A question I’ve been getting a LOT lately is “I’m torn between hiring a social media manager (SMM) and an influencer. What would you do?” In most of these cases, they are asking if hiring an influencer to run their social media is a smart idea.
Granted, I am pretty biased to be answering this but I do feel it is in the best interest of a brand or business to hire an experienced, professional social media manager.
Here are my three reasons why:
Social Media Managers are used to talking in multiple voices, not just their own
Many influencers have built huge followings based on their personal life, likes, and interests. While this is fantastic and absolutely something that should be celebrated, it’s also not a very difficult thing to do. No one knows themselves better than they do so it’s very easy to have a consistent “voice” and presence on social media for yourself and your own life/brand.
Having to take your own voice and speak in a different one is a whole other story. Experienced SMM have worked with clients who need many different voices and can adapt between them with ease. When researching who you want to work with, ask the potential candidates if they have experience writing from brands from the brand’s point of view.
Social Media Managers have studied digital marketing trends and have years of experience dealing with consistent changes
On any given day, a social media manager is your salesperson, customer service representative, marketing manager, advertising strategist, content creator, researcher, copywriter, and graphic designer. That’s a lot of hats to wear all the time! Businesses should trust that whoever they hire to be the point person online has experience in all of these areas.
I believe the top skills a social media manager needs to have are adaptability and resourcefulness. Social media changes A LOT, and you want to ensure your SMM is ahead of the trends and can navigate any changes on the platforms with ease.
A great way to see how strategically-minded someone is is to ask the person you are considering working with what blogs or websites they read to stay on top of trends. If they only spend time on the given platforms and aren’t weekly reading what’s coming/going, that should be a sign that they aren’t thinking ahead of trends and changes.
Your business comes before their own
A professional social media manager should always put your business and brand ahead of their own. In many scenarios I have heard from clients is that influencers (and some new SMM) don’t do the same.
Communication is key in a client relationship and knowing you are working with someone who gets back to your quickly, hears your goals and business needs, and puts themselves in your shoes to keep your best interest in mind is what you should expect from your SMM.
Ask the people you are vetting what their communication style is and what their working hours are. I have policies in place that my clients always will hear from me within 24-hours (usually far less) and I expect client feedback within 72 hours. Setting this expectation upfront is a huge key to success.
If you are curious about working with us, let’s chat!