This week, our air broke. I hired our A/C technician and patiently waited for him to come. When he arrived, I answered the door, put on my tool belt and stood behind him and inputted his every move, and when he wasn't looking did some duct work of my own. Then I paid for his services.
Then, my brakes went bad....rough week, right? I pulled into the auto repair shop, changed my clothes and met my mechanic in the bay. When the mechanic received a phone call, I jacked up the car and got to work, going in behind the mechanic and changing his every move. Then I paid the bill and went on my merry way.
None of these examples are true, obviously. Who in their right mind would waste the money hiring someone to do a service and then go in and do it themselves with no formal training?
If the situations above sound ridiculous, why are some people meddling in the same manner if they pay for a creative service like social media? If you have the good sense to hire someone for your social media, or any creative job...graphic design, email marketing, etc. I would like you to think about giving them the respect to do what you are paying them to do.
At the risk of being unkind, when it comes to social media-just because you have a Facebook account to update your daily status, a social media marketer you do not make.
Here is my philosophy for hiring someone to do the social media for your business. First, congrats for having the kind sense to know that you need this form of new media to stay relevant in 2012.
It is blind faith to hire someone for this new marketing process but I bet you did for one of the following reasons:
1. You know you need to have social media for your business but do not have the time to do it consistently, all the while constantly looking for new trends that would improve your business using social media.
2. Your competition uses social media and you have no interest in being on the computer other than to check a seldom email.
3. You have a million things more to do than sit on Facebook and Yelp all day (like your business)
Think twice about hiring companies that offer more than social media if you just need this presence. There is a lot to be said for being good at just one thing. I am wary of these "PR firms" who do PR, web design, custom email news letters, graphics and logos, press releases, social media, your landscaping,your laundry- you name it. An all in one isn't very effective if they have spread themselves so thin that they are just a little good at all of these services instead of being really proficient in one of the fields.
A reminder: Do you not gage the success on your social media professional by your numbers. Social Media is used for branding NOT selling! Go buy some radio or consult an agency for a creative campaign if you need to sell something! Social means just that...social, non-invasive, act of the subconscious marketing.
Stay Tuned for Part Two Tomorrow!
Love this! Thank you so much for posting. All to often there is the debate on the importance of social media experts.
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