You're not the only one thinking about social media outsourcing.
Many tech company founders and CEOs of startups we spoke to are exploring the benefits of outsourcing content creation for blogs, social networks, and other media.
However, there is often confusion about the importance of social media content. There are two sides to the story. The first is that some companies consider hiring a social media specialist to be the most important thing they do. Social media is a big part of companies' marketing budgets. However, research shows that social media accounts for only 2% of all B2B website traffic and just 7% of ecommerce. We get about 5% our traffic via social media. Below is how I did it!
Some companies think that social media is not worth it, and don't bother sharing share-worthy content. This is a mistake as social media does not directly convert traffic but it can influence your customers. We only receive about 6,000 social visitors each year, out of a total million. They convert at 0.9% to leads. This is almost 60 leads per annum.
Why outsource content marketing and social media? It allows you to maximize your return on investment without having to spend all of your marketing budget on social networks. This post will show you how.
Quick Takeaways
- It is cheaper to outsource your social media and content creation than hiring a full time writer or social media manager
- Although social media does not deliver a lot of traffic, it can influence the buyer's journey and provide leads if used correctly
- Outsourced content marketing services are able to provide the same expertise as one person in-house, including strategy, creation, and sharing.
Outsourcing your content and social media marketing efforts has many benefits. We'll be listing some of the benefits and drawbacks.
1. It saves you time and money
You can save time and money by outsourcing your blog writing or social marketing.
Outsourcing saves money as outsourced services are often cheaper. Outsourcing to experts can save you half the cost of hiring social media professionals, which is $70,000 per year.
Image source
2. Productivity
You tell a person what you expect when you hire them and hope that they live up to your expectations. To keep them honest, you set up weekly one-on-1s, quarterly reviews and annual performance discussions. If it's not working, talk to the employee. You need to tell HR if there is a problem.
Trust me, it's happened too many times. Instead, outsourcing social media marketing means that you only pay for what you receive. For most clients, we deliver two blog posts per week and for those who pay social media marketing, about 12 shares. We don't get paid if we fail to deliver on our calendar promises. It's as simple as that. Outsourcing allows you focus on the productivity and well-being of the people you are outsourcing to.
3. Expertise
Outsourcing allows you to concentrate on your core business. Our writers combine 600 years of social media and writing experience. You can focus on what you love. We can also focus on creating high-quality, shareable content.
4. As needed, scale up (and down)
Data shows that more content means more traffic and leads for your business.
These results are proven every time we share them with clients by sending them charts such as the one below. They go straight up and to right. You can outsource your content marketing strategy now to achieve the consistency today's buyer (and Google). What does this mean? Every day, buyers search for solutions to their questions and problems.
We can help you maintain consistency in brand voice and publishing/sharing schedule. Do you publish every day? You can increase your frequency without spending a lot of money. Outsourcing allows you to reduce your traffic when you see exponential growth. You can then focus on conversion and other content such as e-books or webinars.
This video interview focuses on the compounding power consistent content.
5. Access to the Best Digital Marketing Tools
You don't have the time or patience to research the best digital marketing tools for your startup CEO or business owner. We use these tools as an agency to help you with your content marketing strategy.
- Measurement and SEO Strategy: Semrush
- Content publishing WordPress
- Content Planning & Workflow: DivivyHQ
- Social Media: Hootsuite
- Social Media Analytics: Buzzsumo
- SEO Optimization: Yoast
- Content Editing: Copyscape, Hemingway apps
These are just a few. Here is a Semrush snapshot of the progress of one of our clients this year.
Here's a Buzzsumo analysis of social media engagement:
These tools are (invested in) to maximize the client's success.
It's not always easy to outsource. Outsourcing has its cons.
- "Just do it!" A client recently stated that if he were to work for us, he would likely just send random things to us and say "just do what!"
- Through additional training and experience in product details, they become more knowledgeable about what you sell.
- Employees can be more than social media followers. Your employees can be asked to do any task and they will comply.
- In-house employees can be required to work longer hours and attend in-office meetings.
- It can be difficult to find the right agency for outsourcing, just as it can be difficult to find an employee.
How to Outsource Social Media
Choose an agency that can execute the strategy
It's not enough to ask anyone to create your social media posts. It is important to ensure that they are experts in creating a strategy that will allow you to reach your target audience, and distinguish your brand. Are they familiar with your industry, or at least the client side?
Marketing Insider Group was founded by me based on my experiences working in technology companies, service businesses, startups, and B2B brands.
Find an Agency You Like
Are you happy with the people in the agency you are looking to outsource? MIG has a no-a-holes policy. Because it makes everyone miserable, we have fired clients who are difficult. It's too much to live with mean people.
Find an agency that is committed to measuring results
Many agencies will accept your money in return for doing things. An agency that is focused on measuring results will only focus on things that produce results. This aligns them to your goals, not your ego.
Locate an agency that is knowledgeable in your area
We find this a bit difficult because we have become experts in more than 30 industries over the years. Some of our clients have given us the benefit-of-the-doubt at one point. While every company believes they are an expert in their industry, there are some industries that really need it. Healthcare, Insurance and Financial Services, Government and Non-Profits. These are just some examples. We have not yet met any highly technical or um technological person we could not master. But insurance? Whew!
Define your goals
Traffic, social engagements and subscribers are our client's goals. Leads, demos and revenue are our clients' goals. Our measurement approach is used as a selling tool, and to help our clients think about their goals.
Define how often you want to post
Because it works for our clients, we sell blog packages once or twice weekly. We won't do less, or the results will start to fade. We do more for others, of course. Social media clients post daily on all major platforms, except Twitter which has a quicker stream. We focus on Twitter's 12 hourly updates at 5am (ET), 8am (PT), 5pm (ET), or 8pm (PT).
Define Which Type of Content/ Which Platforms
Our goal is to convert visitors to customers and get them to visit your site. This is achieved using articles, social media posts, newsletters and e-books, among other things. You can think about what you want, or ask your agency to create the strategy.
Make sure you have a calendar/plan that you can view and change
We believe in annual content planning. Customers can see, edit, and collaborate on it. While we are always changing the plan, having a well-structured, SEO-driven plan that is customer-validated is crucial to your success.
Define your Measurement Plan
We use simple measures to increase reach, engagement, conversion, and sometimes retention of new customers via content marketing.
Conclusion
When outsourcing social media marketing, there are many things to take into consideration. Outsourcing can be cheaper and more efficient than traditional marketing. Many startups, B2B SaaS businesses, business services companies, and technology companies are looking to outsource to get a better return on marketing investment due to economic uncertainty and headwinds.
Do you want to outsource social media and content marketing? Marketing Insider Group is staffed with 35+ experts who can produce content for your business. Get a consultation or check out our blog content.
Marketing Insider Group's first post, Why Outsourcing Social Media Now Makes Dollars and Sense appeared on Marketing Insider Group.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some indirect marketing examples you can think of?
You can think of indirect marketing methods that you could use to promote your company. A social media campaign might encourage people to share photos of themselves using your product. This would help spread the word about your brand.
Advertise in local papers if you are an auto shop owner.
Others include posting advertisements on bulletin boards or sending coupons to customers’ e-mail addresses.
Direct marketing is a great option because it's not expensive.
Building trust takes time, so patience is a must when promoting your company.
It is also important to track how effective your campaigns have been. Measure the number and quality of leads that each method generates.
This will let you know which methods are best for you.
What is eCommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing refers to online shopping. It's the act and practice of selling products on the internet. This can include buying products from companies and then selling them online. If you are an individual vendor, this includes selling on eBay. You may also have a business set-up where you sell goods for profit. You want to make money online selling your products.
These are more details about eCommerce marketing
Creating a successful eCommerce site involves finding out what type of products you want to sell. Next, choose whether you want to sell a single item (e.g. a book) or multiple items (e.g. books and DVDs).
Once you know what your product is, you need to find suppliers. A supplier is a company that makes and sells the product you want to sell. If you want to sell greeting cards, for example, you would need to find a supplier who makes and sells greeting cards.
Once you have found a supplier, you need to make a website that will display the products for buyers. You can either use templates provided by suppliers or you have to create your own template. Once you have a website up and running, you'll need to market it to attract visitors. This could include publishing articles on blogs or forums, advertising on Google Adwords websites and sending emails relevant to contacts.
There are several different channels available when it comes to promoting your eCommerce business. These channels include email, social media, search engines, and mobile apps.
- Email marketing is a popular choice for many businesses. It's cost-effective, easy to implement, and delivers results. However, it can take a lot effort and time to generate quality leads.
- SEO (search engine optimization) is a technique that helps improve a webpage's rankings for keywords. This is usually done by link building which improves pages ranking in search engines.
- Businesses are increasingly relying on social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. These sites are used by many people every day to connect with their family and friends. You can get exposure to thousands of new customers if you post interesting articles there.
- The mobile app is also an important tool for eCommerce marketers. People love to shop on their smartphones and tablets. Apps allow you to reach customers from anywhere.
eCommerce has been a growing business. There are many ways to promote your business. Choose wisely so you can reap the benefits of eCommerce marketing.
What is the role of marketing in a business strategy?
Every business strategy must include marketing. Without marketing, no one will know what your company has to offer. Without sales, marketing would not be possible. Therefore, marketing is crucial to any business strategy.
Marketing is important, but not everyone gets it. Marketing is not just about spending money on advertising campaigns. Marketing goes beyond that. Marketing is everything you do to promote your company's brand and position in the market.
Think about how you want your customers to perceive you. What image will I project to my customers? How should I present myself to the world?
If you don't answer those questions, you haven't thought about marketing yet.
What are the major types of marketing?
Marketing is about communicating ideas, values, or messages to consumers. We often use the term marketing interchangeably with advertising. Marketing goes beyond advertising. Marketing is all communication that promotes and markets a product or service.
Marketing is made up of three components: promotion, branding, and distribution. Branding refers to how a company identifies itself to its target audience. Promotion is the act that draws attention to your brand by using paid ads, free promotions, or other public relations efforts. Distribution is how your message gets to your audience. This can be done by traditional methods, such as radio, print and email. However, modern technologies make it more accessible.
Social Media Marketing can be a great way for your business to get noticed online. It's a powerful tool to promote brand awareness as well as generate leads and sales. Here are five social media marketing strategies to help your business grow.
- Create a Facebook Fan Page – This allows you to interact directly with customers on Facebook. You can also upload content such as photos, videos, and other files.
- Twitter Promotes Your Business – Twitter can be used to promote your business and connect with others. You can increase your visibility with hashtags.
- Post videos on YouTube – Many people love to watch them. If they like what you have to offer, they might click through to your site.
- Host Live Events – Having live events allows you to meet face-to-face with potential clients. They can ask any questions about your services and products.
- Respond to Customer Reviews – Positive reviews help build trust with your clients and encourage repeat purchases. Respond quickly to any negative comments.
Why is it important to define your brand?
Your company's brand is nothing more than a promise you make to your customers. A brand can promise certain characteristics and benefits that make your business stand out from its competitors. Your brand is what sets you apart from other companies in the industry.
Your brand is a symbol of authority and credibility. Potential customers recognize your logo as a sign that you stand behind your products and services. Because you have earned their trust, they will trust you.
Your company's culture can also reflect your brand. Your employees will feel passionate about your brand if they are passionate about your product or services.
Your brand is much more than words and pictures. It's a promise to which your company lives up. It is your promise to offer value to your customers.
When you set out to develop your brand, you need to consider several factors. First, choose a name and description that clearly describes your company. Sweet Dreams Bakery is a good example of a bakery name. If you run a software business, however, you would probably choose DreamSpark Software.
Next, you'll want to decide how your brand will be represented. Will you use a recognizable symbol? Will you use colors that complement your corporate image? Will you use logos
You must also think about the perceptions of your target market regarding your brand. Will you portray yourself as friendly and helpful? Will you be trustworthy and professional looking? Do you have the ability to make your clients feel confident and competent?
These are all the questions that you should answer before building your brand.
What are the most effective digital marketing strategies I can use from my home?
Digital marketing allows you to reach customers who spend most their time online. It is also an excellent way to generate leads that will help your business.
You can use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote your brand. Email marketing tools can be used to send emails to prospects and clients.
There are many other ways you can market your product or service using digital mediums.
You should not have any difficulty getting started as long you are able to use these channels effectively.
Statistics
- Today, 81% of brands around the world have affiliate programs. (influencermarketinghub.com)
- A poll earlier this year found that 14% of older Gen Z's had bought an item in the previous six months based on an influencer's recommendation. (influencermarketinghub.com)
- Companies that use personalization are seeing revenue increases ranging from 6-10%. (blog.hubspot.com)
- This allows us to deliver CPCs that are 80% less than average and CTRs 4-5 times higher than average. (marketinginsidergroup.com)
- Meanwhile, a PartnerPath poll found that co-marketed ads help 68% of consumers arrive at a buying decision before even speaking to a salesperson. (influencermarketinghub.com)
External Links
youtube.com
blog.hubspot.com
moz.com
- SEO Learning Center – Moz
- [Case Study] How Moz Ranked #1 for High-Volume Keywords in Less Than 3 Months – Moz
influencermarketinghub.com
How To
How can I find out if my brand efforts are successful?
The best way to measure your success is to ask your customers directly. Ask your customers to tell you what they think about the brand. What do they like most about your company? What do they hate? What can you do to improve?
Surveys are also possible on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Post a question and ask your followers for their opinions about your brand. Then, you can analyze the results and decide which aspects of brand success are most important.
Also, you can read customer reviews. People love to voice their opinions when they're happy or disappointed with a business. To understand what people think of your brand, take a look at these comments.
These are some ways to improve your brand.
- Be consistent. Do not change your marketing materials for every new product. You should keep your message consistent across all channels.
- Use multiple channels. Use email, websites and social media to promote your brand.
- You must ensure that you give your customers exactly what they need. You must deliver on your promises of free shipping if it is offered. Customers who expect quick delivery may be disappointed.
- Remember that your brand is more than just a logo. Your brand represents everything you have to offer. Take the time to build a complete image.
- Get feedback from customers. The sooner you hear what they think, the better off you'll be.
- Test different messages. One message may work better than the other. You might have two messages that are very similar, but one receives more responses. It doesn't matter what, it is important to monitor your stats and see which message is doing the best.
- You can improve your brand by looking for ways. Do you have any ideas for improvement? Perhaps you could add more videos on your website. Perhaps your blog could feature more customer testimonials.
- A plan is essential. After you have established your goals and objectives, it is time to create a plan for reaching them. This includes setting a timeline for each objective. It also means setting up milestones along the way so you can track your progress.
- You should measure your results. As soon as you reach your goal, stop measuring. Instead, make a system for tracking your progress over time. You'll know whether you are making steady progress towards your ultimate goal.
- Repeat! Repeat! You might consider hiring someone to assist you if you have trouble keeping up with current marketing efforts.
- Keep your eyes open for the positive. Negative feedback should be taken seriously, but not ignored. Focus instead on how you can use this information to improve your brand.
- Utilize technology. Technology has given us many tools we didn't even dream of before. Use them to your advantage. One example is a mobile app you could make for your company.
- Be creative. Nothing wrong with trying something completely new. Do it with thought.
- Have fun. Marketing isn't supposed to be stressful. It's sometimes called “funmarketing”. So, try to enjoy yourself while you work.
- When to give up. You can quit when you feel like you've done everything. However, don't lose heart too soon. Sometimes you have to persevere until you achieve your goals.
- Don't forget about consistency. Consistency is the key to success. Spend some time creating a schedule for you brand.
- Be patient. Building a successful brand takes patience. It takes time.
- Keep learning. Marketing is constantly changing. You can stay up to date by reading blogs, or even attending webinars.
- Never stop improving. Even after you reach your goal, there are still things you can learn.
- Enjoy the journey. Marketing is fun. Marketing is not a chore.
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By: Michael Brenner
Title: Why Outsourcing Social Media Right Now Make Dollars and Sense
Sourced From: marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/when-does-outsourcing-social-media-roi-make-sense/
Published Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2022 19:00:00 +0000