Don’t Hire Someone to do Your Social Media

Written by on June 8, 2010 - 7 Comments
Categories: "Social Soup"

Imagine this…

You meet someone online who has the same sense of humor as you, is funny, witty and smart. You begin to think of them as a friend and when the time comes that you are in need of the service that they offer, you know that is who you want, because you really like and trust him (or her). So, you decide to meet in person at a coffee shop. When you arrive, that person has a completely different personality. They don’t have that same sense of humor, and when you start to talk about conversations you’ve had on twitter, you are met with a blank stare. You are confused…Why?



Because that person had an imposter tweeting and facebooking for them!

The person that you ‘knew, liked and trusted’ isn’t the person in front of you. It is someone that they hired to ‘do their social media’.

How do you feel about them now? Do you like and trust them?

Want to do business with them? Probably not!

How would you feel if you met someone that you really liked and they said “I don’t really have time to date you right now, and I don’t want to waste my time until I know that you are worth it. So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to have someone fill in for me OK?”

It’s a common dilemma these days. Everyone wants ‘friends, fans, and followers’ because they want more CUSTOMERS. They “don’t have the time”, or ‘don’t want to’ do it themselves, so they hire someone. Afterall, that is what people have done in business forever right? You hire an assistant, a marketing person, or someone else to do the things that you don’t want to do. So, why not this?

Because it ISN”T ABOUT ADVERTISING! (Yes I yelled that!:)

Keyword = S O C I A L

Think social NETWORKING instead of MEDIA. You NETWORK socially USING social MEDIA (as in mediums). Networking is a verb – it requires action!

It’s about conversations, creating relationships and developing trust.

We used to say “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Now it’s more like Carrie Wilkerson says “it’s how much people feel like they know you”

People won’t feel like they know you, if there’s a ghost tweeter behind that profile picture.

So, what do you do?

You don’t have time right?

Consider this:

No matter what you do, no matter how techie the world gets, there is STILL a human on the other side of that ‘buy button’.

Consider that there is NOTHING more important in your business than interacting with your customers, clients or patients! Nothing!

Yes, there are other things  that have to be done. The books, the inventory, the this the thats all have to happen. Hire THOSE things out! I am a big fan of outsourcing certain things. Virtual assistants are GREAT for allowing you the time to do what is important – Communicating with those that you serve!  Hire one to post events, even spell check and upload those blog posts, or pictures.***

The voice, and conversation has to be YOU, if you want to reap the reward!

We want to know who we are doing business with. We have MANY choices in who to do business with today. I can go to twitter and find 10 people that do just about anything in a matter of minutes! I will choose the one who engages with me, talks to me and who I feel connected to. Period.

It’s not about quality or price anymore! Quality is virtually the same for most things except service these days, and someone will always be cheaper (and you get what you pay for anyway!).

  • Stop focusing there.
  • You are the only you! NO one can compete at being you.
  • Be you, let it show and show up!
  • Talk to us, don’t SELL to us.
  • If you want us to make the time for you, make the time for us!
  • Connecting with us has to matter to you, or you won’t matter to us!

If you have a larger company than one or two people, consider hiring someone to help you set up your accounts, develop a strategy and create a plan that allows everyone who comes in contact with customers, clients or patients to participate! Have them tweet and post to facebook using their initials. This way you are being authentic in who is ‘talking’, and folks get to know your entire staff! They won’t feel ‘bait and switched”, they will feel like they already know the people that they will be in communication with, and the conversations can be richer and more frequent!

Be authentic and upfront! Remember, to be trusted, you have to be trustworthy!

For more about the importance of ‘voice’ in today’s market click here for

It’s Not Just about Business Facebook Pages or Twitter or Blogs. It’s a Revolution

Social Media is for Conversation, Not a Bulletin Board

*** I personally recommend www.AssistantAngel.com for help with social media, and for many other tasks as well***

 

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  • http://lisasullivanpr.com/ Lisa Sullivan

    So totally agree! Nothing gets my goat more than businesses or organizations that wish to outsource their social media strategy…their ENTIRE social media strategy. Drives me nuts!

    And I LOVE how you spelled out in bold, red, and BIG letters – SOCIAL. Thank you!!

    Really great post, Heather!

  • http://www.AssistantAngel.com Angel

    Heather, LOVE this post! I agree, it is VITAL for clients to relate with their customers directly. A VA can help implement the “busy” aspects: posting events, blogs, articles for submission, videos, etc. But the true interaction needs to come directly from the business owner.

    I applaud this post….there are some VAs who will converse on the behalf of a client, I will not. I am sharing this post with my FB Fans…

    Thanks Heather!

  • http://heathero.com HeatherO

    Thanks Angel! You do a GREAT job for your clients! And that includes advising them in what is best for their biz and not just 'taking the work/doing the job'. That is why I recommend you so highly :)

  • http://heathero.com HeatherO

    Thanks Lisa! This was one of those 'unplanned posts' (which are often the best ones it seems!). Someone had asked me if I had a post on this topic that she could send to someone. I have many that talk about conversation, authenticity, etc., but none that came right out and said “don't do it”. I'm sure there will be a few folks who won't agree (esp those who are for hire:) but it really is such a powerful powerful thing when done the right way. It's just new to many and to those who have no idea, it's just so easy to just pay someone else to do it. Not only so they don't have to, but so they don't have to understand it. Sadly they miss out on the greatest rewards as a result!

  • http://lisasullivanpr.com/ Lisa Sullivan

    I am all for outsourcing the initial creation of social media profiles & accounts if that's going to be an efficient way to get started. I'm even for allowing those same sources to begin posting & conversing on behalf of the client. However, I fully believe that at some point those sources should be weaned off to allow for full engagement by the company or organization. It should be an automatic part of a marketing plan, one that includes the traditional and the new/social media space. Can't stress THAT enough too!

  • http://deirdrereid.com Deirdre Reid

    Hurray for you for saying this so well. So many small business owners just want someone to do it for them because they say they don't have the time to do it themselves. Oh yes they do. You can bet that I'll be sharing this post.

  • http://heathero.com HeatherO

    Thanks Deirdre! :)