Since most companies have social media pages these days, the employees that handle those pages know how difficult they are to handle. Not only is it time consuming, but to truly have effective social media pages, one must do so much.
You should engage your customers, answer questions, reach out to other companies, and several other things, and it has to be done around the clock! You can’t blame companies for trying to outsource. Some simply cannot afford to lose a few pairs of hands in handling social media pages.
There are still risks in outsourcing, though. To help screen your candidates, keep a mental note of these risks while hiring.
- The person/people might take time to learn - Handling the social media services of the company would take either a very good mentor, or a very quick learner. There is a lot of things to do, and it all is specific to the company. New hires or outsourced social media managers might take some time to learn, and that means that they are prone to mistakes before they are truly ready for the job. This could threaten your image as a company.
- The job could get overwhelming - Social media for business is so much more than just posting, sharing, and leaving comments. Your ideal expert should have a mind for business, and that means they have to consider so many business concepts. Consider your candidate’s background and experience when hiring them for the position. Social media managers have to be highly organized and experienced in various fields of business.
- Mix ups tend to happen - There are instances when the social media manager uses the company’s social media page, thinking that they are on their personal profile. These mix ups threaten the company’s reputation, especially if the mix up involves inappropriate or personal details.
- Things can spiral out of control - Keep in mind that the social media manager would be handling the company’s online identity. You should find somebody who can think several steps in advance to ensure that situations that require the company’s response online could be handled correctly. One wrong move might turn into a problem for public relations quickly.
Do you outsource your social media management? Tell us how it was for you by dropping a comment below.
