company. In some instances, businesses have rogue pages out there that real customers are engaging and interacting with because some "intern" set them up incorrectly or lost the passwords. By hiring a professional consultant or company, you are protecting yourself and making sure your company is properly set up. So if you have turnover in your marketing department, your consultant will make sure your company has not lost any ground, they will also make sure the new person is trained and ready to take over and co-admin with them.