Outsource or Internalize Social Media Marketing?| Gateway’s B2B Lead Generation Blog

Posted by JasonB on November 11, 2009

As many companies begin thinking about how to use social media to generate leads for their business, they face the decision of whether to tackle the initiative internally, or hire an outside firm to take the reins. Which option will provide a greater return on investment? Let’s briefly compare:

For a productive social media campaign it is important to understand that two, sometimes more, people is required.  At least one is needed to participate on social networks, and another to keep abreast of changes to the social landscape.

If you choose to handle social media marketing internally, your options are: (1) hire specialized employees or (2) give the task to existing employees. Obviously there are costs associated with hiring, but you’re able to have a more directed “hands on” approach to your social media marketing efforts.  But keep in mind, if you decide to use existing staff members, you’re going to have to “start from scratch” and train the employees on the social networking process you want to implement. Assuming the learning curve will be a few months, you won’t reach maximum productivity for quite awhile.  This will not only exhaust precious time that could otherwise be devoted to your campaign, but this will also cost you money.

I fully understand that it’s hard for an organization to consider giving up control over its message. However, outsourcing can save time and money.  Professional firms that have established themselves in social media are already acquainted with the ins and outs of the market.  This results in a quicker and more efficient campaign.  With that being said, a good social media marketing company should know how to take your companies existing content and successfully repurpose it for social websites. The fact is, social media marketing is a complex process consisting of more than just blog posts and facebook ads.  Furthermore, social media is not the same for every company. By using an outside firm, you’re hiring a resource that encompasses trained professionals who are educated in all aspects of social media marketing, leaving less room for error and more room for your message to reach the right audience in the correct forum.

Another issue to consider in today’s volatile economy is cash flow…which option gives your organization the most freedom if things get tight?   If your program is outsourced, you can easily scale it up, scale it down, or even cancel the campaign if cash becomes an issue.  However, when using internal resources, adjusting may become more costly and time-consuming.

At the end of the day, you’re paying for a person’s time whether you’ve hired them internally or if they work for someone else.  Outsourcing makes it easier to quickly establish a successful marketing campaign that is both efficient and tailored to your particular business goals.  If you bring your social media efforts in house, you may gain more control, but consume two resources of two people on payroll (one to manage, the other to do the leg-work).

Hopefully this information will assist in your decision on how to go about engaging in social media.   As usual, let us know if we can help, and stay tuned for more posts.