“I’m just not sure we need one.”

“I’m ok doing it on my own.”

“I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

We hear these statements all of the time when we ask retailers what is holding them back from hiring a social media manager. Often there just isn’t room in the budget at the moment and they’re making due with what they have – having an employee run their social accounts or doing it themselves. This is completely understandable! But no matter where you are now in your business, hiring social media manager should be a plan for the future.  

Here is why:

1. Time

Time is precious, especially when you own your own business. And it takes time to stay updated with social media. A social media manager has already put in the time to learn all of the major social media platforms, and they have the time to learn about your business, saving you, well… time! With your knowledge of your business and their knowledge of how to use social media to market that business, you and your social media manager can be an unstoppable team that wastes no time.

2. Skill

No one ever said that just because you’re the boss, you need to be great at everything. If you didn’t grow up with the technology or don’t feel like you have enough time to dive in as deep as you’d like, learning and managing social media on your own can be difficult. But when you choose to hire a social media manager with relevant experience and a passion for social media, you’re adding skill to your team that you don’t possess yourself. Typically, you want to look for a social media manager with a background in marketing, public relations, journalism, communication or a similar field.

3. Efficiency

We commonly hear from retailers that they have found “someone young” to handle the social media in their store. This may be an employee, a son or daughter, a niece or a neighbor. While this is a smart way to get a little bit of help, this isn’t a good plan for the long term.

Every minute that an employee is managing your social accounts is a minute that they aren’t able to interact with customers, stock shelves or do another task that is a part of their daily duties. In contrast, family members or friends who offer to help you with your social media probably don’t know a ton about your business’s messaging, most commonly asked questions or products. They may not even have the skills to use social media as a business. It’s better to stick with someone who has the experience.

That being said, we know that sometimes an additional employee, even at part time, just isn’t in the budget. We work with store owners who are doing their social media with plenty of success. Typically, these retailers are able to put in the time that it takes to learn and implement strategies and they have a personal passion for social media. If this doesn’t sound like you, it’s important to start thinking about how you can delegate these tasks in the future. It may not be in the cards today, but it should be somewhere down the line.

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment below telling us if you:

1. Do have a Social Media Manager. 
2. Are the owner managing your social media.
3. Are looking at bringing on a Social Media Manager in 2017. 
4. Other (Please explain!).

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