The significance of social media has grown exponentially over the years. Social media is no longer just a venue for an individual to reach out to his friends; it has become a tool for companies to reach out their market.
Apart from having its own website, it has become essential for companies to have social media accounts through which prospective clients or returning patrons could directly channel their enquiries and concerns.
A social media campaign nowadays could be as important as–and in many cases, even more important than—your campaigns on traditional platforms such as TV and print. You need to hire a good social media manager who will utilise the right online tools to run effective campaigns.
Social media marketing is a full-time job. It requires strategy, skill, devotion and expertise. There are more than enough reasons to outsource a social media manager but the ultimate goal of course, is to help your business succeed.
1. To create awareness and excitement for your brand.
Whether your company is Forbes listed or a small business, it is absolutely necessary for someone to be responsible for social media marketing. With everyone going digital and accessing practically everything on their mobile devices, social media marketing has become an essential brand-building tool.
Social media marketing is no longer reactive, wherein you only respond to questions posted on your page or through instant messaging. It has taken on a proactive approach, where it is the social media manager to actually reach out and engage in interaction with the community. Traditional thinkers may beg to disagree, but a social media marketing plan should now be part of a company’s overall business strategy.
You need to create awareness and excitement for you brand, and deliver them to your market. Most likely, your market is on social media. You just need to find them and reach out.
2. To increase traffic to your site.
To some, it may seem like merely wasting time on Facebook, but if you look at it from a different perspective, Facebook is a great tool for driving traffic to your site. Through building a solid following using social media which is a proven traffic generator, you generate interest in your business and increase your potential for finding new customers or clients, or for them to find you. More traffic means greater potential for new business.
3. To capture and sustain the interest of your community and target market.
Social media marketing isn’t just getting thousands or even a million likes. It doesn’t end when you’ve gotten a large number of people to like your page. An important and difficult component of social media marketing is sustaining the interest of your community and retaining engagement.
Whilst it is important to get those likes and to grow a large following, it is equally as important for you to make sure that you are getting the attention of the right people and that the likes are garnered from legitimate entities—not fake accounts.
To do this, you need someone who is capable of creating new content and is updated on the latest online and social media trends. To sustain engagement you need someone who can easily and promptly respond to customer concerns and client enquiries.
As a business owner, you have no time to do that. Outsourcing a social media manager—a competent one at that— is a better option.
4. To utilise first-rate talent and at the same time, achieve cost-efficiency.
As mentioned earlier, social media marketing is a full-time job that requires expertise and skill. You need someone who already has the experience to plan and execute effective campaigns. The talent you need has most likely garnered his or her expertise in social media elsewhere and should bring fresh insight on how you should run your marketing campaigns.
Outsourcing a social media manager is a cost-efficient solution for your social media marketing needs. It is an opportunity for you to hire someone with the right level of expertise and competence without breaking your budget, as you may have to do if you employ the services of a PR or Digital Marketing agency.
5. To position your company as a market leader.
You need to position your company as a market leader and highlight your edge over the competition. Despite the apparent popularity and practice of social media marketing, other companies have yet to adapt to it, or do it effectively.
Outsourcing a social media manager who can plan and execute effective social media marketing campaigns helps position your company as a trusted name in your niche and this in turn strengthens your competitive edge over the competition.
By having an effective social media marketing campaign, you are able to tap an audience that competitors may not have discovered, opening doors to more customers and increasing the possibility of growing your business.
