Offering "social media" as a service to clients?

[digitalcostas]

Hey Guys,

Twitter/Facebook is certainly "all the rage" these days and I'm seeing lots of "how to make a zillion dollars with twitter in under 2 second" ebooks....

How many of you offer a done-for-you "social media pack" to your offline business clients? If so what exactly do you do for them and how do you stay profitable (time & moneywise) while delivering?

I've got business owners asking me about it... I *could* set them up with twitter/facebook accounts and write up some "how to kick ass with twitter/facebook" reports to sell or train them - but honestly, 95% will not take the consistent action that's required.

Any offline consultants offering some sort of 'done for you' solution to this?

-Costas

[JECKELLL]

useful in certain niches, plus they are high powered backlinks

[digitalcostas]

Originally Posted by JECKELLL

useful in certain niches, plus they are high powered backlinks

Thanks but I already know social media is useful.... my post was about how to offer it to offline business clients in a feasible way.

[Mark Riddle]

Costas,

There does need to be interaction in social media, and I make it clear that they are responsible for keeping the accounts active.

I also integrate automated tools to keep their accounts active, but not as active as it takes to generate great success.

They are purchasing the creation of the accounts and integration of the accounts so there is a consistent message.

Mark Riddle

[GuerrillaIM]

Charge a fee to set up a system to acquire friends/ followers (i.e. some sort of software and process to use it). Charge also for structuiring their communications on the network.

[p2y]

Yes I used to offer this to a handful of clients, not because the others didn't want the service but because only a handful needed it or would succeed. People just don't want to hear an attorney talk about the latest zoning laws but they do like to hear about the "special of the day" for restaurants or the latest happenings in the night club scene but outside of those two I've never had much success.

[JohnMcCabe]

If you don't want to get involved with helping them keep the accounts active, there is another way to position a social media package.

Call it "reputation management and protection."

By setting up social media accounts for the business, you prevent someone else from taking their name for whatever purpose.

As Mark said, there are automated ways to keep the accounts active.

Follow that by setting up Google alerts to track what people online are saying about the business. Set the business up with a Gmail account and Google Reader. You may have to train them or one of their employees to monitor things and post from time to time.

One drawback to this model is that it's tough to charge an ongoing fee once it's set up.

[digitalcostas]

This is interesting.... I'm definitely hearing people charge for account(s) setup and keeping them active but no-one who offers it as a fully managed service?!

[Mark Riddle]

Costas,

Fully managed would be kind of like hiring an employee to impersonate you.

Social media requires you to be genuine with the people you interact with.

It needs to be the real person to build relationships with your friends, followers and clients.

Its kind of like having your wedding, but then hiring someone to go on the honeymoon.

Mark Riddle

[digitalcostas]

Originally Posted by Mark Riddle

Costas,
Fully managed would be kind of like hiring an employee to impersonate you.

I hear you Mark... I guess I'm just trying to find a solution that will really bring value.

I just find that if a client ever needs to "take the reigns" and do *anything* on a regular basis - they just won't! (Whether it's send out a newsletter, build links, write articles, etc. etc.)

Of all the blogs I've setup for business clients over the past 7 years, I think you can guess how many have more than 3 posts and come VERY close to the real answer!

Its kind of like having your wedding, but then hiring someone to go on the honeymoon.

I like that. (Although I think many might prefer the opposite!)

[JohnMcCabe]

Unless it's the smallest of small businesses, you might want to offer to train a trusted employee to work the social media. As you likely know already, if you properly link the various accounts, you can maintain a presence in a few minutes a day.

Take a restaurant for example. The chef can tweet about new recipes or great finds at the farmer's market. The hostess can blog the daily specials when she writes them on the whiteboard. Etc.

[alexshelton]

This is something I've been doing for almost 4 months now,

reputation management is a big deal with small/mid size businesses.

You really do have to put together a killer package though, a "Social Media Package" in my eyes would be help with the blog, social networking profiles and consulting on how to utilize all of these for maximum results.

Once you have this sorted you can charge $100-200/per hour, it's worked for me anyhow.

Cheers

Alex

[stevenbrandon411]

For a business presence in social media, I have found that you can charge a company for you to maintain their site. It is kind of like you becoming an employee of that company for so many hours a week or month, however you want to do it. I have found that if you leave it to the company to run after you set it up, then they will not do it.

[JNFerree]

Perry Belcher's 21 page report on his new Social Media Money System would probably be a good read for anyone looking into getting their feet wet in the social media space.

The 80,000 followers he got in 100 days was pretty strong and his claim of generating $1 per follower per month sure did get my attention.

He has a few pretty decent videos to feed the buzz on his July 23rd launch.

He provides some pretty nice swipe file content as well.

A quick blog post and a few 'share this' links to Digg, Stumble, Twitter, Facebook et al has proven pretty effective so far.

[LilBlackDress]

I have two clients I do social media for including social bookmarking, blog posting, social sites and more. I set up accounts on places such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace etc. I add friends, comment, blog post, bulletin etc. I do not believe in using bots or software for friend adding or commenting as it violates TOS in most cases.

I am not driven by numbers of friends preferring quality friends that will interact/find value. I mean who really cares if you have a ton of friends on Twitter. Anyone can get a ton of friends there. Quality and the right target audience is most important.

As far as Mark's comment that would be like hiring an employee to impersonate you. It depends on how it is done. I represent the company and stay on top of what they are doing so I can interact effectively under their name. This is not impersonation. This is working for the company.

The companies love the traffic and I really enjoy doing it!

[AmyBrown]

Online reputation monitoring/management is another service you can add to your arsenal. I monitor Yelp and other customer review sites for several retail businesses as well as Angie's List for my contractor clients. It requires some setup and a confirmation call but only requires minutes per day.

[Mark Riddle]

Originally Posted by LilBlackDress

As far as Mark's comment that would be like hiring an employee to impersonate you.This is working for the company. The companies love the traffic and I really enjoy doing it!

Yes it can be done, yet the most effective campaigns is where the owners or staffs own personalities come into play.

There is more than on account for Zappos and more than one account for CD baby, more than one account for Sonic bids.

I am certain that your personality comes through with what you are doing, and that is the key that many miss.

Its Social Marketing, not Message Marketing.

It might be good to create a character to talk about your company and what all is going on.

One Creative example is a 2011 Ford Fiesta that has its own twitter account and talks to her Mommy about needing AC in the garage, wanting to do wheelies, and other cars looking at her bumpers.

Her "Mommy" is agent 60 for the Ford Fiesta Movement a test drive of the 2011 Ford Fiestas

[digitalcostas]

Originally Posted by stevenbrandon411

It is kind of like you becoming an employee of that company for so many hours a week or month, however you want to do it.

Have you personally offered this type of service to your clients?

-Costas

[digitalcostas]

Originally Posted by LilBlackDress

I have two clients I do social media for including social bookmarking, blog posting, social sites and more. I set up accounts on places such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace etc. I add friends, comment, blog post, bulletin etc. I do not believe in using bots or software for friend adding or commenting as it violates TOS in most cases.

LilBlackDress-- sounds to me like you're doing it right! That's what I was looking for... but.... do you leverage any systems - not automated bots - but maybe some type of structure for yourself so it doesn't monopolize your whole day? Are you able to maintain profitability while taking care of your clients? How many more would you be able to take on and continue being profitable?

[Sheila]

I agree that social media is the way to go for today's businesses, but most businesses will not maintain their social properties unless they understand the value to their business. Having your offline clients asking for this service at least lets you know they're thinking about it, and they're opening a door for you to give them what they need.

When you put together a social media package for offline businesses and include ongoing posts, etc. it's perfectly ok to develop a "personality" that represents the business. It's done every day in marketing, both online and offline. There's nothing unethical about it.

Some of the posts can be made automatically, but you'll still have to include a personal touch - I'd strongly suggest you consider the cost to outsource this task, add a respectable markup, and then submit your bid. It's tedious work, and I'm sure your time would be better spent doing something else. If the business wants to do the work themselves, charge for the setup and for the time to train their employees.

[digitalcostas]

Originally Posted by Sheila

Some of the posts can be made automatically, but you'll still have to include a personal touch - I'd strongly suggest you consider the cost to outsource this task,

This is precisely where I'd like to go with this.... have you done it successfully Sheila?

-Costas

[Sheila]

Yes, I've been selling offline for 20+ years so I have sold many services this way. Not social marketing specifically, but you can substitute one service for another. The basic concept is the same.

That's why I say to cover your outsourcing fees upfront. If a business owner wants your help, they'll pay your fee. If they don't want/can't afford your fee, that's ok. It's better to say "next!" and move on.

It's good business sense to price yourself right from the start. That way you'll stay in business, and that's good for both you and for your client.

In my experience, being the middleman/woman is the way to have the best of both worlds - this way you can offer more services and be the go-to person for your clients.

If you don't currently have anyone to outsource these tasks to, do a search on this forum for suppliers of what you need. Check out their other posts and choose whoever you feel will be professional and reliable. Then build this cost into your bid. I'm sure you'll do great!

[LilBlackDress]

Basically I will do it all for the client. I set up sites like Myspace, Twitter etc and run them. I write blog posts, tweet, do article marketing, social bookmarking etc. Or they may just want a mini-blast to share a promotion. I can do that to. We look at the over all goal and how best to accomplish it.

I also actively search for more ways to get my clients out there. This could mean networking to cross promote with other companies, looking for active forums to post thoughtful comments on, writing articles to leap to the top of the google pile, etc.

I am familiar with how the social sites work, what is and what is not allowed, how to facilitate the best interaction. Also little tweaks that can result in a greater presence on the site and drive more traffic. I am also representing the client and do so in a way that fits with their personality. With social sites you want to share and enjoy the interaction but at the same time you keep interaction at a certain level so things run smoothly. It's warm but still professional.

My goal is to provide tremendous value both to the client I am driving traffic to and to whatever sites we are using.

It is all done organically and with true thought. We are building relationships here. We want to drive genuine traffic and go for quality over quantity.

It is time consuming. And I am not a 9-5 er...neither are the social sites.

That said I love doing this. Absolutely love it!