Should you outsource your social media?
Posted on by Ryan Deiss in Social Media
Ok, I just found the perfect new employee for you.
He/she has no college degree, spends 75% of their day on social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc.), and demands to work from home. Oh and they want you to pay them to Facebook and Tweet all day. Do you have any opening for them?
Well, you should!
It’s definitely a unique age we live in where the kind of potential employee I just described has a bright future in social marketing. In fact, in all likelihood they could be the next vital cog in your company’s success machine.
How, you ask?
Marketing Sherpa just released a new report that shows an increasing trend in companies that outsource their Social Marketing Responsibilities.
It’s probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear ‘outsourcing’, but it’s brilliant. Social Marketing can seriously boost the brand and success of your company. I mean, without Social Marketing, a lot of companies can’t even get their feet off the ground.
So finding someone with a love and knack for Social Media is a great opportunity for you to take your social marketing to the next level.
Heck, it will probably save you a few bucks too. The article I referenced for this post suggests hiring someone internal to do the job. But why would you when you can hire a specialist to do it for between $500 and $1000 a week. (FYI: that’s a deal)
In fact, I have a friend who’s working the other side of that deal…getting paid $500 – $1000 a month to manage social media for local businesses. It’s a pretty sweet deal for her. She gets to make 6-figures a year with just a few clients and gets to play on Facebook and Twitter every day.
If you’re into social media, maybe you should consider a career change. 
So what do you think? Would you trust someone to run your social media accounts?
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Charles Mackenzie-Hill
21. Jul, 2010
It seems to be a natural word and mouth progression. As one of those things you stumble on accidently . You are either a believer on not. The latter is more common. Great for those of you who understand the concept and enjoy raising the awareness of persons or company and can get paid for it
Infinit-O
23. Jun, 2010
Thanks for the great read. I would just like to point out that although it would be preferable for companies to maintain conversations in the social media sphere within the company, most of the time, this does not happen. It could be because of lack of time, manpower, etc. Would that then mean that the company can just forget about engaging their community through conversations? It shouldn’t. Social media engagement, although not a primary requirement for a business to function, is also very beneficial. Thus, in cases where companies are not able to manage their own conversations, this is where outsourcing can come in. It is not the idea of outsourcing that would be an issue. Outsourcing to someone several miles away versus someone else with in your company is still not you. What is vital is exercising proper guidelines and maintaining effective communication to ensure that your social media engagement remains effective. For us (we are an outsourcing company: Infinit-O), the question is not whether you should outsource, but who should be your outsourcing partner. That’s just my two cents on that. Kudos!
Ronald Redito
11. Jun, 2010
Anyone needing social media services? I’ve been doing this since last year.
Lola
15. Apr, 2011
@Ronald Redito, please send me an email im looking or someone
Dr. Alan Weinstein
08. Jun, 2010
Somethings need to be outsourced and this is one. Gives us more time to be creative, to generate more conversions and to follow-up.
Mic Adam
08. Jun, 2010
It is funny that the article appeared at this moment. It must be a premonition. I just wrote about the same topic on my blog (micvadam on wordpress).
The last few few weeks I have been talking to a lot of individuals that say tha SM is a lot of work and after they have set their first steps (created a profile and posted some messages) they have no strategy nor time to continue to effort. It is my assumption today that soon a lot of profiles are actually dead.
On the other side, people are not listening of what is being said about them, again because it takes time and thus opportunities get lost to do more business.
In summary, a great post! I wish the belgian business would see it like that!
John Zimmerman
05. Jun, 2010
Great article Ry.
Glad to see that people are taking kind to this. WE’ve been in this space for some time now and most posts I see on this topic get hammered even by the so-called social media rockstars.
Social media is a big job. There a lot more to it than posting and listening. It’s a fine art that changes per client and their specific customer base. We’re managing a lot of accounts these days… for those that are looking, ping us – we’ll be glad to help.. and for those that are social media gurus – please ping us as well. We need to start recruiting a ton of people to help us out.
Thanks for the fodder. I enjoyed it.
John Zimmerman
@eRocketFuel
Liliana
29. Sep, 2010
@John Zimmerman, Let me know if you are recruiting please, I would like to help some people get employed and learn thing or two myself. Thanks.
Debra Moorland
02. Feb, 2011
@John Zimmerman,
I am wondering if you have a price structure that would make it feasible to outsource to you. It sounds like you are used to dealing with social media for businesses, which would be preferable to hiring a deadbeat whose life is social media but has no head for business.
John Wayne Zimmerman
02. Feb, 2011
@Debra Moorland, Give me a call next week and I can share with you what we do and pricing. We don’t hire deadbeats
.
Carrie Wilkerson
05. Jun, 2010
great post – and true
and for those arguing that it takes the ‘social’ out of social media…it doesn’t have to!
I do all of my own ‘relationship’ stuff – connecting, conversation, etc – but I DO have help with my dm cleanout, follow backs, spam blocks, FMBL, syncing, etc
So – I think there are ways to have the best of all worlds…
Carrie Wilkerson
@Barefoot_Exec
http://Facebook.com/BarefootExecutive
Ryan Deiss
06. Jun, 2010
@Carrie Wilkerson:
Agreed! Thanks for weighing in Carrie!
Note to all: Be sure to check out Carrie’s stuff. She’s one of the best in the biz when it comes to this topic.
Kathleen Gage
05. Jun, 2010
Excellent information on the reasons why it would be beneficial to outsource some of our social media marketing. We absolutely can’t do it all. There are some things better left to those who do have an absolute passion for it (like the set up of FB pro pages).
Yet, there are some aspects I prefer to do myself to keep a very “social” side to social networking and social media marketing.
Toy Man
04. Jun, 2010
I know I can’t do it all, even with a little extra help. So I think it is a wise decision for those like myself who can’t manage it all. Out-source beats total nothing,which brings on failure.
Dana
04. Jun, 2010
Ryan – you’ve always been top notch, but here, wow, I don’t know if my temptation is so ask, “ok, so, did we just wake up or what?” That would be kind of, well, smart eleck and you deserve better, can you trust someone to run your social media? Ryan to some degree or another, we all are- it’s just part of the pie- the real question is, can that person do SEO- do they have the tools to make stuff happen in a networked world, isn’t it?
Ryan Deiss
05. Jun, 2010
@Dana, I think you hit the nail on the head. For some social media is much more personal though so I think that’s why it “feels” different.
Marketer Matt
04. Jun, 2010
I think this is awesome! The rules of the marketing game have changed and the impact of a dedicated social media expert could be huge. So why not go for it? Thanks for the post.
- Marketer Matt
http://twitter.com/marketermatt
Roy Cobden
04. Jun, 2010
I can’t imagine anything I’d hate more than having to “feed & nurture” multiple social media id’s myself… all day long… every day.
It too easily becomes the kind of sinkhole of your valuable time that keeps you from giving the really important stuff the attention it should have.
So bring on the social (media) butterflies!
Troy Tanga
04. Jun, 2010
The opportunity to assist companies with their “social media functions” both local and long distance is an excellent way to build new contacts.
Not to mention get paid well will doing it. The problem many people face is taking some action to begin with.
Listen, Learn, Act
Troy Tanga
Rodney Warren
04. Jun, 2010
Hello everyone, yup your right Ryan, Social Media is huge and it takes time to build and maintain. It’s definatly a market niche in and of itself!
john
04. Jun, 2010
o.k. i see where this is a great advantage, But who can i talk too about this…AND HOW MUCH I IT GOING TO COST
Anna
04. Jun, 2010
We do this for many of our clients. There are strategies that get you the best results so it probably isn’t something you want to hand off to just anybody. You also want to maintain the spirit of your brand so that is an important element to consider. A 2009 TeaLeaf survey revealed that 51% of respondents said that social media influenced their purchase decision. There are more reports that reflect this trend. It appears that social media can no longer be dismissed.
Ken Dumas
04. Jun, 2010
Another great Idea, I believe this is going to be the next Goldrush. So I think I’ll stock up on shovels right away
I have grabbed a couple of your courses, and it is always interesting diving in and gaining knowledge. You are a teacher, and you are an innovator, thanks for the tip.
Ken Dumas
Latest @ NaijaRumour
04. Jun, 2010
This is welcomed idea but I just out-sourcing is really taking away the social out of the media, I don’t think at the end of the day that would make the best marketing sense, imagine by your comment like this one posted by a grade 8 pupil!
Nikki
04. Jun, 2010
I agree that Social Media has to be a part of the game, but I feel most don’t know where it fits into the “House of Cards” internet game. People focus on social media, and having a website, but leave out the other 3 “cards” that every pro internet marketer would never “play” without. Social Media is obligatory to qualify in today’s game, but must be a “part of the hand”, not the whole hand..:) Thanks Ryan. You are one that every time I see your name pop up on my email, you couldn’t pay me to NOT open it. Your words are golden!
Joanne
04. Jun, 2010
We provide the strategy for a lot of large enterprises that want to outsource their social media presence – its not as simple as it sounds since you are not only managing the details of the digital strategy you are also managing their brand.
Steve C
04. Jun, 2010
I know Social Media should be part of my business but I have to many other things that need my attention leaving me little time to learn and do it right now. I would love to find someone who get me set up and do it for me at a reasonable cost.
Steve C
Ed
04. Jun, 2010
Very timely article Ryan. Thank you.
But where do we find reliable people to do this? I am paying my UK marketing co to do this type of stuff as part of a package. Turns out that the person who actually does it only works one day a week. I am thinking about changing gears. But other than elance where do these “pets” feed?
Ian L. Hannaford
04. Jun, 2010
Great post – I would love to outsource all my web 2.0 and traffic generation and then focus on closing building & mentoring and reccos please feel free to contact me direct.
Corey
04. Jun, 2010
I have several blogs and I use some automated services for back links in social media. I am looking into hiring a person in a different country for a lot of different business marketing. There are a lot of people in other country’s that you can find on craigslist that offer there service. They are only asking two to four hundred a month. So yes I would trust someone to run my social media accounts because I can always check to see what they are posting.
Corey Hoffman
maha daoudi
04. Jun, 2010
hi what a great idea i would love to hire someone with some experience and knowledge to promote my coaching busness for me on the social media arena if you can introduce me to one i would be gratefull for ever and ever
blessings and love
Maha Daoudi
Keith D Shrock
03. Jun, 2010
I am taking a 6 week Social Media Certification training course — from one of the best.
They are putting up a membership site for high — quality on-going training.
Let me know what you need.
Jim French
04. Jun, 2010
@Keith D Shrock, call me when you’re done, I need a virtual assistant Jim 661-333-3107
Ian L. Hannaford
04. Jun, 2010
@Keith D Shrock, keep in touch we can discuss a project
Jennifer Rodgers
03. Jun, 2010
I couldn’t agree more. I was just suggesting to my 20 year old son who’s now on summer break from junior college, to contact various self employed people and local business to post daily for them…I was thining of 20 clients at $200 each!!
Thanks for not allowing me to sell my kids cheap.
Love your stuff Ryan:)
JenniferRodgersMarketing.com
Clay Franklin
03. Jun, 2010
Great idea Ryan.
Thanks for the link to come over and read this article.
I would like to hire someone to help me in my business including social media activities. I especially want someone to do custom graphics, opt in, FBML for Facebook and Youtube branding. Then there is the following decisions and growing your reach also great idea to outsource.
@ClayFranklin
james blair
03. Jun, 2010
I think I might get into being a social media VA! I had no idea businesses were spending that kind of money on social media outsourcing.
Seriously, I’ve been looking into the purported offline local business consulting models and this may fit right in for an easy extra income stream. The good thing is, they get exactly what they want, a cheap, reliable VA for their social media needs, and I get extra money.
I love win-wins!
Thanks Ryan,
James B.