Social media marketing and strategy is a major topic in our world. It’s a conversation we’ve had with many, many clients over the years about what it looks like for us to be hired to help them with their social.
The truth is, we don’t want to do that.
At least…not in the way you’re thinking.
Let’s chat about it.
There are tons of companies, brands, creators, etc. out there who truly cannot find the time or energy outside of running their business to create and post on their social media to stay active with it.
Thus, there’s now a wave of agencies offering to run their channels for them.
This is right where the problem begins.
Most of the time, the person hiring someone to “run” their social, and those eager to get paid to do it, are missing a major step in the hiring process. It’s one big question that hardly ever gets answered…
WHY are you hiring someone to run your social?
Now, the simple answer is, as we stated above, they don’t have the time to keep up with it themselves. Which, hey, we get that. However, that’s not the final answer. There’s more information that needs figured out there, and this is where we find that social media management is a bit of a grey area that we want to do differently.
The questions those involved are not asking, is deeper into that “why” part. Many need to dig deeper into what exact problem they’re trying to solve when having someone run their social. There should truthfully be more of a plan or reason outside of “we just don’t want to do it”.
MYELIN: Storytelling is Long-Term
So, what are those deeper questions?
What’s the GOAL you want to reach?
Is it more followers + likes + comments and vanity metrics? Is that it? Is it to better connect with your audience? Is it to try and sell a product?
What’s the VOICE of your brand?
Is it serious? Is it professional? Is it relaxed? Is it comedic? What’s the tone of your posts?
What’s the CONTENT being posted?
We’ve seen the run-of-the-mill copy-and-paste method of many social media agencies, and honestly, we don’t like it at all. Your content needs to be custom or authentic to you and your brand.
While there are more points to be made, let’s keep things simple and cover the above bullet points here. We believe all of the above should be considered and communicated before being hired for social media. A conversation to be had from BOTH parties.
While it would be easy to say yes to anyone willing to pay us $1K/mo for social media posts, that’s not what we want to do.
Our focus, is on the authentically built content that can be made for you, and having it posted with purpose.
Before worrying about filling out a weekly calendar, you need to focus on what’s being posted in the first place, and why someone needs hired to do that. Do you have content such as photos, videos, design assets made already to build posts out of? Will you supply that week to week? Or does it make more sense to not run a social calendar yet, and gather a catalog of all of that content before diving in?
Do you want to sell the experience of your location/service? You can do so with lifestyle photos or videos showcasing your culture or environment. This will go further than a random photo of a flower because Monday was “national red rose day”. It gives your content depth and purpose. It tells the story of your brand or mission.
So figuring out what that content is, where it’s coming from, who’s creating it and why it’s being posted, are many of the steps to consider before jumping into handling social.
The goal at the end of the day of course is to keep your social channels active, we get that, and doesn’t need to be overthought.
HOWEVER, it does need to be planned for.
You don’t need a post every day of the week, you just don’t. So, what content can be strategically created to make your social presence stronger when you DO post?
We could ramble on for about 76 more pages in this blog, but for the sake of keeping things shorter, we’ll wrap up.
Before hiring someone for social media, have the conversation with yourself, your team, or the entity you’re hiring to find out WHY you want it.
Think about and plan the content to be authentic to you and your brand voice, so you aren’t stuck sharing “share” contests every week because it’s the only way to get engagement. Figure out the story you want to tell, even if it’s strictly to sell someone on something. There still needs to be depth.
So, can we be hired for social media management? Sure, we can be, our Creative Director Ross (the one writing this blog in 3rd person) has 10+ years in social management, BUT, we’re going to want to do it in a specific way that needs planned out ahead of time.
You need your purpose, your voice, and a plan for content before a calendar can exist, and, as a final point here, to be honest, you shouldn’t want someone else running your social at all times.
YOU need to speak for your company.
YOU need to know how your social is or is not connecting to your audience.
YOU need to oversee the content being put out representing your brand.
So, instead of hiring the problem away and tossing money out the window monthly, focus in and place your marketing budgets more strategically in planning for a healthier way to build your social media.
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