Navigating the digital landscape can be overwhelming, especially when contemplating which type of social media management to choose for your business. Current research shows that both outsourcing and freelancing come with their share of perks, making the decision process complex.
This blog post aims to simplify this crucial choice by comparing outsourced services to freelance professionals comprehensively, providing an in-depth look at benefits, drawbacks, cost-effectiveness and much more.
Key Takeaways of Outsourced Social Media Manager
- Outsourcing social media work saves time. You get help from pros with great tools and strong skills. They know how to make your company shine online.
- Hiring a freelance social media pro comes with perks too. They are good at their job because they have worked with many different clients.
- Your business can save money by hiring freelancers for certain tasks only when you need them.
- Both options may have downsides like high costs or not understanding your brand well. It’s important to pick what works best for you.
Define Outsourcing and Freelancing
Outsourcing involves delegating certain business tasks or services to an external agency, while freelancing refers to hiring a self-employed individual who provides specialized services on a contractual basis.
When applied to social media management, you can outsource the task to a professional marketing agency that handles all aspects of your online presence, or hire a freelance specialist who independently manages your social platforms.
Outsourcing to a Social Media Marketing Agency
Outsourcing to a social media marketing agency has its perks. It lets your business save time and effort. You won’t need to worry about daily posts or thinking of new content ideas.
The hard work is left up to an outside team of experts. They use top tools for the best results, which boosts your online shine. Your company voice and values are still important, so it’s key that the right team is picked out just for you.
This choice can help grow your online space while also saving money.
Hiring a Freelance Social Media Manager/Specialist
You can hire a freelance social media manager. This is someone who works on their own and not for a big company. They are good at managing social media. They know how to make posts that people will like and share.
This can help your business get more customers.
A freelancer works by the hour or by the project, not by the month or year. That helps you save money because you only pay when you need work done. The freelancer can do other jobs too, like writing words or making pictures for your posts.
Freelancers are easy to find and they can start working right away from anywhere in the world. So think about hiring a freelance social media manager if this sounds right for your business.
Benefits of Outsourcing Social Media Management
By outsourcing social media management, companies gain immediate access to seasoned professionals, premium marketing tools and crucial insights into their social media presence. This not only boosts response time on social platforms, but also frees up in-house staff for other strategic tasks.
Instant expertise and scalability
Outsourcing social media gives you quick skills and growth options. You get pros ready to work right away. They know a lot about social media, more than your team might. This boosts your business on sites like Twitter or Facebook fast.
Scaling is also easy with outsourcing. If you need more help, you just ask for it. If you want less help, that’s no problem either.
Access to premium marketing tools
Outsourcing social media gives firms top-grade marketing tools. These tools come from the wisdom and know-how of ad companies. You can get these perks with no extra cost. The use of high-grade software boosts your online campaigns and plans.
Marketing pros also bring special skills to best use these tools for each social media site. For instance, they create great content that can rouse up your online drives. It’s like having instant experts on board, ready to ramp up your business.
This way, you rise above other firms in digital ads fast.
Gain crucial insights into social presence
You will get key insights with outsourced social media management. These experts can study your social presence well. They use top tools to check your online activity. Your brand’s likes, shares, and comments are all noted down.
The experts also find out who likes your posts the most. This helps you know more about your best buyers or fans. You then learn how best to talk to them online. In this way, they help you build strong ties with people on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Increased social media response time
A fast reaction on social media is vital. Outsourcing helps with this. An agency will always be available to answer comments and messages. It also draws in more customers because they don’t have to wait long for responses.
Giving quick answers can help your business get ahead of others. This leads to happy clients who might share the good word about your company.
Free up time for in-house talent
Outsourcing social media tasks helps your team. They get more time for other work. An outside expert handles posts and comments on your business pages. Your in-house team does not have to do these tasks anymore.
Now, they can focus on their main jobs better. You also save resources this way. It’s a smart move for companies that want to be efficient and do well.
Drawbacks of Outsourcing Social Media Management
There are certain drawbacks to outsourcing social media management, such as finding the right talent at a cost-effective price. Another challenge is maintaining the brand’s unique voice and values while allowing an outside agency to take over.
Further, there must be a balance between delegating tasks and avoiding excessive oversight or micromanagement.
Finding the right talent at the right price
Getting the best people to manage your social media can be hard. Costs can be high and skills may not match what you need. Some agencies ask for a lot of money but don’t deliver results.
Freelance managers charge between $20 to $150 per hour based on their experience.
You also need to think about extra costs, like ads and paying content makers. But, managing social media in-house lets you control cost and quality better. It’s important to weigh these facts before choosing outsourced or freelance service for your company’s social media management needs.
Maintaining brand voice and values
Some businesses worry about giving control of their social media to an outside firm. Their brand voice and values are vital. A hired agency may not understand the core of a company like the in-house team does.
This can lead to problems with strategy and how the brand comes across online. The audience knows when messaging is off, or if it doesn’t match what they expect from your business.
Quality control and keeping posts steady can be tricky too. These are key things to think about before choosing who should run your social media.
Delegating without micromanaging
Handing over jobs can be tough. You trust someone else to do the work right. You let them handle your social media tasks. This is called delegating without micromanaging. The goal is to focus on major things in your business.
But it’s hard not to keep an eye on everything. Big brands often give their social media work to experts for this reason alone. Good outsourcing companies help with this, too. They take away the stress of dealing with daily posts and updates you don’t want to deal with yourself.
Benefits of Hiring a Freelance Social Media Manager
Engaging a freelance social media manager brings several advantages, including access to specialized skills and expertise that smoothly adapt to your business needs. These professionals offer cost-efficient services as you only pay for the tasks performed, saving on full-time employee costs.
Freelancers work with multiple clients simultaneously which grants them diversified experiences that they can capitalize on in benefit of your brand. Direct communication makes it easier for companies to maintain control over their projects and strategize according to their desires, an advantage lacking typically when dealing with large agencies.
Access to specialized skills and expertise
A freelance social media manager brings special skills to the table. They have expert knowledge about social media. This means they know what works best online. These managers have seen a lot and learned a lot from past jobs.
This kind of hiring can save you cash too. You don’t need to buy extra tools or give vacation time like for a full team member. Also, your team can learn new things from the freelancer’s specialist skills and knowledge.
It makes your whole company better at using social media well.
Cost-effectiveness
A freelance social media manager can save you money. They don’t need a salary like an in-house team. You only pay for what you need. It’s more cost-effective over time. The costs for social media managers with lots of experience might be from $800 to $1,500 each month.
Some agencies ask for at least $4,500 per month just for managing Facebook and Twitter not counting strategy. Because there is high demand for them in the market, choosing a social media manager is a smart way to use your money well.
Ability to work with multiple clients
A freelance social media manager can handle many clients at once. This is a great benefit for them. They get to know different types of businesses and needs. But, it might be tricky if you want them all the time.
Because they have many clients, they might not always be free when you need them. It is key to set clear goals and plans with your freelancer from the start.
Direct communication and control
Hiring a social media manager has perks. You talk right to the person in charge of your social media. This makes for quick feedback and decision making. You can also shape the work as you want, even on short notice.
The freelancer helps with chats and posts from people who follow your brand online too. But, there’s less tools and help compared to a big agency.
Drawbacks of Hiring a Freelance Social Media Manager
While hiring a Freelance Social Media Manager can offer specialized skills and cost-effectiveness, there are potential drawbacks including the possibility of inadequate brand knowledge due to limited exposure, constraints in time and availability based on the individual’s current workload.
Potential for lack of brand knowledge
Hiring a freelance social media manager can lead to gaps in brand knowledge. They may not grasp the core values and culture of your company. Without a deep insight, they may struggle to keep your brand message consistent.
A strong tie with your brand identity makes marketing work better. If this link is weak, it might hurt your social media presence and awareness efforts. So be aware, when you hire a freelancer, there could be risks linked to their lesser understanding of your brand.
Limited time and availability
A freelance social media manager may not always be around. They have other clients and jobs too. This makes their time scarce. Their restricted availability can make it hard to get work done fast.
It is also tough to build a long-term partnership with them due to these time constraints. Also, they might not have the resources that big firms have. This could affect the quality of your social media content.
So, if you need lots of time and strong resources, a freelancer might not be right for you.
Dependence on individual’s workload
When you hire a freelance social media manager, your tasks depend on their workload. This is different from having an in-house team. There might be delays if they have other clients or projects.
If they get too busy, your work may not get done on time. This can put project deadlines at risk and upset plans. So, this is a thing to think about when deciding between freelancers and outsourcing solutions.
Factors to Consider before Outsourcing Social Media
Before outsourcing social media management, companies must consider various factors: the amount of time and resources they’re willing to devote, clear definition of their brand’s voice and values, a concrete plan with set goals, and whether or not an outside perspective would be beneficial for their business growth.
Time and resources
Before you choose to outsource social media, think about time and resources. These are important things to keep in mind. You need enough time to manage your social media or else it could become too much work.
Outsourcing can help save this time for other tasks in the company. Having an agency do this job will also let you use their tools and workers at once without extra costs. This is a good way to save money and effort on your end while making sure your brand voice stays the same on all platforms.
But, be sure that they can turn tasks around fast so there won’t be any delays or issues with posts going live on time.
Clearly defining brand voice and values
Your brand voice tells your story. It shows who you are and what you stand for. You need to set these rules before hiring a full time social media manager or a part time social media manager. A guide can help with this. In the guide, talk about your mission and the people you want to reach.
Make sure the manager knows how to use your tone of voice and style in their posts. The content they create should match your values, too. This will keep your message consistent across all platforms.
Goals and documented strategy
Goals and strategy matter a lot. They guide your actions on social media. A clear plan helps you know where you are going. You can set goals for how many people you want to reach. You can also decide what kind of posts you want to put out there.
Then, write down all these ideas in a document. This is your strategy paper, it’s like a road map for social media work. Before hiring an outside team or freelancer, make sure they understand this plan well.
Need for fresh perspective
A fresh viewpoint is like a new pair of glasses for your company. It can help you see things that you might have missed. A different angle on social media could boost your brand in ways you did not think of before.
Your company’s core beliefs and vision should be the heart of this new approach.
This fresh attitude can bring exciting changes to your business. An expert from outside can spot chances for growth that are hard to see from inside the business. They can show how social media might reach more people, spark more talks, and grow more interest in what your company does best.
Challenges of Outsourcing Social Media Management
Outsourcing social media management is not without hurdles, as companies often face the daunting task of finding skilled talent that aligns with their brand identity and mission.. Additional challenges include effectively handing off responsibilities to maintain consistency in posting schedules and content quality, while still retaining a measure of control over final outputs.
Moreover, ensuring seamless communication between the business and the outsourced agency can prove to be another obstacle in achieving desired goals.
Finding the right talent
Finding the right talent is a big task. Businesses want top-notch social media managers. This person should know their stuff well. They need to handle tasks without much help. Often, these skills are hard to find in one person.
Some businesses look close to home first. Other times, they look far and wide for the best fit.
Maintaining brand identity
Keeping your brand identity strong is a big task. Social media agencies can help to build it up. They manage different channels for you and make sure the online presence of your brand is strong.
But, they must be careful to keep your brand’s unique voice and personality. A B2B brand may find handling social media tough with only a bit of activity on one or two channels. Yet, their online image should always shine through clearly on any platform they use.
Delegating effectively
Giving tasks to others is like letting go of a load. You can do it well when you have good plans in place. The first step is to pick the right person for the task. Next, give them clear instructions on what they need to do.
Then, set up ways to make sure that the work is going as planned.
Doing this helps with time management and gets more work done fast. Your team can also learn new skills. This method works best when there are open lines for talking about any problems or ideas that come up during the project.
How to Choose the Right Agency/Freelancer
Selecting the right agency or freelancer requires diligent research and comparison of potential candidates, ensuring open lines of communication and availability, reviewing their portfolio and previous experience, and verifying whether their work approach aligns with your brand values.
Research and comparison
You must do deep research to pick the right social media manager. It can be an agency or a freelancer. Both are unique and offer different things. Check their work history, skills, and how they handle tasks.
This step will give you a clear view of their strengths and weaknesses. Look at their former clients’ success too. This will tell you if they can boost your brand’s growth on top social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
See who fits in well with your company’s vibe and values. Open lines of communication should always exist for better work results. Knowing all these helps choose whether to hire a freelancer or an agency for managing your social media needs.
Communication and availability
Good talk and fast feedback are key in picking the right social media manager. This is true for both freelance workers and agencies. A freelancer may be ready to chat at any time, but they might have other jobs too.
An agency might have set hours, but their team can help if one person is busy. Both must be clear on when they can talk and work well with your team. Keep this in mind as you make your choice.
Portfolio and experience
Looking at a freelancer or agency’s past work can tell you a lot. Their portfolio shows their skills and expertise. It gives proof of what they can do. You need to pick someone with the right background for your needs.
Also, check how long they have been doing social media work. Agencies often have teams with different specializations. They are good for big projects. Freelancers can have a lot of experience in one area but may not know about everything else.
Compatibility with brand and values
Make sure the agency or freelancer fits your values. They need to know what you stand for. The way they act should match your brand’s style and tone. If they don’t, your message will not ring true to your audience.
A good fit brings harmony to your online voice. It can also make the work flow easier for both sides.
How Outsourcing/Freelancing Can Transform Your Business
When you employ outsourcing or freelancing for your business’s social media management, it opens doors to increased online presence, stronger user engagement, growth and expansion opportunities.
It also provides notable cost-effectiveness by saving time, while infusing fresh perspectives and innovative strategies into the company.
Increased social media presence and engagement
Businesses can get more likes, shares, and comments on social media posts with outsourcing or freelancing. These two ways help to make your brand more active online. When your brand is seen often, it takes up space in people’s minds.
This helps them remember you when they need what you sell. With good content from an agency or a freelancer, the crowd will talk about it and share it. More sharing means more eyes see your brand.
Opportunity for growth and expansion
Outsourcing can bring new growth and expansion to your business. It lets you reach out to a big pool of talent and skill. You get fresh ideas and ways of doing things from experts outside your company.
This helps in making your social media presence stronger.
You also save time by not needing to hire or manage people yourself. Your team can focus on what they do best while the outsourced staff handle your social media needs. With freelancers, you are not stuck with one set of skills either.
You can pick from a wide range of specialists as per your requirement. This flexibility aids in business growth without heavy costs.
Cost effectiveness and time saving
Hiring an outsourcing team or a freelancer can save money and time. With these methods, you don’t need to spend on training for a new hire. You also get the task done faster because they have experience and tools already in place.
This way, you use your resources better and focus on other important tasks. Both of these options are easy on the pocket too compared to building internal teams. A company can tap into many skilled people across the globe with different talents using freelance platforms.
This is why a lot of companies prefer remote work and virtual teams when they need something done well and fast.
Potential for fresh perspectives and new strategies
Outsourcing or hiring freelancers can make your business better. It brings new ways of thinking and plans. A social media agency or a freelancer has many clients. They know what works and what does not work in different fields.
This helps them to come up with ideas that you may not think about on your own. They use their knowledge to create effective strategies for your brand on social media platforms. So, the result is more people seeing and loving your brand on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Finding the Right Fit for Your Social Media Needs
As a business owner, you want your company’s social media profiles to shine. But managing multiple social media accounts across various social media channels can be time consuming. You need someone with platform specific knowledge to take over your social media efforts and execute successful social media marketing campaigns.
There are two good options to consider: outsource social media management to an external agency or hire a social media specialist as a freelancer. The key is finding the right fit based on your business needs, goals and budget.
An established social media marketing company offers a full suite of social media marketing tools and dedicated teams to manage your social media accounts. They have existing expertise and can quickly ramp up your digital marketing and lead generation efforts. However, you have less control compared to an in house employee.
A freelance social media manager brings specialized skills and can work closely with you to understand your target audience and create engaging content. They may have limited bandwidth if handling multiple clients. But their flexibility allows you to scale up or down as required.
Do your research – verify previous clients, get industry peers feedback, review portfolios. Clearly define brand voice and content strategy to get outsourcing partners or freelancers on the same page. Set concrete goals and metrics to track ROI. With the right social media marketer on board, you can elevate your social media marketing game significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions about Outsourced Social Media Manager
1. What is an Outsourced Social Media Manager?
An outsourced social media manager is a professional from an external company who handles all tasks related to managing your social media.
2. What Does a Freelance Social Media Manager do?
A freelance social media manager is a self employed professional who provides services like planning, executing and monitoring the client’s social media strategy.
3. Which one should I Choose: Freelance or Outsourced Social Media Manager?
The choice depends on your needs and budget. A freelancer might be more flexible while an outsourcing company can provide a team support advantage.
4. Is Hiring a Freelance Social Media Manager Cost-Effective?
Hiring a freelance Social Media Manager can be cost-effective as you only pay for the exact services you need without additional employment costs.
5. Are There any Risks with Outsourcing My Social Media Management?
Outsourcing may carry risks such as less control over operations, potential communication issues, or varied understanding of your brand compared to in-house staff.
Conclusion and Summary of Outsourced vs. Freelance Social Media Manager
Choosing between an outsourced or freelance social media manager can be tough. Both options have good points to look at. It’s all about what fits your business best. Knowing the ins and outs helps you make a smart choice that works for you.
Managing social media can be a juggling act for businesses today. The landscape is complex with multiple platform options. Outsourcing or freelancing provide viable solutions to effectively run social media campaigns and boost your digital marketing.
The choice depends on your specific needs and constraints. A full-service social media marketing agency offers extensive expertise but may lack flexibility. An independent social media manager brings specialized skills while allowing you to customize services.
Do in-depth research, examine portfolios, and evaluate brand fit. Define goals, strategies and metrics clearly. With the right partner, you can gain significant value – expanded reach, engaging content, actionable insights and freed-up time to focus on core operations. A strategic approach is key to succeed in your social media marketing goals.
Image Credit: Lanastock / 123RF.com (Licensed). Photo Illustration: Doctor Marketing, MD™.
Doctor Marketing, MD™ is a leading content creation, distribution and marketing agency. The firm works with Top Doctors and Surgeons, Healthcare Companies, Medical Professionals, Private Practices, Medical Groups and Clinics, Hospitals, Executives, and Leaders in the Healthcare Industry and specialty Medical sectors. Doctor Marketing, MD™ has built a world-class content writing team of award-winning writers, SEOs, copywriters, wordsmiths, and ghostwriters. They’ve perfected a proprietary content assembly line process, and further specialize in large-scale content production through well-crafted blog posts, articles, and medical content pieces that attract new patients.
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