Hello, my name is Sandra and I am proud to be a Professional Virtual Assistant! I have worked in the Virtual Assisting Industry as an independent VA and through a Virtual Staffing Agency (VSA). I have done Sales and Customer Service for a VSA and I have been a client with a VA Team of my own. I've seen it from every angle! I have developed a passion not only for this industry but also for mentoring and training women who want to have successful VA Businesses.
My Thoughts on Outsourcing Social Media
Should Your Clients Outsource Their Social Media Networking?
There is a lot of discussion regarding outsourcing social media work on both Virtual Assistant forums and blogs as well as Internet Marketing and Entrepreneurial sites. I’ve been mulling this topic over for awhile and here is my take on it.
What helped me to sort it all out in my brain was this article, Outsourcing Social Media: Good or Bad Idea?, on Social Media Examiner. Chris Garrett makes a very good case for what you should and should not outsource.
Of course there are always exceptions. For example, I have a large client that I write content for that is then posted on a number of social media sites such as LinkedIn and The Four Hour Work Week. The conversations to post to are researched by another VA and she posts the responses I write. But this isn’t the only thing I do for this client. I also do sales and client support. I’ve been working with this client for almost two years and we have forged a very strong partnership. I know the industry and I know the company culture, mission, and values. We are a team. In this case, the term “outsourcing” is simply a logistical and legal definition.
But I digress.
Let’s get back to what your clients can and indeed should outsource. Chris has a list of tasks to outsource ranging from content to reputation management. Which sounds great at first glance but we know that our clients often don’t know this stuff. They come to us for our expertise to develop a strategy so that all of the items on Chris’s list are effective and efficient. This is something we can do that can greatly benefit our clients.
A solid Social Marketing Strategy should include these steps:
1. Social Media Assessment - what is the client’s purpose in social media marketing.
2. Brainstorm - What are the avenues available for social media marketing
3. Goal Setting - Make sure they are specific and measurable
4. Action Plan
-List of social media activities
-Recommended services and next steps
5. Evaluation - Return on Investment and Return on Influence
And the bottom line is that you (or your clients) shouldn’t outsource your relationships. Period.
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about providing this service for your clients, I highly recommend VAClassroom’s Social Media Marketing Program. I consider myself proficient in this area yet I still learned a lot form Craig Canning’s course. VAClassroom also does an excellent job of providing ongoing support and education in their monthly webinars and in their forum.
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Social Media marketing can definitely be outsourced and there can be work division as you have rightfully pointed out. I do social media marketing for my clients right from finding the right forums for them to post to infact even posting pre-defined responses on their behalf and even writing blogs on their behalf. Clients simply do not have time to write perhaps there is a writers block or they are more keen on spending time on marketing only. I saw a template this morning on outsourcing a Role. I liked it. It is at http://www.proresource.com/judysblog/get-more-leverage-when-outsourcing. Have you seen any template which we can use for social media marketing specifically. This site I checked also had templates for download of Social Media marketing free. Download them as well and see if it helps your learning further.
Hi Roger,
No, I haven’t seen any templates. The challenge with templates, however, is that they don’t always sound natural. Social Media is all about relationship marketing so be careful not to sound scripted. Thanks for the link to Proresource; is Judy your client?
Take care,
Sandra