The main question when getting involved in social networks
marketing is: should you try to run your own campaigns and activities,
or outsource it to a company that specializes in social media marketing?
Of course there is no right answer to the question, and some kind of
trade off has to be done. Let's examine the pros and cons of in house
running vs outsourcing your social media activities.
In-house Pros
Nobody knows your brand like you do. No one will speak as highly of your brand as yourself and your employees. No one will try to engage customers as much as you will. No one will have the marketing passion that you have. And believe it or not people can see that. If you decide to outsource, you'll be just another brand in a box with many others. If control over the brand message you send is your priority, you should definitely manage your activities in-house.
Better daily activities management. If you are involved in social media marketing, you need to do it every day. You need to be as involved as you can. This means posting every day, listening and answering questions. Social Media is a two way street. Some clients are going to be asking about questions only you can know. It will be very difficult and time consuming, calling your agency every 5-10 minutes and telling them what to answer on each post.
In-house Cons
It can result in lack of engagement. Whether you like to admit it or not, social media marketing agencies do a better job on social networks than your grandson, who is probably responsible for your social media marketing. They can increase customer engagement, return rate and even purchases by using the right communication strategies.
Lack of technical knowledge. Many campaign's successes are determined by the use of custom developed Facebook Ads. Your staff probably doesn't have the technical knowledge needed to develop a Facebook application that will really distinguish your brand from any other on Facebook. Custom applications are what draws the line between brands and super brands on Facebook. So, Facebook apps development is probably the part of your social media strategy you are going to want to outsource.
Outsourcing Pros
Your business is in hands of professionals. These are the people who actually make money from running social media marketing activities. They have a reputation they have to work up to. They know best practices, user behavior, and even shortcuts to online success. If you can explain what you want from them, they will try hard enough for you to get it.
Free time for what you do best. As soon as you walk out of the meeting with your social media agency, you are free to continue running your business without spending too much time on Facebook supervision. This means more time for your business, more time to work with your employees, and more time to really check those financial reports you keep telling everyone you'll look into.
Outsourcing Cons
Outsourcing can be quite expensive. If you are on a tight budget, or if you are a starter firm, you probably won't have too much money to spend on social media marketing. To make things worse, any kind of PPC advertising, especially on Facebook is getting more and more expensive, as the competition is getting bigger. In this case, probably the best thing to do is set a monthly budget for PPC advertising and work on your social media marketing activities in-house.
Difficult communication. You are going to have to be on the phone with your social media agency almost every day. They are going to have questions. You are going to have questions. Sometimes clients are going to have questions and they are going to have to ask you before they respond. Although you are going to have more free time than in-house social media marketing you are going to be spending a lot of time on the phone.
So, there you have it. Every company is different, and like I said in the beginning some trade-offs have to be made. It is very important to address this issue sooner rather than later. Make sure you have as many facts as you can before making this decision.
Any thoughts? Please feel free to share your thoughts and comment below.
In-house Pros
Nobody knows your brand like you do. No one will speak as highly of your brand as yourself and your employees. No one will try to engage customers as much as you will. No one will have the marketing passion that you have. And believe it or not people can see that. If you decide to outsource, you'll be just another brand in a box with many others. If control over the brand message you send is your priority, you should definitely manage your activities in-house.
Better daily activities management. If you are involved in social media marketing, you need to do it every day. You need to be as involved as you can. This means posting every day, listening and answering questions. Social Media is a two way street. Some clients are going to be asking about questions only you can know. It will be very difficult and time consuming, calling your agency every 5-10 minutes and telling them what to answer on each post.
In-house Cons
It can result in lack of engagement. Whether you like to admit it or not, social media marketing agencies do a better job on social networks than your grandson, who is probably responsible for your social media marketing. They can increase customer engagement, return rate and even purchases by using the right communication strategies.
Lack of technical knowledge. Many campaign's successes are determined by the use of custom developed Facebook Ads. Your staff probably doesn't have the technical knowledge needed to develop a Facebook application that will really distinguish your brand from any other on Facebook. Custom applications are what draws the line between brands and super brands on Facebook. So, Facebook apps development is probably the part of your social media strategy you are going to want to outsource.
Outsourcing Pros
Your business is in hands of professionals. These are the people who actually make money from running social media marketing activities. They have a reputation they have to work up to. They know best practices, user behavior, and even shortcuts to online success. If you can explain what you want from them, they will try hard enough for you to get it.
Free time for what you do best. As soon as you walk out of the meeting with your social media agency, you are free to continue running your business without spending too much time on Facebook supervision. This means more time for your business, more time to work with your employees, and more time to really check those financial reports you keep telling everyone you'll look into.
Outsourcing Cons
Outsourcing can be quite expensive. If you are on a tight budget, or if you are a starter firm, you probably won't have too much money to spend on social media marketing. To make things worse, any kind of PPC advertising, especially on Facebook is getting more and more expensive, as the competition is getting bigger. In this case, probably the best thing to do is set a monthly budget for PPC advertising and work on your social media marketing activities in-house.
Difficult communication. You are going to have to be on the phone with your social media agency almost every day. They are going to have questions. You are going to have questions. Sometimes clients are going to have questions and they are going to have to ask you before they respond. Although you are going to have more free time than in-house social media marketing you are going to be spending a lot of time on the phone.
So, there you have it. Every company is different, and like I said in the beginning some trade-offs have to be made. It is very important to address this issue sooner rather than later. Make sure you have as many facts as you can before making this decision.
Any thoughts? Please feel free to share your thoughts and comment below.
Stefan Jordev from Stef Social Studio. Social Media Explained. SEO Simplified at http://stefsocial.com.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stefan_Jordev
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire