I’ve been hired as a social networking consultant for a few companies, and with 2011 marking a new year, a lot of small businesses (and huge corporations) are really trying to put in the efforts to conquer social networking websites once and for all.
Is This a Social Media Consultant?
I’ve seen a lot of companies trying to outsource a social media consultant position to a younger person, someone who understands how to post/edit things on Facebook. The said business owner figures all they need to do is have some kid post updates to their Facebook every now and then, I mean, it’s just about putting your stuff online isn’t it?
This is such a mistake, and can actually hurt your business in the long run! You have to plan your Facebook marketing (and all social marketing) with the same type of planning and thought that you would put into any other marketing endeavor. Just because someone has the most Facebook friends doesn’t mean they should be your social networking consultant.
How to Evaluate a Social Media Marketing Consultant
A social networking consultant should understand your type of business, and how to apply this business online. Social media marketing is a new form of online advertising, and the rules are completely different than with yellow page advertising, or even online pay-per-click advertising. The person in charge of your social accounts should understand this.
On the other end of the spectrum, just because someone has years of experience in marketing or sales doesn’t necessarily mean they will be the best choice for your consultant. In fact, I’ve often found that people with the best sales background actually do worse than the average person would when it comes to social media marketing. The best usually end up prevailing, but they still have to get around the learning curve.
Find a social networking consultant who has a plan to make your business social online, and can tell you how your brand can benefit.
5 Questions to ask the Social Networking Consultant:
1. Does this person understand your company’s practices, and more importantly, the time constraints that your company has?
2. Does this person’s vision of your online presence make sense? Are they trying to get you to basically spam your potential followers, or are they trying to help your company build its brand?
3. Is this person’s pricing structure reasonable for the work they’re doing, or the return you’re getting?
4. What is this social networking consultant’s goal for getting your followers/fans to actually become your customers?
5. Finally, does this person do a good job of explaining social websites to you, or are they treating you as a child whose hand they’ll have to hold the whole way?
These five basic questions will help you hire a better social networking consultant. What you really want to do is capture someone who understands online AND offline marketing, and can help apply that to social networking. Don’t just hire the first big branded company, or small time kid!
