Social media: Agency vs In-House
Who should you hire to handle your social media strategy?
People often deliberate over hiring a social media agency. At this stage they can usually see the value in social media for their business but they think hiring an extra employee is the most effective and efficient solution.
In some cases, hiring in-house is absolutely the right option. In others, it’s really not.
The answer for your business is not a simple yes or no. To help you make your decision, we have broken down some of the areas you might need to think about.
Cash is King
In-house: Investing in Employees
Working with an in-house social media manager or team is ideal but it’s expensive. For larger businesses, especially ones that have customer service channels to handle, you might need someone managing your social 24/7 but for many, you don’t need a full-time employee to execute you social media strategy.
Agency: Investing in results
When you spark up a contract with a social media agency, you’re getting experts running with your strategy right from the gun. An agency will adapt to fit the needs of your business, and most importantly create a bespoke package to suit your budget. Which means you’ll be getting the best bang for your buck, without breaking the bank.
When you know, you know
In house: Specialising in your company’s brand
Employees are immersed in your company’s life 5 days a week, they want to know everything about what is going on in your company and have an insight into your culture. This immersion helps deliver an authentic voice for your brand on social. And being on the ground, there is little delay from office to social…
Agency: Specialising in social media
A good social media agency will do their best to become an extension of your brand. Taking the time, initially, to get to know your product/services as well as processes and ethos, ensuring they can confidently communicate on your behalf. As specialists, an agency will have its finger on the button when it comes to content curation and social media management — and will make sure to soundboard on your team for anything technical.
Time is Money
In-house: Doing a little bit of everything
Opting for an in-house social media manager (SMM)? You better portion some time and investment into on-boarding and training — and be aware that this will affect your social media statistics and bottom line in the short run. Once aboard, you often see SMM’s roles extending to other tasks to fill their time rather than focusing solely on social media.
Social Media Agency: Doing it right
An agency never takes it’s eyes off the prize: social media. They know all the tips and tricks to amplify your content and they are focused on doing just that. As well as being the social media experts themselves, agencies invest in software and tools to manage your social which is something that you might not have a budget for on your own. Clear reporting and real-time results are fundamental to your on-going strategy.
Eat, sleep, tweet, repeat…
In-House: Up to date with trends in your industry
You would expect each and every one of your employees to be clued up on your industry. Being on top of industry news is important for conversations beyond the coffee machine, and certainly good for social media content.
Agency: Up to date with trends in social media
The beauty of agencies is that they have an open door to your employees plus they are on top of the emerging social trends. This means they can share your content at the right time, with the right people, on the right platform.
We’re big believers that if you can justify hiring an expert or a team of experts in house, then you should — an Agency can always help craft your social strategy and devise the best tools for you to manage your social in-house.
For smaller businesses, working with an agency means you free up more of your team’s time to grow your business.
At Confab Social, we love to create human conversations using social media that engage audiences with your brand and amplify your content. Our aim is to build your brand awareness and grow your customer base using social media.
Think we could help your business? Get in touch.
