30 Mar Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Social Media Content Creation
One of the biggest challenges social media managers face is having enough content. It can be exhausting developing interesting, dynamic posts day after day to fill a calendar. Even if you do have enough ideas, procuring images and copy that work on social media is another huge challenge. Or, you have tons of images, and not enough time to comb through and develop meaningful social content. Either way, when issues arise with content creation, it can be tempting to consider outsourcing some of the work, either to contractors, consultants, or an agency team. Here’s some pros and cons to consider before outsourcing your social media content creation.
PRO: Fresh eyes, fresh perspective
The first pro of outsourcing content creation is that you’ll receive a new set of eyes on your content plans and editorial calendars. Sometimes, being “too close” to the content or branding results in a narrow way of thinking; outsourcing to a new team can result in exciting new ideas for how your brand can act on social. Your guidance as a brand expert plus a new perspective could result in great ideas for social content.
CON: Onboarding an outside team takes time
While bringing in new faces can provide fresh insight, there is a drawback in time lost when onboarding a new team. While many agencies and consultants are pros at learning a brand voice and style in no time, helping them understand the nuances of your brand may take precious hours you don’t have. Be sure to evaluate the time lost in onboarding an outsourced team relative to just producing the content internally.
PRO: Outsourced teams know the industry
As an internal social media manager, you may not have time to check out changes to social platforms, or see what others in your industry are doing to capitalize on social media. This is where having an outsourced team is incredibly helpful. Especially in the case of an agency, many content creators are working on multiple brands or have experience in multiple industries. This exposes them to trends and changes earlier than someone who is ‘head down’ working on one brand. Letting an outsourced team deal with staying on top of platform changes and trends can be a huge time saver for a social media manager.
CON: Agility can suffer
One great thing about an internal social media team is that when changes happen within the brand, you are the first to hear about it. Similarly, with live events or in-office activities that might be great social media content, you are on the ground and able to execute content. If you rely on an outsourced social media team, you may lose some agility in sending assets or need-to-know information through and waiting for the team to create instead.
PRO: Expertise abounds in an agency
When you are stuck on a content calendar as an internal social media manager, there may be few people who are available to help you brainstorm solutions. Or, there may be no one else with the social media expertise to truly help. That’s where outsourcing your content creation can be the most useful. An outsourced agency team can rely on the expertise of the entire agency, and develop strong strategic answers to your toughest content issues. What might take you several days to accomplish internally might be a one-hour fix for a team of social media professionals.
These are just a few factors to consider when you are thinking about outsourcing your social media content creation; there’s definitely more to consider before embarking on an organizational change. For additional guidance, consider reaching out to us for a social media audit to help determine what social structure is most effective for your brand.
