Not everyone realizes just how time-consuming social media management can be. Some small business owners spend 5-10 hours/week just updating their company’s social media. Who has the time for that?

If you’ve committed to social media, but don’t have the time or resources to manage it from within your company, you can outsource it. Before giving a third-party control over your brand, here are some of your options.

Hiring an Agency for Social Media

social media outlets for organizationsIt’s not easy letting a total stranger speak for your company. Your social media properties are often the first point of contact for potential customers. Hiring an agency ensures that you are leaving this responsibility to a group of well-trained, industry experts who have plenty of experience.

Agencies have the capacity for social media updating, monitoring, content creation and research, among other tasks. You will certainly walk away knowing a lot more about your customers online. With this breadth of work comes an expensive price.

Hiring agencies on contract will not be cheap. You can negotiate, and re-negotiate, rates each month, depending on your contract. But at the end of the day, you should set aside a significant amount of money if you intend to use an agency.

Web Marketing Companies & Freelancers

A more cost-efficient method is hiring a smaller web marketing company or a freelance social media practitioner. Because you are hiring an individual, you will save a lot of money. Freelancers can range from recent college graduates to well-seasoned PR professionals. Social media is an area almost all PR pros have taken a strong interest in. Finding someone who knows how to manage and plan a social media campaign is not difficult.

Unlike an agency, a freelancer can only carry so much work. They often have other contracts, and rely only on themselves, so they do not have the same scope that an agency will. However, they will save you money.

Depending on your budget and how much work you need done, you can choose either route to outsource your social media. No matter which route you take, this in an investment that will prove well worth it in the end.