If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you may be happily anticipating spring and the beautiful plants you will plant in your garden soon. Perhaps you’re a talented gardener, creating a stunning outdoor space that you’ll enjoy all summer long. Once you’ve done the hard work planting it, what happens next? Do you leave it all to chance, hoping it will grow and irrigate itself without too much input from you? Or do you care for it all summer long – perhaps bringing in an expert to help improve on your work or suggest new ideas to make it bloom?
Your digital marketing program works in
When your social media program is mature.
You’ve methodically built a social media program that aligns with the goals of your organization, and you have the right team in place to execute on your strategy. It’s fully integrated into your marketing program and it’s meeting all of your goals for awareness, consideration, conversion and retention. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – right?
In this case, a social media consultant can bring a fresh perspective to a team that might have developed a familiar routine and could be reluctant to take a chance on a new tactic. The consultant can identify if you’d benefit from a new social content management system, or help adjust your measurement process to align with any shifts in social media technology or changes in your business. In short, a consultant can help you spot opportunities and threats that might not be immediately visible while managing a program.
This is the perfect time to work with a neutral subject matter expert to refine or develop your social media guidelines or a governance process. A social media consultant can bring all of the parties together to ensure that you’re working from the same strategy and maximizing results.
When your social media program needs a little (or a lot of) help.
Many organizations dipped their toes into social media at the beginning, perhaps as part of public relations or marketing communications, and have grown their program organically. In this case, you might need to assess the program or formalize a social media strategy to ensure that your team is using their resources and time effectively. A social media consultant can help you set goals and objectives, co-create a content strategy, help you select the right software products or assess your existing stack, and provide training on the current trends and techniques to bring their game to the next level. The best part: the right consultant will have experience working with different types of teams and organizations. They’ll bring a high-level, strategic view of your marketing program, and identify ways to use social media to boost all of those efforts and that of the greater organization.
At times of transition.
Is your organization going through a rebrand? Has a member of the social media team moved into another role or departed your organization? Are you assessing new technology that will have a great impact on your daily processes? All of these can distract your social media team from growing and innovating, but they’re temporary situations that can be managed with the right plan and the right support. A social media consultant can work with the team to identify any risks, bridge talent or resource gaps, and help shepherd them through whatever the transition brings. The goal is to help build a social media program that is strong, effective, and flexible enough to change with the times.
An earlier version of this article was published on March 19, 2019.
Socially Professional offers strategic marketing consulting, with a focus on social media strategy for large B2B organizations. If you think it’s the right time to partner with a social media consultancy, we are happy to start the conversation. Email hello.community@sociallyprofessional.com or call 401.400.1150 to learn more.
Socially Professional is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise through WBENC and as a Women-Owned Small Business by the US Small Business Administration.