Congratulations! You just hired a social media specialist to handle your social media presence so that means you can just sit back and watch the magic happen. If the magic doesn’t happen then you can blame them for the failure, right? Wrong!
Yes, hiring a social media specialist is a great way to promote your business’ products and services as well as get brand recognition and it is meant to free you up from having to spend time on something you know very little about and have no time for. However, it does not mean you can just step away completely and never think about it again. In order for any social media campaign to be successful your social media specialist will need input from you and/or someone on your staff.
Here are a few ways to make the most of your partnership with your social media specialist.
Provide Business Info
More than likely your social media specialist is not on site at your business. They tend to work for a agency or even freelance from remote locations as is the beauty of technology and the internet. Therefore, they will generally only know as much about your business as you provide them with. The first information you must get to your social media specialist at a minimum are any website and social media profile links your business has, lists and descriptions of your products and services, your business’ history, staff information, location, business hours, and business phone numbers. Basic facts such as these create the base on which your social media campaigns begin. They show who you are, what your brand stands for, and how you do business.
Provide Event Info
Whenever your business has a sale, special event, contest, or contributes to or takes part in a charity event you should always let your social media specialist know about it as soon as possible. Other events to report to your social media specialist are special occasions for you, your business, or staff such as earning college degrees, certifications, or promotions. These types of events not only show that you are proud of the people who work with and for you but also show the world that everyone in your business is dedicated to improving themselves and the business. These are things that garner attention and praise from customers and followers on social media, which in return can mean more followers and potential customers.
Provide pictures or videos
Pictures and videos are vital to successful social media campaigns and while it is perfectly fine to get content from your business’ website, it is limited in scope. Your social media specialist needs an ongoing diet of new content, pictures, and videos in order to keep your social media campaigns fresh and engaging. Although they can acquire stock pictures and videos from any number of places online (and they regularly do when appropriate) social media campaigns almost always work best when the graphics are unique and personal to the business at hand. As the business owner, it’s up to you and your employees to be constantly looking for great pictures, videos, and content that shows what your business is all about and sending those assets to your social media specialist to create campaigns with.
Content that does really well on social media are video tours of your business as well as behind the scenes tours. Other great content can be tips, tricks, and how to videos as well as video testimonials from customers. Pictures of customers taking delivery of your services or products also fair really well on social media. All of these things show that your business has a human side and wants to help its customers achieve their goals and dreams. Those type of things are powerful.
Be Available
You hired the social media specialist to be on your team and promote your business online so make sure you are available when they require additional information from you. How often this is needed depends entirely on how active you are at sending your social media specialist content to use. If you’re the type that is constantly sending content and emails with event and other information then your social media specialist may not need to speak to you as much as they would if they never get anything from you.
If your social media specialist calls or emails you for information or clarification on something make sure you call or email them back as soon as possible. If they are contacting you it is because they need some kind of content or information in order to do their best job for you and your business.
Have realistic expectations
Social media is not a magic bullet when it comes to getting your business new customers and sales. The social media industry is constantly changing, sometimes on a daily basis, and what worked yesterday may not work today. Social media has a great deal of trial and error built into it and because of its constantly morphing characteristics it can be hard to get solid statistics on its return on investment.
There are many factors involved with a successful social media campaign and the burden should not be entirely set on your social media specialist’s shoulders. Although they are definitely involved in its success or failure, know that you are equal partners with them and the closer your collaboration with them the better the outcome.
It is also best to know what your expectations are and make sure they are realistic. Although everyone dreams of having a social media campaign so successful they never have to work again, realistically that’s not going to happen. Are you looking for more follows on your social media? More traffic to your website? More sales? Brand recognition? If so, how will you quantify whether a social media campaign is successful? Do you have a number? If not, you should. Then you need to discuss your expectations with your social media specialist to see if those expectations are realistic or even possible. If not, they will ask more questions and make suggestions on what can be done to get you closer to those outcomes.
Team Work
And last but not least, when you hire a social media specialist you are adding them to your business’ team. Make sure you work with them, not against them. They are there to help you achieve your business objectives and listen to you and your business’ needs and wants. However, you also have to remember that you hired them and they are the expert in their field. Listen to what they have to say and what they suggest is the best way to proceed and then give them some room to experiment, explore, and achieve the objectives at hand.
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