Small Business | Forum « Social Media Consultants – How do you decide?

Social Media Consultants – How do you decide? (11 posts)

Nicole Kerber said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
There are a ton of social media consultants (including myself!) for small businesses. Each one has their own blog, website, clients, etc.
If you currently work with a consultant (or big time company) how did you decide who to hire? What factors, perhaps other than price, did you take into consideration before deciding to hire that consultant?
I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Many thanks,
Nikki
socialwebnerd.com
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Joan Muschamp (Fagnani) said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
Nikki,
While I wouldn’t expect a strategy, I would like some concrete information on their initial impressions, specifics on what exactly they would do and in how many channels. I am also always interested to hear their assessment of the various channels as it relates to the specific business, and potentially a prioritization. they also have to address goals for each.
I would be interested in seeing how they drive engagement for other clients and if they have any concrete results to goals.
While many businesses are similar, I don’t believe a one size fits all model works properly. Also, it depends on their resources how much involvement they will have in messaging vs. channel creation and posting/timing/monitoring.
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Nicole Kerber said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
Thanks for the response, Joan!
@nicolekerber | # | Top
Cindy Watts said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
Great response!
I did want to add one more important factor.
The personalities of the client & social consultant should mesh well. We need to represent them online & as they would represent themselves if it was them.
I have turned down clients before because they were wound up a bit too tight & didn’t want to participate in the “social” aspect of social media.
Nicole, what have you found with your clients so far? Would love to hear your thoughts.
@outtatheboxmktg | # | Top
Russell Allert said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
@nicolekerber I would hire the person who was willing to teach me to run my own social media marketing. It’s the only way to have maximum success with growing your business when using social media.
Russell
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Ann at greenoak said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
as a buyer of services what i would love to have about the company would be a good word of mouth from someone i knew …and who i could see had a good social media thing going….
why not get a little deep into one commercial area…truckers, hairdressers, dog people, whatever…….. and learn their words, issues, popular culture etc etc…. then focus on that industry… you would have a little advantage when trying for their business…. alittle insight into their world that other marketers might not have……. you could do a mock up facebook page to show…and a couple of monthly email mock ups…and you would know what to talk about….
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Rich Brooks said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
@nicolekerber
From the client’s perspective, I’d also want to talk to previous clients of the prospective vendor and find out from them what it was like working with this person.
I’d also check out their social activity and see if they’re someone you’d want to follow.
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Elana Winfrey said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
This is very helpful (taking notes).-Elana
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Eddy Sleiman said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
@nicolekerber
Again I agree with Rich.
I personally would ask for references and would investigate their performance and how much did they really contribute adding value to the business before i assign.
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Cindy Watts said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
Such great information! So happy to have such a great group to collaborate with.
HUGS!
@outtatheboxmktg | # | Top
Nicole Kerber said
10 months, 3 weeks ago:
Thanks for the replies, everyone! It is much appreciated. I’ve printed the responses to keep things in mind for future.
In response to Cindy @outtatheboxmktg I have only started freelancing social media. The one major client I have now is amazing and we both mesh very well. For me, we had an initial meeting where she spoke about what she wanted done with her website and from there, I also spoke to her about getting on board with social media. I gave her a few reasons why it’s important to be on social media, what it would mean for her business, etc. It didn’t take long for her to get back with me to agree to jump on the social media train. She hired me for both positions. The thing with this client is, although I give her tips and advice on how to best utilize social media, I pretty much manage it all for her and she likes it that way.
Now, I’m at a point where I need to start getting more clients. I”m in the middle of finishing my website (adding a blog component, e-newsletter, etc) but still having difficulty finding clients. This is why I asked the question about what might potential clients look for in a consultant.
Many thanks for all of the responses.
Nikki
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