As any entrepreneur will tell you, the biggest challenge is having to ‘spin many plates’. Sourcing products, accounting, tax, marketing - all fall to you. It’s stressful right? In the world of ecommerce where marketing is driven by social media, this can be a key component of how you spend your day. In fact, our clients tell us they spent between 7 and 18 hours a week on simply managing their social media! Outsourcing this time heavy activity can be a great way to free up time and allow you to focus on the core elements of your business.
If you're thinking about outsourcing your social media, here’s 5 things you should expect from a social media manager.
1. A clear, personalized plan
It’s always going to be competitive for the attention of a potential customer, which is why it’s crucial to have a strong and consistent message about your brand. We think of social media as your ‘Shop Window’, so if it doesn’t tell the customer what’s inside, they’re not going to shop.
When looking to outsource your social, ensure your potential social media manager finds out plenty of information about your brand and objectives, as well as any marketing ‘no-no’s’ from your perspective. Yes, they may be the expert, but you know your brand. For example, our clients are asked to complete a short questionnaire when choosing to work with us. Based on this, we then put together an overall monthly plan of content that will be used, as well as a detailed first-week calendar. By doing so, this will mean you have the ability to discuss and clarify where needed.
2. Flexibility and responsiveness
Any social media manager that provides ‘guarantees’ should be approached with caution. As with all marketing, there are a whole variety of variables that can impact on the success of a campaign. Whilst performance may fluctuate at times, it’s important to see that your social media manager responds and changes approach when needed.
Before working with a social media manager, check that you will be provided with clear analytics and data on the performance of your posts. Even more important is to see that the strategy being deployed is amended based on these analytics, rather than doing ‘more of the same’.
3. A fair price
Pricing is always a difficult one, especially if you’ve not paid for such services previously. The key questions to ask yourself is:
- Can I afford this right now?
- What experience does the company have?
- Am I clear on what I want my social to achieve?
In terms of pricing, we’ve tried to simplify the approach by offering multiple packages to suit different client objectives and affordability. For more information, you can book a call to discuss the packages we offer. Many clients have told us they like this approach, as it gives them the opportunity to switch packages at any point, and with no contracts, they can choose to stop their service at any time.
4. A central point of contact
The number one question we get asked is ‘Who do I talk to if I have a question?’. We get it - we’re the same with our service providers.
We also feel that it’s important that your point of contact has a good grasp of your business too, as not being able to talk ‘detail’ has been a frustration of some of our clients who have worked with other agencies. Like with Blue Pineapple, try to get an agency where you can contact the person who either designs or executes your strategy, rather than someone who is merely ‘managing’ a group of accounts.
