Thirty years ago, I helped my father in his flower shop by writing out the statements and mailing out bills. This was a very important task back then if we expected to get paid because most accounts in those days were invoiced. When computers took over that task we knew were witnessing the evolution of technology but we had no idea at the time how heavily we would rely on it for every aspect of our business going forward.
Even though many tasks have been made easier and more efficient than we ever thought possible, it still takes a new skill set to take advantage of these features and many small companies can’t afford to hire someone to effectively master and properly operate the programs necessary to be successful with the technology.
In order to run a successful business, you need to make smart decisions that often require utilizing different levels of effective trade secrets or strategies in order to achieve that success. But what happens when new marketing opportunities like social media or pay-per-click advertising come along?
These are not only ways to run your business better, but they are also opportunities that need custom strategies. When they are working correctly and effectively, they could be the difference between success and failure for your business, but is now the right time to add several full-time marketing specialists to your payroll?
Specialized employees don’t come cheap but hiring inexperienced employees to handle your marketing could prove to be even more costly. With something so important as the survival of your business on the line, do you really want give up that much responsibility to a fresh-out-of-school employee simply because they "know the lingo" of social media?
If so, it's important to first learn exactly what these so-called "socially connected" kids know and find out exactly how they plan on utilizing your social media accounts. They may talk a good game and know how to get your listings live and looking nice, but do they know how to properly utilize all the available business features? How are they measuring results for you? Are they constantly searching for the next new strategy that will give you an edge? Can they tell a good idea from a bad one? And most importantly, is the person doing all this for you going to stay with you for 5 or 10 years? If they leave, what will you do?
There's a lot more to consider when hiring marketing and social media professionals for your business because there is a lot more on the line. Social media for business is a completely different animal than posting selfies and memes. Remember, everyone you meet can call themselves a "photographer" because they carry a nice camera in their pocket, but that alone is not a good reason to hire them to shoot your wedding.
As with most things in life, you usually get what you pay for when it comes to marketing. Unfortunately, most small business owners don't have the resources to hire full-time professionals so they hire someone cheap with little or no experience and hope for the best.
That's one solution, but here's a better one: OUTSOURCING
Why should you consider outsourcing your marketing or social media? Lots of reasons, but here are a few important benefits to hiring Bloomerang's experts:
Hiring a professional to run your social media will ensure professional results and is less expensive than hiring and training your own full-time employee who you'll also have to manage, offer benefits to, and cover days off!
Our focus is on keeping you as a client and not auditioning for a better job offer. We're already exactly where we want to be and that's with you - not with whoever may come along offering a higher salary.
We can train anyone in your company to get them up to speed. Our marketing and social media experts are not only experienced, but they also live and breathe social media and stay on top of the constantly changing trends in the industry.
Our staff does nothing but what you contracted us to do - all day, every day!
Your results are guaranteed.
At Bloomerang Solutions, not only do we create an expectation, but we give you one that is reachable before we begin our work to get you there.
Best of all, no contracts, just agreements! In other words, you'll never have to fire us - but you can quit any time you'd like with nothing more than a 45-day notice. If you ever decide to quit our services, it is our professional responsibility to turn over all information that is outlined in our agreement back over to you - it's your business, you're in control!
Want to keep it in-house?
Bloomerang Solutions is ready to handle your entire online presence from your website to social media and targeted marketing with Google. But what if you already have a great staff member working on your accounts? Never fear - we can work with them to execute the strategies we create. We like to have a team on your end to work with, so that is an option worth exploring if would like to keep a closer eye on the accounts you manage.
So, what are you waiting for? For a fraction of the price of hiring a full-time employee, you can hire a group of experienced professionals, get results, improve your sales and engagements, and now focus more attention on the rest of your business while never having to worry about who has your access and what anyone else is doing.
-Art
