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When it first gained popularity, social media was seen as an excellent way to keep in touch with family and friends. For some people, it was nothing more than a good way to kill time. Recently, however, there has been a paradigm shift that transformed social media into effective and inexpensive online marketing tools. As businesses scrambled to make their presence felt on social media, the idea of social media outsourcing came to light. What Is Social Media Outsourcing? SM activities for business promotion generally involve being active on such sites as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your activities on these networks should be geared towards reaching out to your target market. There are also activities you need to engage in so as to catch the attention of search engines. These activities necessitate bookmarking on the same social networking sites. The more sites you join, the more visible your brand becomes, both to search engines and your target market. Understandably, being active on multiple networking platforms requires a lot of time and effort. It is also a long-term process, since the online community is very dynamic and you need to keep up with the latest trends. This is why many business owners choose to hire a third-party company to handle these activities on their behalf. This is what outsourcing is all about—paying someone else to do the work for you. Why should you outsource, anyway? Can’t you just handle these online activities on-house? Consider this: To ensure success for your SM activities, you need to post at least one tweet per hour and one Facebook update each day. If you maintain accounts on, say, three networking sites other than Facebook and Twitter, you’ll have to make regular posts on those sites as well. Additionally, you’ll have to respond to comments and answer questions from your followers. Can you really handle this on your own? If you’re just starting out or if you operate a small business, you probably don’t have the time and budget to spare. Outsourcing may indeed be the most cost-effective solution in this case. How Can You Maintain Authenticity with Social Media Outsourcing? Even when you outsource your SM activities, you can still maintain authenticity by reviewing all materials to be posted on your accounts. You should also make sure an open line of communication is maintained with your outsourcer so you can deliver real-time feedback and corrections. It’s also a good idea to outsource only some of your SM activities; such things as answering questions and responding to complaints are best kept in-house. Finally, you should provide your outsourcer with a set of guidelines and standards to adhere to. If you really want to use social media to your advantage, you’ll have to be consistent in your strategies and efforts. An outsourcer can definitely help you achieve your SM goals. Make sure, though, that you choose the right outsourcing company that best meets your requirements and serves your needs. Social media outsourcing is an excellent option for business owners who want to make their presence felt on the major social networking sites.
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