Finding long-term success on social media can be a cutthroat endeavor.
You’re stuck in an endless loop between Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok videos, engaging with your community, and tracking performance in addition to other business operations — and you do all of this for content with a relatively short lifespan.
Agreeably, the pace is difficult to keep up with, especially if you run a small business or work with a smaller marketing team.
But, regardless of your sentiments about social media, substantial data shows that it is a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase visibility, build community and grow revenue. If you want to reap the rewards but can’t deal with the workload, your best bet is to outsource social media management.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what you need to consider and the key strategies for effective outsourcing.
Let’s start with why.
Outsource Social Media Management: Why Should You Consider It?
Managing multiple social media accounts can be time-consuming and expensive for a business owner or team lead. Outsourcing social media management can help you stay competitive, keep up with trends, and drive business growth without sacrificing productivity.
By outsourcing, you can meet your objectives more efficiently and effectively. If you’re still unsure of the benefits, let us break it down for you.
1. Access to Specialized Expertise
Did you know that top brands like Nike, Google, Asos, and Netflix have specialist teams dedicated to specific aspects of social media like community management, paid social, insights, and content?
It actually takes a whole village!
What you get when you outsource social media management is the expertise of an agency’s entire team is at your disposal. This team would bring their in-depth understanding of platforms, competitor research, paid advertising, community management, and lead generation.
This can help you scale your social media efforts and give other social platforms the attention it deserves instead of simply posting duplicate content across the board.
2. More Time for Other Tasks
Social media management can be overwhelming, with constantly monitoring multiple platforms and engaging with audiences. Opting to outsource social media management allows businesses to focus on core activities while maintaining a strong online presence.
With an external team of specialists handling the day-to-day management of social media accounts, businesses can save time and resources and benefit from the expertise of professionals in the field.
Additionally, outsourcing eliminates the need to stay up-to-date with changes to algorithms and platforms, allowing businesses to focus on other growth areas. Ultimately, outsourcing social media management can help businesses stay competitive, improve customer satisfaction, and drive growth.
3. Consistency in Brand Messaging
You must do more than just post to stand out on social media. You must create content that resonates with your audience, engages them, and drives results. That’s where social media experts come in.
With their experience and knowledge, they can help you create messaging that fits each platform while staying true to your brand. They can work with you to develop your brand voice and explore new ways to communicate and connect with your audience.
4. Cost-Effective
Doing it on your own or in-house can be expensive.
How?
You will have to invest money in recruitment, employee training, and other overhead costs. You’ll also need to invest in expensive but necessary software and tools.
Outsourcing to a reputable agency gives you access to a suite of premium tools for social monitoring, automation, advertising, analytics, and reporting without the annual cost.
You’ll be able to market and grow your business using fewer internal resources, cut the cost of recruiting and hiring full-time staff, and get specialists on demand at flexible rates suited to your specific needs.
You really can’t put a price on increased productivity or improved efficiency. However, to give you a basic understanding, here’s a picture of what it costs to outsource social media management, social media advertising, and social brand management; a price tag of $1000 per month and $25 per hour.
5. Increased Engagement and Growth
Expert social media managers understand the algorithms and can create content that resonates with your audience. This leads to higher engagement rates, increased brand awareness, and a larger following.
Outsourcing also allows for more consistent posting schedules, which helps keep your brand top-of-mind for your followers. Social media managers also monitor and respond to comments and messages, improving customer satisfaction and building loyalty.
By outsourcing, businesses can focus on their core competencies while leaving the social media management to the experts. This ultimately leads to business growth, improved efficiency, and a stronger brand presence on social media.
6. Risk Mitigation
A specialized agency is likely well-versed in crisis management and handling negative feedback with proper social media etiquette. They are also more knowledgeable about privacy, compliance, and legal risk than your ad hoc social media team.
Social media is a great investment, but it also comes with risks and you don’t want to be the one in the hot seat if this happens. By outsourcing, you simply choose your own package, grant access to a team of experts, and leverage their skill set while focusing on what you’re an expert at.
7 Tips to Choose the Right Outsourcing Agency
1. Experience and Expertise
Ideally, you should choose an agency with significant experience driving channel-specific results. They also need expertise in executing your business’s strategies to 10x growth on social media.
For example, if your current focus is on user-generated content and influencer marketing, then you shouldn’t choose an agency that is more versed in social media advertising. Choose an agency based on how its strengths align with your goals.
Also, prioritize niche experience over a generalist. If you find an agency passionate about small businesses, serves only B2B SaaS companies, or specializes in helping fashion and beauty businesses grow, choose the one that is directly built for your type of business.
Take a look at Cave, they are very clear about who they serve, and make the decision easier for any business in this niche that might be looking for a social media agency.
2. Quality of Service
Always gauge the credibility of these agencies through reviews and testimonials.
Do they have case studies or proof of results for a business like yours?
How are they proposing to help you achieve your goals?
You must remember that quality service goes beyond checking off the boxes on your list of goals. Consider how they talk to you during the inquiry stage and the depth of their services.
It’s not enough for the agencies to only say they provide social media management or influencer outreach. They should be able to break those pillars down further to show you how much value they’ll pack into your package.
See how this Melbourne-based agency, Meaningful Social Club explains its social media services before nudging you to schedule a discovery call.
3. Cultural Fit
No one knows your business like you.
So ideally, you should be looking for an agency that is knowledgeable about your industry or at least deeply interested in learning about your product or service. They should share your values and be committed to understanding the nuances of communicating with your audience so that nothing gets lost in translation.
When you outsource social media management you must think of it as more of a partnership than two separate teams working in silos. The agency’s job is to learn as much as possible about your business, content strategy, messaging, and positioning so they can be good representatives of your brand on social media.
4. Communication and Collaboration
When outsourcing your social media, communication and collaboration with the agency are key to success.
Look for reviews that mention the agency being quick, responsive, friendly, professional, and proactive in guiding you towards achieving your goals. You should also ensure that the deliverables are clear and that there is a documented process for monthly reviews and reporting.
Establishing a good working relationship with the agency is important to ensure that your social media presence is aligned with your business objectives.
You’ll want to work with an agency willing to work closely with you, offer suggestions, and be responsive to your needs. By doing so, you can rest assured that your social media is in good hands and that your goals are being met.
Interesting read: 8 Ways to Nail Social Media Collaboration Within Your Marketing Team
5. Pricing and Value
Outsourcing social media management to an agency can vary greatly in cost depending on factors such as experience, industry recognition, clientele, services offered, and contract duration.
According to a WebFX report, the monthly cost ranges from $3,000 to $4,800, while a few agencies listed on Influencer Marketing Hub charge a minimum of $1,000 per campaign. On average, most agencies charge around $25 per hour.
It’s important to understand the pricing models of agencies and negotiate for the best rates.
Performance-based fees, where payment is only made when the agency delivers successful results, can be an effective option to ensure efficient spending.
You can also compare free quotes from different agencies to find a pricing plan that works for your budget. Additionally, outsourcing only certain aspects of social media management while handling the rest in-house can be cost-effective.
6. Flexibility and Scalability
As the social media landscape evolves, selecting a proactive agency that can adapt to changes is crucial. Look for agencies that can easily scale their services based on your needs, embrace new technologies, such as AI tools and augmented reality, and accommodate changes to your strategy.
A great agency should be one step ahead of you, offering timely execution, setting growth benchmarks, and proposing new opportunities for your business to scale. Additionally, they should be proactive in providing suggestions for improvement and be receptive to feedback, ensuring that the relationship between you and the agency is collaborative and mutually beneficial.
When selecting an agency, consider not only their track record but also their potential for growth and evolution in the future.
7. Expertise in Analytics and Reporting
An effective social media agency should not only provide you with data and stats, but also offer insights on what’s working, why, and how to improve. Their reports should be easy to understand and focus on the metrics that matter. For instance, they should provide audience insights, social referral traffic, and funnel reports that show whether your social media traffic converts to leads, subscribers, or sales.
In addition to providing reports, the agency should be open to sharing its tools and techniques. You should ask questions about how they determine optimal posting times or what type of content resonates with different audience segments.
An agency that is capable of making data-driven decisions can help you make informed decisions and achieve your social media goals.
Strategies for Effective Social Media Management Outsourcing
1. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
To ensure a successful outsourcing partnership, it’s crucial to establish a clear and concise set of goals and expectations.
When outsourcing your social media management, communicate your objectives to the agency and make sure they understand what you want to achieve.
Whether it’s increasing your social media presence or generating more leads, the agency should thoroughly understand your expectations. This clarity will not only help your partner deliver the desired results but also help you measure the success of your outsourcing arrangement.
Regular communication and feedback can help fine-tune the objectives and expectations to ensure they align with the changing needs of your business.
2. Establish Communication Protocols
Clear and effective communication is key to establish a successful outsourcing relationship with an agency.
It’s important to designate a primary point of contact within your team who understands your social media strategy and goals well. Agree on the communication channels that will be used and establish the frequency of communication and expected response times.
Creating a detailed communication plan outlining these protocols, timelines, and expectations will ensure everyone is on the same page. It’s also important to schedule regular check-ins to discuss any issues and make necessary adjustments.
Having a solid communication plan, you can work effectively and efficiently with your outsourcing partner to achieve your social media goals.
3. Develop a Content Strategy
To achieve successful outsourcing of your social media tasks, you must have a well-documented strategy that aligns with your business goals.
Begin by analyzing your existing content and identifying what does and doesn’t resonate with your target audience. This information can help create a content plan and editorial calendar that ensures the consistent publication of high-quality content across all platforms.
By providing the agency with a detailed content strategy, they can create content that aligns with your brand’s voice, values, and goals. This helps ensure your social media presence consistently and effectively reaches your target audience. A strong content strategy also helps your outsourcing team to understand your brand’s unique identity, making it easier for them to produce content that resonates with your audience.
4. Monitor Social Media Performance
What works great here is that everything you have done before has prepared you for this. The agency already has a concise strategy and a clear understanding of your social media goals.
With this, they’ll be equipped to track your social media performance using tools such as SocialPilot’s Analytics that allow you to monitor brand mentions, measure reach and engagement or analyze your competitors’ social media activities.
With SocialPilot’s tool, you can find the best times to post, identify your biggest fans, and get an analytical breakdown across various platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Business.
Essentially, you can understand how your brand is perceived online and how social media efforts impact overall business objectives.
Interesting read: How to Track and Monitor Social Media for Better Business opportunity?
5. Foster Collaboration
Collaborating with a social media agency can be challenging if communication and collaboration are not properly established. It is important to define roles and responsibilities, establish key performance indicators, and ensure the agency can access all relevant resources and marketing materials to provide the best service.
The agency should understand your brand’s voice, style, and messaging. Share your brand guidelines, mission statement, tone of voice, and visual guidelines to ensure consistency across all social media platforms.
It’s also essential to celebrate successes together. Acknowledge the hard work and collaboration that went into achieving your goals. This is a great way to deepen your relationship with the agency and continue to drive positive results.
6. Review and Adjust
After the first few weeks of working together, you and your team can assess the agency’s approach to social media management and compare it to your goals.
If their approach is not aligned with your goals or if they are not meeting your expectations, discuss the issues with them and work together to make the necessary adjustments.
Remember to be open to feedback and willing to try new approaches. Set up regular in-person or virtual meetings to review progress and ensure that they are delivering on their promises and meeting your expectations.
This way, you can easily quantify the value you receive and decide if it’s worth continuing on this path.
Conclusion
Outsourcing social media management is an efficient way to access specialized expertise, premium tools, and better results.
To ensure success, communication, and credibility are key.
Choose an agency that is responsive, experienced, and familiar with your niche. Don’t compromise on quality for cost, and prioritize security measures for confidential information.
As your business grows, ensure the agency can broaden its services to meet your evolving needs. Outsourcing social media management can help your business thrive with these factors in place.
