Social Media Management: Outsourcing vs. In-House Team?
You can’t have a successful digital marketing campaign without social media. Still, you can’t get the right results without effective social media management. If anything, there’s actually more to it than just sharing content or posting photos.
Your business might need a good boost in your social media presence. For that, you will have to choose between an in-house team and an outsourcing team for your social media management.
On that note, let’s look at the pros and cons of both to see which is more preferable for your business’ needs.
Pros and Cons: In-House Team
Pros
Having an in-house social media team allows for greater flexibility and control. You can actually perform certain tasks hands-on so you will be able to accomplish your goals in your own way. Moreover, this allows for better oversight and accountability. You can easily trace a problem in your social media campaign and have your team fix it right away.
You can modify your homegrown team to fit your business’ needs. Since you’re in direct control of your campaign, you basically call the shots with regards to content creation and distribution.
Cons
Building a social media management team from the ground up is expensive, to say the least. In fact, a social media marketing manager can earn up to $75,000 annually and this doesn’t include benefits and incentives.
An in-house team isn’t only expensive. It will also take you a long time before you get to have a fully-functioning social media arm that has all the relevant skills you need to drive success. Sure enough, you will have to invest a great deal of your time in recruiting and training the people you will need for your campaign.
Considering social media’s complexity and continuous evolution, it’s not going to be easy for your team to adapt. Especially when you’re handling an inexperienced social media team, you will eventually end up spending more than they should in order to keep up with the latest trends.
Pros and Cons: Outsourcing Team
Pros
One obvious advantage of outsourcing is that it enables you to tap into the skills you need for your campaign. Running your social accounts should come with such core areas as graphic design and market research. Finding the right people with these proficiencies can help you make the most out of your online campaign.
Unlike an in-house team, outsourcing avoids added costs in training. Moreover, outsourced services are usually paid by the hour under a postpaid or a prepaid setup, granting you with greater flexibility in managing your budget.
You will need the right tools in order to run a successful social media campaign. By with outsourcing, you can gain access to pre-existing software and facilities that figure at the package price. In other words, you don’t have to pay extra just to set up the platforms you need.
Cons
When you’re delegating your social media tasks to a third-party service provider, you will eventually hand over crucial company information such as your social media logins. This could only spell risk to you and to your business if you’re not careful when choosing the right outsourcing company.
Coordination is a challenge. When you’re managing an offshore team, it’s difficult to oversee its performance, resulting in slow turnaround times and less than stellar results. Transparency has always been an issue, but you can successfully get around common challenges by finding a trustworthy outsourcing partner, especially along the lines of virtual assistant services.
The differences in language and social conventions can create a rift between your outsourcing team and your audience. For instance, if you hire a Philippine virtual assistant to handle your digital marketing, it’s possible that your messages may not resonate with your American niche. The safest way is to find an outsourcing partner that’s already experienced in handling digital marketing campaigns.
Social media management doesn’t have to be complex. You only need to find a service provider that fits your business marketing needs.
Contact us today and see how our virtual assistant services can give your social media management a good boost.
