So you’re taking the leap. You decided that it’s time to hand your social media content writing baton over to someone who’s not you. Even bigger: you’re handing it over to someone outside of your organization. Or at least you want to. But there are a lot of “social media extraordinaires” out there selling a shockingly wide range of services — and when I say “wide range,” more than anything, I mean range in quality. So how can you tell if you’ve got someone good stepping up to take over?
They are consistent. I’m willing to bet that you are outsourcing social media duties because A) You find that you’re only managing to post to Facebook once a month, or B) You’d rather not have anything to do with social media, but you know it’s important. Your brand needs to continue to show up in front of your desired audience; that will only happen if your SMM posts regularly.
They brand your content. We all want the next viral meme, don’t we? It might be a long shot, but even if your post doesn’t get seen by millions, make sure that those who do see it know where it came from — your organization.
They know the requirements of whatever social media platform for which they’re providing content. A potential client recently contacted me after things didn’t work out with his SMM. I was shocked when I checked out his company’s Facebook page, and it was full of images that were poor quality. Images (and video) are king on social media; your social media manager should know how to make them bold and beautiful.
They tailor posts to your brand and your audience. To connect with your brand’s audience, you need to show who you are and understand who they are and what they want.
They create original content. Everybody’s sharing everybody else’s posts. You should have someone who is the content creator as much as possible. It doesn’t have to be really complicated or time consuming.
They know the 80/20 rule. People love connecting on social media. But they don’t want the hard sell. Eighty percent of your social media content should be entertaining and/or helpful, while 20 percent sells. Form connections, and sales will come.
They know they should never stop trying new things. I have been shocked by how many people are satisfied with social media efforts as long as there is something — anything — posted, regardless of whether it’s the same type of content every day. Social media is this amazing, powerful tool and playground combined that is changing literally every single day. To get the best results, you need a SMM who isn’t complacent.
Jacquelyn Gutc is president and founder of Magpie Media of Golden, Colo.