SEO Hosting Blog

With social media outsourcing increasing 128% over the past two years, I think now is a good time to discuss some of the risks that come with outsourcing your social media marketing. This isn’t a post to dissuade you from doing so. On the contrary, I think that for many companies outsourcing social media just makes the most sense and will get the best results. But clearly, there are risks. Knowing these risks is important.

Here are 5 important risks of outsourcing social media marketing.

1. Outsiders don’t know your business like you do—When you hire a consultant or company to handle your social media marketing, it’s important to realize that they don’t know your business as well as you do. They don’t have their fingers on the pulse of your business, and you just can’t expect them to keep up with everything that’s happening in your business and your industry on a daily basis.
2. Times are always changing—When you hire someone to manage your social media, what typically happens is they create an editorial calendar with several weeks’ or months’ worth of status updates written ahead of time. That’s fine, but the world around you is always changing and you run the risk of your updates sounding out of touch when they’re planned out in advance.
3. Your message could get lost in translation—Your social media marketing should be centered around key messages and talking points related to your business’ goals. You need a clear communication plan, and the party you outsource your social media to must understand your messages and communication strategy. Otherwise, your message will get lost in translation.
4. You could get held hostage—When you outsource your social media marketing, you’re essentially handing over the keys to your brand. Someone else is now in control of your communications and brand image. Don’t let them hold your brand hostage. Make sure you create your own social media accounts and that you have the username and password to each of them so you don’t get locked out.
5. You could waste a lot of money—Let’s face it, there are a lot of so-called social media gurus out there who don’t know their backside from their elbow. Hiring the wrong person could end up costing you a lot of money.

What are some other big risks to outsourcing social media marketing? Share them by leaving a comment.

A new report from Social Media Examiner’s Michael Stelzner has found that social media outsourcing has increased 128% in the past two years. In 2012, 32% of marketers said they are outsourcing social media marketing.

All sorts of social media marketing tasks are being outsourced, including:

• Design/development
• Analytics
• Content creation
• Monitoring
• Research
• Strategy
• Status updates
• Community management

Maybe you’ve been thinking about outsourcing your company’s social media marketing. Should you? As you know, there are risks and benefits to doing so. You could certainly save a lot of time and resources when handing your social media marketing over to an expert, but if you hire the wrong person or company to manage your social media marketing, you risk doing severe damage to your brand.

So, when does it make sense to outsource your social media marketing? Every situation is different, but here are some general guidelines to consider.

• You lack the time to stay active on social media—Effective social media marketing takes time. Remember, social media is about connecting with customers and building relationships. This takes time. You can’t halfheartedly do it and attempt to build meaningful relationships with your target audience. So, if you already have a full plate, don’t add social media marketing to it. Consider getting some outside help.
• Your current social media efforts aren’t paying off—Have you been managing your own social media marketing with no success? If you’ve given your way an honest shot and it just isn’t working out, turning to an expert could be the smartest move.
• You don’t know how to leverage social media—Maybe you don’t know a whole lot about social media. Maybe you can’t understand how sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest can be used to build your brand. If you need help connecting the dots and making social media work for you, outsourcing probably makes sense.
• You don’t know have a strategy or a way to measure results—Like any other type of marketing, social media marketing is most effective when you have a strategy. What do you want to achieve? How are you going to do it? How will you measure your results? Outsourcing your social media to the right person or company can help with all of this.

Do you outsource any of your social media marketing? Why or why not?