Companies are outsourcing more of their social web work , a trend that’s grown in 2012. In the nascent space for expert social media practitioners, keeping an employee on staff up to date on bleeding edge changes is unrealistic. Social media marketing consultants have broad exposure to current trends which keeps them up to date. Consultants are forced to learn different techniques and social media platforms to manage multiple clients.
Consultants no doubt run ran promotions on Twitter or Facebook at one time or another using the popular Wildfire platform. Finding what works best with promotions, whether it’s truly necessary to buy the kitchen sink, as Wildfire salespeople would have you believe, is a time consuming process. Many social marketing tools are sold with different base plans and then multiple add-ons are available. Hootsuite’s entry level product, for example, is perfectly acceptable with a few very inexpensive extras purchased. If consultants do due diligence on marketing software solutions– often paid for by a client – the research is in part of their competencies.
Marketing consultants have the advantage of staying away from undue influence within an organization. Social media is a channel every department wants to use as much as possible. Having a point-person as gatekeeper– typically the marketing VP or Director– means all decisions rest with the head of the department, and there is no perception of favoritism.
