How to Outsource Social Media Marketing

The introduction of social media to the marketing mix has made the last several years feel like the Wild West when it comes to getting your message in front of prospective customers. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task.

In fact, social media is one marketing activity that lends itself beautifully to outsourcing. Since social media assistants work virtually and often on a contract basis, you don’t need to worry about overhead costs, employment taxes or any of the other associated expenses associated with welcoming another onsite employee to your team. You can often find assistants with impressive backgrounds for much less than you’d pay a marketing agency or a full-time marketing staff member.

If you’re thinking about hiring a virtual social media assistant, here are some things to consider:

How does social media fit into your overall marketing strategy? Social media isn’t a silver bullet—it won’t immediately deliver dozens of potential clients to your doorstep. It’s just one more channel through which you can spread your message and grow your book of business. Take a hard look at your current marketing strategy and see how a more active presence on social media can complement those efforts.

Do you have a plan for finding content to share? This could consist of blog posts you write for your own site, newsletters and articles from valuable industry sources or content other insurance professionals in your network share. Social media posts have a pretty short shelf life, so you’ll need to have a steady stream of content. The goal of social media marketing is to build on your client’s perception of you as a source they can trust when it comes to their insurance questions.

How do you find a virtual social media assistant you can trust? The real benefit of working with a virtual assistant for social media comes from an assistant who knows your brand, your client base and your professional “voice” so well that they can manage your social media on your behalf without involving you in the day-to-day process.

Because interviewing and hiring takes a tremendous amount of time, consider partnering with a virtual assistant provider to handle the screening and placement for you. Virtualassistantassistant.com is a great place to find providers and read real-world reviews of client experiences.

Using a virtual team member for social media could be the fastest, easiest way to connect more deeply with your clients without taking your focus away from your key objectives.

Ivy Sprague is the chief storyteller for eaHELP, a virtual executive and social media assistant solution company.