Is one of your goals this year to outsource your social media and hire a social media manager?
Hiring a social media manager (SMM) can be a great investment into your digital marketing, but it’s important that you have a few things in place before you start working with a SMM.
Having a social media manager is a great way to keep your social media consistent and strategic. It can be a really great way to take things off your plate, freeing up time and brain space. Outsourcing allows you to stop spending time and energy on pieces of your business you could care less for, while giving you more time to focus on the things you love. Hiring help allows you to maintain healthy boundaries in your work – meaning less burnout and more success for your business.
While it is obviously a great business move to hire a SMM, it’s not as simple as just hiring someone without doing some prep work before. Before you make the leap to invest in a social media manager, you need to make sure you and your business are setting your SMM up for success. Don’t hire a social media manager if you don’t have these 5 things…
A social media strategy
While a social media manager can help adjust and update your social media strategy, it is important you already have one in place. Not all social media managers are well-versed in social media strategy, so it’s not a good idea to wait until you’ve hired a SMM to get one solidified. Having a social media strategy before outsourcing your social media also makes clear to your SMM the goals you have for your social media channels and the ways you want to meet those.
Branding in place
A big part of building an online presence is having a solid brand strategy. Having this in place before hiring a social media manager will allow them to keep your presence consistent across platforms. Make sure to invest in branding before outsourcing your social media. Your social media manager needs to have branding that is consistent across all of your social media channels, your website, and other business assets already in place when they get started with you. Having this ready makes for a smooth transition – keeping the feel and messaging of your brand consistent.
A need for a SMM because you are a professional
If you are a social media professional and have people and things in place to keep your social media consistent, you may not need a social media manager. However, even social media managers rely on a team of other professionals to help run their socials to free up their time. If you are a SMM or other social media professional and feel you have a handle on your social media platforms, you many not need to outsource.
A marketing budget
It’s important you know your marketing budget before exploring your options with a social media manager. If you’re serious about getting help with your social media and investing in a SMM, you need to understand the price of the investment you’ll need to make. If you don’t have the budget to invest in your social media right now, don’t outsource it.
A belief in social media
If you don’t think social media marketing is necessary or beneficial, don’t hire a social media manager. It is not the job of your SMM to try and convince you why social media marketing is important. Before outsourcing, take time to educate yourself on the importance of utilizing social media and digital marketing and how it can move your business forward.
If after reading this list you think, “Hey, I’ve got all of those areas taken care of!” and you’re ready to learn more about how to get started with a social media manager, I’d love to connect! You can click here to learn more about the specific services I offer, and you can book a FREE Discovery Call here to chat and see if we’re a good fit.
Hop on over to Instagram and follow Creative Gravity for more tips on growing organically online, or check out my other blog posts to learn more.
