There are, however, definite pros and cons to each approach. We've highlighted some of the most important factors to consider for each style of social media team.
If your business has gone through the process of deciding which type of social media team to instate, let us know about the factors you considered and how you came to your final decision in the comments below.
In-House Team
Handling all social media efforts in-house is often the most affordable route for small business owners. Per hour, an agency’s time or a consultant’s time is going to be much more expensive than a full or part-time employee.
But it's a big job. Jamie Turner, the coauthor of How To Make Money with Social Media recommends that businesses contribute no less than 25% of one full-time employee's time to social media efforts. There are, however, benefits to making this time investment.
“People inside can move quicker and always have their finger on the pulse of the company, which makes it easier for them to respond [on social media],” Turner says.
Outsourcing your social media presence to an agency, in addition to costing more, can be slow on a day-to-day basis. An agency that is handling a Twitter account might need to correspond with the company before it's able to answer a question. Or it might need to ask for approval when unsure if an idea is in sync with the company's overall business strategy.
Social Media Consultant
There isn't really a narrow definition of "social media consultant." Some have niche specialties and can help a company's in-house team accomplish a specific social media task. Some help companies put an overall strategy in place and then leave the execution up to the company. And others are more like off-site community managers who execute the social media tasks for the company for an undetermined amount of time.
One advantage most consultants have over agencies is that they're less expensive. "Typically you can pay [a consultant up to] $300 to $500 an hour," says Jason Keath, the founder of social media education business Social Fresh. "If you put that same person inside of an agency, you’re adding a lot of overhead; you’re adding the corporate structure on top of it that has to be paid for as well.” Also on the cost front, consultants often require smaller time commitments than agencies.
Companies that are looking to fill in a specific aspect of their strategy often find hiring a consultant to be the best approach because they can seek a specific person that fits the niche they need help with. “If you have an in-house team, there may be a lot of knowledge there -- and let's say it's digital PR knowledge," says Keath, who has been consulting for the past two-and-a-half years. "But let’s say this team has never done blogger outreach before. Obviously bringing in somebody who has done blogger outreach is really going to speed up the process."
Companies that plan to start their own in-house teams also may benefit from a consultant approach. Social media consultant Mirna Bard sees herself as an educator.
"Although an agency has results in mind, they are typically not the educators and they sometimes only look at the marketing aspect of social media," she says. "They may also take a tactical instead of a strategic approach. Many times agencies or in-house teams are used mostly for development and execution; they are not meant to be business advisers who make overall business decisions."
A consultant can help develop a social media strategy in line with your business objectives and play a role in teaching your in-house team how to execute it.
Agency
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