A few months ago at a marketing
conference in Miami, someone asked me
a crucial question.
Given that I was "the social guy" in the
room, of course, I was asked all of the
questions related to social media, from,
" What should I do on Twitter?" all the
way to, "Does anybody even use Google
Plus ?"
I answered all the questions based on my
experiences, and each answer elicited a
follow-up question.
Then came a question from a man who
apparently wasn't convinced:
"I understand social media is beneficial
to any business, but seriously, no one in
their right mind would hire a social
media agency when they can just hire
someone in house. Am I right, or am I
right?"
Here was my answer:
Employees cost too much
No matter the company, there comes a
time when every CEO decides to take his
or her product or service to the next
level. For this example, we'll call this CEO
Ray. Ray notices that all of his
competitors are using social networks to
engage with their fans and customers,
so he decides to join in. He hires a social
media manager (Chris) to handle his
company's social marketing and pays
him an annual salary of $60,000.
Now, hiring a full-time employee costs a
lot more than it seems. There are
payroll taxes, health benefits, equipment
needs, office space, training, and paid
time off. You see where I'm going with
this?
Alternatively, what if Ray used his $
60,000 budget to hire a social media
agency. For starters, that agency
won't require health and other benefits
that Ray would have to offer to Chris.
Ray can also be certain that his $60,000
annual budget will be stretched to
encompass a full social media marketing
campaign including research, planning,
strategy/execution, and, in most cases,
design, video production, public relations,
social community management, short-
term and long-term campaigns and
promotions, social aggregation, analytics
and reporting, and more.
This brings me to my next point.
Agencies have more brain power
A successful social campaign includes
design, video production, PR, strategy,
and everything else I mentioned before.
So, unless Chris is Superman himself, we
can't really be too certain that he will
have all the skills required to handle all
aspects of the campaign. In most cases,
Chris is probably a very talented writer
with strong communication and
presentational skills. He's a very
organized person who loves planning and
is very optimistic.
Still, he cannot do it all. I mean, "He's
not Superman, you know!"
Hiring an agency, on the other hand, is
like hiring a team of 10-plus people for
the price of one. Most agencies are
made up of executives, designers and
illustrators, strategists, copywriters,
bloggers, social enthusiasts, PR
representatives, Web developers, even
entrepreneurs—all of whom live their
own lives and have their own experiences
that they bring to the table. So when
they're all included in the social
strategy meetings or the brainstorming
session, Ray can rest assured that his
campaign strategy will be looked at
from every angle.
Also, what happens when Chris is on
vacation or out sick? Questions aren't
answered, fans aren't updated,
campaigns aren't being managed, etc.
An agency can have someone else pick up
where the other person left off, and it
has the tools and know-how to schedule
posts as needed.
Having a great agency relationship is
also beneficial for growing companies.
The higher your marketing budget, the
more capabilities the agency can provide
for you.
Agencies breed social nerds
Did you know that there are headphones
that you can use to listen to online
conversations—conversations (both
good and bad) about your company? If
that isn't enough, did you know that
you can use those headphones to listen
to people who might need your company?
Those headphones are actually a very
cool tool/platform that we know as
Twitter.
Twitter has an advanced search feature
that agencies use to monitor and join
conversations about their client's
brand. The agency can then engage
with satisfied customers, not-so-happy
customers, and curious potential
customers in the most appropriate
manner.
Did you also know that some new social
tool was launched in the time it took you
to read this article? The social world is
always evolving.
[RELATED: Ragan's biggest social
media conference returns to the
Walt Disney World Resort in April!
]
Agencies make it their priority to learn
all about the emerging social media tools
and tactics, either from agency
colleagues or from outside sources.
Agency pros challenge themselves to
evolve and modify social campaigns as
alternative tools and tactics appear on
the scene.
So, there's my answer
It's your decision whether to hire a
social media manager or a social media
agency. Keep in mind that not all
agencies are the same, so it's important
to do thorough research before choosing
to hire one.
@JacquesHBastien is the CEO + Creative
Director of @weareboogie , a rapidly
growing design-driven social media and
creative agency in New York. A version
of this article first appeared on Social
Media Today.
conference in Miami, someone asked me
a crucial question.
Given that I was "the social guy" in the
room, of course, I was asked all of the
questions related to social media, from,
" What should I do on Twitter?" all the
way to, "Does anybody even use Google
Plus ?"
I answered all the questions based on my
experiences, and each answer elicited a
follow-up question.
Then came a question from a man who
apparently wasn't convinced:
"I understand social media is beneficial
to any business, but seriously, no one in
their right mind would hire a social
media agency when they can just hire
someone in house. Am I right, or am I
right?"
Here was my answer:
Employees cost too much
No matter the company, there comes a
time when every CEO decides to take his
or her product or service to the next
level. For this example, we'll call this CEO
Ray. Ray notices that all of his
competitors are using social networks to
engage with their fans and customers,
so he decides to join in. He hires a social
media manager (Chris) to handle his
company's social marketing and pays
him an annual salary of $60,000.
Now, hiring a full-time employee costs a
lot more than it seems. There are
payroll taxes, health benefits, equipment
needs, office space, training, and paid
time off. You see where I'm going with
this?
Alternatively, what if Ray used his $
60,000 budget to hire a social media
agency. For starters, that agency
won't require health and other benefits
that Ray would have to offer to Chris.
Ray can also be certain that his $60,000
annual budget will be stretched to
encompass a full social media marketing
campaign including research, planning,
strategy/execution, and, in most cases,
design, video production, public relations,
social community management, short-
term and long-term campaigns and
promotions, social aggregation, analytics
and reporting, and more.
This brings me to my next point.
Agencies have more brain power
A successful social campaign includes
design, video production, PR, strategy,
and everything else I mentioned before.
So, unless Chris is Superman himself, we
can't really be too certain that he will
have all the skills required to handle all
aspects of the campaign. In most cases,
Chris is probably a very talented writer
with strong communication and
presentational skills. He's a very
organized person who loves planning and
is very optimistic.
Still, he cannot do it all. I mean, "He's
not Superman, you know!"
Hiring an agency, on the other hand, is
like hiring a team of 10-plus people for
the price of one. Most agencies are
made up of executives, designers and
illustrators, strategists, copywriters,
bloggers, social enthusiasts, PR
representatives, Web developers, even
entrepreneurs—all of whom live their
own lives and have their own experiences
that they bring to the table. So when
they're all included in the social
strategy meetings or the brainstorming
session, Ray can rest assured that his
campaign strategy will be looked at
from every angle.
Also, what happens when Chris is on
vacation or out sick? Questions aren't
answered, fans aren't updated,
campaigns aren't being managed, etc.
An agency can have someone else pick up
where the other person left off, and it
has the tools and know-how to schedule
posts as needed.
Having a great agency relationship is
also beneficial for growing companies.
The higher your marketing budget, the
more capabilities the agency can provide
for you.
Agencies breed social nerds
Did you know that there are headphones
that you can use to listen to online
conversations—conversations (both
good and bad) about your company? If
that isn't enough, did you know that
you can use those headphones to listen
to people who might need your company?
Those headphones are actually a very
cool tool/platform that we know as
Twitter.
Twitter has an advanced search feature
that agencies use to monitor and join
conversations about their client's
brand. The agency can then engage
with satisfied customers, not-so-happy
customers, and curious potential
customers in the most appropriate
manner.
Did you also know that some new social
tool was launched in the time it took you
to read this article? The social world is
always evolving.
[RELATED: Ragan's biggest social
media conference returns to the
Walt Disney World Resort in April!
]
Agencies make it their priority to learn
all about the emerging social media tools
and tactics, either from agency
colleagues or from outside sources.
Agency pros challenge themselves to
evolve and modify social campaigns as
alternative tools and tactics appear on
the scene.
So, there's my answer
It's your decision whether to hire a
social media manager or a social media
agency. Keep in mind that not all
agencies are the same, so it's important
to do thorough research before choosing
to hire one.
@JacquesHBastien is the CEO + Creative
Director of @weareboogie , a rapidly
growing design-driven social media and
creative agency in New York. A version
of this article first appeared on Social
Media Today.
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