Why You Shouldn't Let a Novice Handle Your Social Media Marketing

First of all, I have nothing against social media marketing companies or managers. In fact, I think that they are doing quite a good job in educating customers and creating a new dynamic in the game of social networking. There is a lot of scope for these talented professionals to help you optimize a networking plan.

Here, I just want to help you understand that you can’t hand over complete control of  social media marketing to anyone who is inexperienced in this field while you concentrate on other tasks. They might have a flair for social media, but you should understand that it's your business to make sure that they do an optimal job. A decent level of control and monitoring will help make the best of everyone.

Here are the top reasons why you can’t bury common sense and let a company take total control:

They might not understand your business

Social media management companies handle several projects simultaneously. Although they have some knowledge in many fields, they may not be cognizant about company ethics and values. They might be good with keys on the keyboard, but not with business equations.

Making your social media expert understand what makes your company different, how you handle queries and complaints, what your customer expects from the company, and the uniqueness of your products and services cannot be achieved overnight. You have to constantly intervene and communicate your company's idiosyncrasies to whomever is handling your social media activity.

Humour may not go well

Informal ways of communication are essential on social networks. You need to create quality content that can keep visitors interested. In this quest, humour plays a very important but controversial role.

A joke may be considered funny by some individuals, but may be found offensive by others. Your social media manager might overstep the boundaries of humour. This way, you’ll end up losing important clients and potential customers.

Lack of maturity

Most social media marketing professionals are in their early twenties. This age is a learning curve in itself, and can’t beat the maturity or decision-making skills of businessmen, entrepreneurs and corporate level employees.

Certainly, young social media 'experts' understand Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ better than most people, but social media marketing is not just about SOCIAL MEDIA skills, it’s also about MARKETING skills. Striking a balance is essential at every level.

They might spend too much

Keeping an eye on your managers will also help you save thousands of rupees. Obviously, they would prefer a tool or technique which is quick to implement and offers immediate results. For instance, the expense of a sponsored Facebook page  will depend on the age group, location and gender that you want to target.

Your social media managers might not take any interest in cutting costs, but you can monitor them to ensure that only the required amount is spent.

Lack of communication skills

Communication is the key to any business operation and when it comes to marketing and advertising, it’s everything. Before a company takes total control of your right to communicate on blog posts and networking accounts, ensure that they have the right kind of communication skills.

Their language, etiquette and ability to read between the lines should be immaculate. After all, communication is a two-way process, and listening (reading in this case) is important too.

Keys to the lock

When you hire a maid or other household help service, you don’t give them your only house keys, do you? How would you get home? Similarly, it is important to keep track of your passwords on social media accounts. Otherwise you will end up having no access and hence no way to take control of or even monitor your social media activity.

Featured Image By: The Open Dept.