Social media can be a daunting task for many businesses, especially small ones. Lots of us remember a time when businesses operated just fine without Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so having to become part of this new virtual marketplace where followers are potential customers is a strange necessity.
Factors like finding time to run the accounts, figuring out how to operate them properly and knowing what content works for your followers are hurdles that some business owners just don't have the bandwidth to take on. For these reasons, many brands have taken to outsourcing their business's social media by either hiring a social media manager OR by taking it one step further by partnering with a social media agency to take on the job.
We've put together a few benefits of handing your social media duties over to an agency.
The thing about social media is that it's not JUST that doing it right helps businesses, but doing it WRONG could also hurt them. You want to make sure that the person handling your social media feeds has a breadth of knowledge of operation policies for each social platform, as well as experience in analyzing data and creating the kind of content that works for each one. Using a social media marketing agency means the time spent on your social media will be effective, instead of you taking it on yourself and doing it incorrectly.
Social media agencies are usually coupled with marketing agencies because marketing and sales don't exist without the other. And because so much of what's being done on social media for businesses is being done to draw customers in, a social media manager or a social media agency will be creating content that works from a marketing standpoint, as well as sales.
If you're already looking at social media maintenance as a struggle for your business, once you really get into it you're going to find out how much time it really takes to manage your accounts. Since engagement gets you more reach, your social media posts require constant attention by liking, commenting and interacting with followers, as well as other business accounts. Handing this responsibility over to someone who can focus on it full time will guarantee that you're getting the most out of your social media efforts.
A social media marketing agency is going to cost you, but it'll cost less than bringing someone on full time to take care of your social media in-house. And you'll be getting guaranteed results from the jump with an agency since they'll be well-versed in what works and what doesn't. There's also a higher probability of getting a decent return on your investment which is something that should be at the forefront of your decision making.
​Simply put, just being on social media doesn't mean much these days. You need a solid plan and effective execution if your content is going to connect with your followers. A highly skilled social media agency will focus on driving engagement and reach, while creating a community for you on your platforms and ultimately that's what you should be looking to get out of your social media efforts in the long run.