One important decision that all small business people must make is this: who should do my social media? It’s an important question that can have a huge impact on your business. The best answer for your business depends on several factors. There are many options between just doing it yourself and completely outsourcing your social media effort.

• Before You Start: You use social media for your business, or you are considering using social media for your business.
• Learning level: 1 | Social Media Basics
• Article Last Updated: Sunday, December 4, 2011

Who Speaks For Your Business On Social Media?

There are many reasons why a small business should do it’s own social media. No one understands or cares about your business as much as you do. Social media is about people and conversation. How can you hire someone else to be the authentic voice of your business on social media?

The strongest arguments for outsourcing your social media come down to two issues. First, social media strategy requires specialized knowledge of marketing and social media tools, so why not hire professionals? Second, social media takes a lot of time, and many small business people don’t have the time to invest in social media.

So how can you decide for your small business which path to take? There are several factors that can help you decide how to navigate this landscape.

• Company Size. The larger your company, the more important it is for you to get social media right the first time. When your brand is known nationally, or when you operate in several different markets, small mistakes can get amplified quickly. Smaller companies have more room to experiment and try different strategies without worrying about the impact to their brand.
• Money. Hiring social media services gets expensive quickly, and continue monthly for as long as you run your business. But some small businesses would rather spend money than invest senior staff time, a commodity that is more valuable than money.
• Aptitude. Some business cultures are more open to collaboration and innovation than others. Some small business people really understand social media, while others struggle to make sense of these shifts in marketing and customer interaction.
• Core Values. A small business that is focused on the customer experience is more likely to do their own social media because they see it as a natural extension of their customer service. A company that feels distant from their customers is less likely to take on social media.

Finding The Middle Ground

How to do social media is a big decision for your small business. But it doesn’t have to be an all one way or all the other decision. There is a great, wide middle ground. Here are a few practical  options:

• External education. Invest a little time and money to learn strategy and tools from people who offer these services so you can do it yourself.
• Coaching. Find a social media consultant who is willing to support you as you launch your efforts. You get the benefit of their experience applied to your situation.
• Monitoring. Expand the coaching to include an ongoing review of your social media efforts over time and schedule check-up sessions.
• Hire talent. Find a social media savvy person to add to your team. With this person as an anchor, your business can grow it’s social media program and team internally.
• Outsource your strategy. Find a social media consultant who will work to help you develop your social media strategy while you develop your staff to take on the daily social media customer interaction.

Should you outsource your business social media? Perhaps the answer isn’t “yes” or “no” but is about calculating the percentage of how much you will do yourself and how much external assistance you hire. For most small businesses, a blended solution provides the support you need while empowering you to tackle social media on your own.

Your turn: What issues does your small business wrestle with? How have you answered the question about whether you should outsource your social media? Share your insights and experience here.

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