Should you outsource your social media needs?

Social media is a giant part of running a business these days. But it consists of a lot more than checking Facebook during your lunch break. To run efficient and productive social media strategies, you’ve got to invest in it.

Both time and money come into play when planning and carrying out social media, and they need to balance each other. If you are losing out because you don’t have the time to focus on social media, you may need to spend a bit to reap the highest rewards.

As mentioned, running social media for a business shouldn’t be taken lightly; it entails more than daily check-ins. And though time isn’t always thought of as a resource, well, it is. If you don’t have the time to devote to social media, you may consider hiring someone to do it. Sure, that costs money, but it may cover the cost of the time lost if you were doing it yourself and neglecting other aspects of your position.

How much time?

To maintain an active social media face for your company, a few hours per week need to be dedicated to it. According to a survey from Social Media Examiner, 36 percent of marketers put up to 5 hours per week into social media, and 26 percent spend six to 10 hours a week on this. Sure, that’s not a ton of time, but who really has an extra clump of hours to spare every week.

What should you be doing in with social media?

Social media involves quite a few sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, just to name a few. It’s important to stay active on each of these if you have them (and you should), so your followers aren’t left in the cold when they want to check in. This means a few posts and updates every week, but not a few a day – that can get annoying.

If you think about the fact that Australia has 13 million Facebook users, more than 2 million Twitter users and most social media is still growing, you need to be reaching out, according to Frankmedia.com.

Besides your general posts and updates, here are some other important aspects of successful social media >>>

• Intearaction – Respond to comments and questions; don’t leave anyone hanging waiting around for an answer.
• Engagement – Have your followers and customers post and comment themselves, whether through pictures or experience and reviews. These are great built in marketing strategies.
• Toot your own horn - Let your followers know of successes and accomplishments. If you open a new branch to your store, post it; if you participate in a charity run, talk about it.
• Discounts and rewards – Post specials and discounts for your customers only available on social media. It will help in sharing and drawing in more customers.

And yes, all this takes time and it may benefit you to hire someone to take it over.

If you find you don’t have the time, hire someone. The money you bring in and the time you can work on other things will probably surpass what you pay to an outsource company.

Read MORE about social media for business here

What to look for when outsourcing

• Make sure you see eye to eye. Discuss goals and expectations so everyone is on the same page with social media.
• Have someone who speaks the language and knows the jargon of your field. It’s important that your posts sound like they are coming from you and your business.
• Experience. You want your follower base to grow and anyone you hire should be adept at growing this and maximizing exposure.

If you’re tied up or stuck in the world of social media and it’s becoming too much to handle, think about outsourcing.

Then you can focus on what you’re best at while someone handles this end of it.

About the author

Heather Legg is a writer who covers topics like social media, small business and personal finance software.