I have been debating for many moons on the topic of outsourcing your use of social media. I will be completely honest with you… I have not come to a conclusion. We have been through the process of completing projects for clients where we supported all the content creation and “fed” all of the social networks. The goal was to create a mass interest in a specific topic. There were some that worked but the majority of them failed. It was hard to look at a failing project that used the tools I loved so much.
What went wrong?
In the majority of the failed projects it was the issue of emotional empowerment behind a message. It was hard for an outsourced contractor to take the view of the actually company. It was hard for us to replicate the ideas and aspirations of another company without being intimately involved in the daily routine. This ultimately led to the creation of education and training materials to be used internally by corporations.
Implementing a successful social media strategy is inherently connected to the daily routine. Take Zappos for example: by empowering employees to tweet about their daily routine and add in information about the company… they found extreme success by creating a HUMAN identity (more about that later).
I am not going to sit here and condemn the act of ghost blogging. I can look at numerous examples where ghost blogging has worked to some extent. If you can find a company that intimately understands your emotional tie between your company, products, message, and services it may be an easy fit. I do, however, condemn the act of ghost Twittering (more on that later).
In reality, the best social media communication is done by owners and employees. If you love what you do it shouldn’t be hard to scream to the heavens about your daily routine.
It is all tied to education. Educate yourself and your team on how to use the tools effectively and productively. If education and training are done the right way (with a great strategy)… you will see an increase in brand awareness and customer support without having to spend thousands of marketing dollars on outsourced implementation.
Although, it doesn’t hurt to have support it is important that YOU have a vested interest in the promotion.
What do you think? Is social media outsourcing a viable strategy?
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Chris Theisen
I think if a ghost blogger or ghost poster of any sort if worth his or her weight they should do alot of research and have a few meetings before agreeing to work with the company. Its just like a celebrity endorser endorsing products they dont use or care about. If they stick to stuff they use and enjoy it comes across. If a ghost poster uses, believes in or has gained intimate knowledge of the company and its products the success MAY come with it. Big emphasis on the MAY. Great topic.
Kevin Hood
I think you hit on one big point, the time and experience it takes to learn enough about a business to be able to speak their speak, walk their walk, and chew their food. Well, forget the third one.
Unless you find a writer / new media guy that has experience with a competitor, or previously worked in your industry, it's going to be a struggle to connect everything. If the company is large enough to have a marketing person, they should learn how to do it correctly, and do most of it on their own.
IT Outsourcing
I very much agree to this, you have to know more than enough of the company to make that work,like they said " you cant share what you dont know".
Luke
Good topic. Ideally social media shouldn't be outsourced, and certainly in the long term a good agency should try and help brands become self-sufficient in my view.
However brands are often very nervous about making mistakes and want to put the job into the hands of experts, plus there is the question of resources.
Social media is *very* time consuming, and many organisations want to have the value proved to them under an agency's direction before they are prepared to dedicate in-house staff to the job.
Cindy Hartman
I totally agree with you, Kyle. I was hired to be a 'ghost Twitterer' and stopped, mainly because of your points. I didn't know the business owner or the company. I didn't know who I should try to connect with – how can you when you don't know the business culture, the interests of the business owner, or what THEY wanted to have shared?
However, on ghost blogging I believe there is a place for that IF they provide the information to you. Many people don't feel comfortable or have the time to write, so just like a ghost writer for a book, you can authentically blog. I freelance and this is my favorite – but also suggest that the blog owner write a few blogs themselves a month.
Blogs and Twitter, in my opinion, are two very different forms of communication.
Chris Theisen
Cindy while I agree with you, Kyle and the others dont you think someone would be doing a disservice to their client by not meeting regularly with them to learn about new initiatives and company updates so those can be accurately portrayed. If someone hired me to ghost tweet or blog I would like to have as much info up front as to what exactly it is that they want conveyed and how they would like me to convey it. I believe a company would and should provide their ghost social media ambassador with enough info that you dont feel disconnected. If a company couldnt provide me with that info, or I didnt agree with their vision or product, I dont personally believe I could partner with them even though I would be turning down a paycheck. Kind of a high horse theory and statement as I havent been personally involved with this yet, but am in discussions to possibly do this very thing.
Gavin Heaton
I think that you can certainly get help with social media. But it needs to be *owned* by the business. It needs to be driven by those who are passionate about its success within the enterprise … otherwise, in some way, it just sounds hollow – and it is surprisingly easy to spot a fake.
Of course, that's not to say that you can't fake it. It's just that if you are found out, the repercussions are much worse.
Great post!
Quality Manager
There is no wrong or right about any of this. Is it wrong for firms to hire actors to portray happy customers or employees on national TV commercials? Etc.. you get the point. In any case, let's also not act as if the way to a successful campaign by definition is for actual stakeholders to be the drivers behind the effort. Successful campaigns are few and far between period, whether hiring outsourced entities to do the work or doing it yourself. In my years as an entrepreneur in both successful and unsuccessful ventures, I have seen countless efforts by clients, associates, and even myself fail miserably even though we all had all the passion in the world about that which we were espousing and promoting. Successful campaigns are few and far between period.
Ben Richards
Doesn't it depend on what you're using social media for? If it's for searching out ideas and thinking pertinent to your business, or for conversations happening about you in online space, then it's not such a bad thing to have someone monitoring Twitter et al for you – it's as easy to outsource this as it was to outsource the press cuttings service in the olden days.
Granted, it does get more complex for someone who doesn't know the organisation to reply and speak on behalf of it. But it's not necessarily easy or straightforward to give a 'right' answer even if you've been with the company 20 years and know it inside out. … (contd…)
Ben Richards
It's here that brand becomes a much more significant factor in the effective use of social media. If an organization can articulate its values and what it stands for clearly, and if these qualities are authentically embedded, an educated response can be provided by a member of staff with lots of experience of a company – or by a third party consultancy. Either way, the individual tasked with giving the response needs to understand what the company stands for, be clear on how the company acts, and be confident that the organization behaves how it says it will.
Alan Hill
I agree with Chris Theisen and he makes a great point about being an ambassador instead of a ghost writer. Take that to the next level and make your customers ambassadors then THEY tweet/twitter and blog about your product/service. They are not 'ghost' writers they are passionate advocates.
The best way to do that – make your 'ghost tweeter' eat your dog food, use your product, etc. This is the fastest way to make them an ambassador and evangelist.
Then they'll have no trouble communicating your message with passion and enthusiasm.
Alan Hill
I agree with Chris Theisen and he makes a great point about being an ambassador instead of a ghost writer. Take that to the next level and make your customers ambassadors then THEY tweet/twitter and blog about your product/service. They are not 'ghost' writers they are passionate advocates.
The best way to do that – make your 'ghost tweeter' eat your dog food, use your product, etc. This is the fastest way to make them an ambassador and evangelist.
Then they'll have no trouble communicating your message with passion and enthusiasm.
aawhitaker
When an agency gets hired by the client, they are hired as a partner with the client, not a third party, outsourced entity. A good agency will get to know their clients, learn their language, their audience, their ambitions, their personality and reflect all of that in the work that gets produced. Whether it's a PR release, a blog post, a magazine ad or a tweet; there's nothing malicious about helping your client build their brand up. Now if someone tweeted as the president of Company A and wasn't the president, then I've got some issues but otherwise an agency is representing their client in everything they do for them.
Chris Nadeau
Do you send someone else to a party to talk on your behalf? No, well maybe sometimes, but if you really want to build a relationship, you better be there. So, outsourcing your Social Media is probably not the best plan. What I think companies should pay for is education. How do these tools work and how to use them. Get the people from their company who is interested in working with SM and teach them best pracitces.
Justin Bryant
Are you teaching people to fish by giving them a fishing pole and bait? Or are you just catching the fish for them? It seems that if you create Social strategies for people, they just expect it to rain money instantly. As soon as the find out that the partnership requires work and commitment, they turn off. You have to establish that it's going to be painful and take time (gulp!) Coming for the biz development angle, it sure makes it a million times harder to sell!
As you are well aware, the people that are gaining the most benefit are the people using these 'tools' everyday consistently and effectively.
As with any relationship, the expectations have to be delivered up front as honestly as possible.
Great post!
Jonathan Rivera
Outsourcing just about anything works if it's done right.
I don't think you can necessarily outsource your social networking, but you can certainly have a team in place to deliver and syndicate your vision. It all comes down to how you manage the project.
DocuMaker
New resource on the subject: Outsourcing Through Rentacoder. Shows *how* to outsource through the site before making mistakes via trial and error.
Twitter Fan
There are certain elements that are involved in social media interaction that could be outsourced. For example, the design of your Twitter page or the development of an app that helps you engage with your audience more. Heck, one could even consider hiring an outside PR firm or consultant is considered outsourcing as well.
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