So youβve got a business. Youβve got products or services that youβre passionate about, a great customer service presence, and a dynamic website, everything you could want. But thereβs a problem; you just don't have time to manage your social media.
In today's marketing, it hurts a business not to be present where their target market hangs out. If your customers are on Instagram all day, you need to be right there with them. If your ideal client spends her free time on Pinterest, you need to be pinning along with her. And if your main man chills on Twitter during his lunch break, chill with him!
Paid social media managementΒ is a savvy step for the business person who cares about online presence but doesnβt have the time or expertise to manage the nuances of more than one online account.
But which route should you take? You can hire a full or part-time in-office individual, go through an agency, or you can hire a freelancer to manage your accounts — and the choice between the three can seem daunting.
Iβm going to suggest some reasons why hiring a freelancer is a cost-effective and savvy way to manage your social media marketing without breaking either the bank.
[clickToTweet tweet=”In today's marketing, it hurts a business not to be present where their target market hangs out.” quote=”In today's marketing, it hurts a business not to be present where their target market hangs out.”]
Freelancers are more affordable.
Cost is a huge factor when making these types of important financial decisions, and working withΒ a freelancer can beΒ far cheaper than hiring an employee or paying an agency.
Agencies can easily charge $2K+ a month for managing one social media platform… a cost most new or small businesses aren't ready to handle. While agencies provide 24-hour support and around the clock monitoring, most businesses simply don't need that if they only have aΒ niche group of followers. So why pay for services your business simply doesn't need yet?
On the flip side, hiring a freelancer can be cheaper than hiring an in-office employee. Hiring in-house seems similar in price at first… but think about this: employees come with liabilities, more taxes, sick-leave, holiday pay, etc. FreelancersΒ are responsible for all those costs themselves.
Freelancers are flexible.
Iβm a freelancer myself, and working remotely means that I am to make changes in plans, schedules, and rates without too much hassle. A freelancerβs work fits around your life, and you wonβt be subject to agency timetables and corporate red tape. Changing something in your marketing is as simple as a quick email or text, and then we do the rest!
Freelancers can be more personal.
When you're working with a freelancer, generally speaking, you're working with one individual. With a social media agency, the person who closed the deal is often different from the person(s) who work on your account. Messages can get crossed and your vision can get lost in the process.
As a freelancer, I take the time to get to know my clients. I ask them about their holidays and life updates. Making sure I build a relationship with my clients is one thing that sets me apart as a freelancer versus an agency.
Freelancers can adapt to your growing business.
In my experience,Β a talented freelancer is someone with a working knowledgeΒ in a variety of social media fields across multiple platforms andΒ is usually capable of adapting to your needs a business. If you decide you want to add an account to your business model, I'm going to either have experience in getting you up and running quickly and efficiently OR I'm going to put my nose to the ground and learn what it takes to be a success. Either way, you win.
Adding more services is as simple as a Skype call to discuss the plan, and then youβre up and running with no delay or overhead. You donβt have to train an employee in a new platform or wait for an agency to slowly process your request.
Freelancers value your project more.
As aΒ freelancer, I choose toΒ work on a month-to-month basis. I do this because the dedication youβre going to get from meΒ is much higher because the results determine whether we continue working together or not.
My personal philosophy is that the end goal is always data-driven results, so a freelancer is going to put a premium on delivering good outcomes to keep you happy. This performance-based role keeps a freelancer easily accountable because they know you care about results!
A paid employee, on the other hand, has less at stake and wonβt necessarily put as much effort into something if they know thereβs not as much skin in the game. We freelancers, however, put in the time and effort to get results as efficiently as possible. Because IΒ get paid by account, and not hourly, itβs in everyoneβs best interest to get the job done as efficiently and as on time as possible. It truly is a win-win situation when all parties are motivated toward the same goal.
If youβre thinking of going down the freelancer route, my personal advice as a freelancer is to set upΒ an introductory meeting via Skype just to get to know the person and see if you click with them. Be sure to assess your goals ahead of time, and check out client testimonials to get a feel for their work.
A freelancer can be a huge asset for your business and your social media presence, so good luck starting out on this exciting journey.
[clickToTweet tweet=”A freelancer can be a huge asset for your business and your social media presence.” quote=”A freelancer can be a huge asset for your business and your social media presence.”]
I couldn’t agree with all of this more Andrea! Great post and it certainly explains why I love being a freelancer myself.
Thanks for the comment, Tonya! Glad I could help inspire. π
Great post!
Yes, we are more affordable, more flexible, more adaptable, and frankly, more personable. Less headaches and less bureaucracy, too.
And I like the tip about setting up an initial call via Skype. So important!
Brent
Exactly! Thanks for leaving a comment, Brent! I
Hey AndrΓ©a,
Great post here.
You speak the truth because one of the first things I learned was specialize in what you’re great at and outsource the things you’re not good at.
I used a freelancer for minor things but I feel as though if I grow my business to a more than decent rate and have steady income flowing in, I’ll be requesting the services of freelancers more.
– Andrew
Thanks Andrew! Yes, outsourcing the things you’re not so great at is a good place to start. I mean, even outsourcing the stuff that just takes too much time can end up making you more of the good stuff (aka $$$) in the long run π
As a business owner I’m too busy managing my businesses to learn social media marketing so it’s nice to have a freelancer in my corner. Andrea is great at what she does.
Aww thanks! That’s so sweet. I’m always happy to help!
Hi Andrea,
Really enjoyed your article. How do you go about finding a freelancer in your city? I am in Toronto, Canada
Hi Maria! Thanks for stopping by. I’m actually in Niagara Falls, Canada so not so far from you. π Can you shoot me an email: andrea@onlinedrea.com. I’d love to chat with you more.
Hi, great article. I just wanted to point out a little grammatical mistake, though, so you’re not overlooked by a potential client because of what I’m sure was an unintentional error. In the second paragraph, you wrote, “In todayβs marketing, it hurts a business not to be present where there target market hangs out.” You obviously meant “where their target market hangs out.” Since it’s also in the larger ‘click to tweet’ box, it really stands out, so I thought I’d point it out to you. Hope it helps, take care.
Very Nice and Great Article
I like hiring freelancers more simply because I was once a freelancer myself, so I understand the “freelancer struggle” π
If you want to make a move into a self-paced, relatively less stressful role in digital marketing then chose to freelancer in digital marketing.
great post