Before Selecting a Social Media Consultant, Read This
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There are so many people out there these days that have decided to take-up a new career in social media consulting. While this is good in some ways for those people, it's bad in other ways for potential customers.
Knowing how to select a social media consultant that's right for your business is critical, especially with all of the confusion online. Here are some tips that will help you make the best choice.
For starters never go with a person that does not have an extensive list of testimonials you can get in touch with or actual case studies of clients. This should be pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised at just how many newbies fall into this trap.
Next, you'll want to make sure that the social media consultant you're looking at has a MASSIVE presence online. What I mean is, they should have tens or hundreds of thousands of listings if you Google their name or company in quotations. This tells you they've been around awhile and know how to get the word out.
Make sure that they've actually build a successful brick and mortar business. This goes without saying. If you own a free-standing small business, then you need someone that understands you. Most social media "experts" have NEVER owned a small business so how could they possibly tell you how to generate more income?
The same holds true if you own an online business and are looking for social media management. Why would you choose someone that hasn't sold millions of dollars in products in services. Be careful.
Lastly, you want to analyze the price they charge. A real good social media manager or consultant is NOT cheap. Why, because the results that are delivered are very good. Expect to pay several thousand dollars in consulting fees if you want to hire a pro. Your investment will pay-off tenfold if you have the right guy.
While there's a time and place for new social media consultants, you don't want to hand over the reigns to someone that has minimal experience in generating profits online. Anyone can do social media management, but about 1% of those will actually make you real money and dramatically grow your business.
Knowing how to select a social media consultant that's right for your business is critical, especially with all of the confusion online. Here are some tips that will help you make the best choice.
For starters never go with a person that does not have an extensive list of testimonials you can get in touch with or actual case studies of clients. This should be pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised at just how many newbies fall into this trap.
Next, you'll want to make sure that the social media consultant you're looking at has a MASSIVE presence online. What I mean is, they should have tens or hundreds of thousands of listings if you Google their name or company in quotations. This tells you they've been around awhile and know how to get the word out.
Make sure that they've actually build a successful brick and mortar business. This goes without saying. If you own a free-standing small business, then you need someone that understands you. Most social media "experts" have NEVER owned a small business so how could they possibly tell you how to generate more income?
The same holds true if you own an online business and are looking for social media management. Why would you choose someone that hasn't sold millions of dollars in products in services. Be careful.
Lastly, you want to analyze the price they charge. A real good social media manager or consultant is NOT cheap. Why, because the results that are delivered are very good. Expect to pay several thousand dollars in consulting fees if you want to hire a pro. Your investment will pay-off tenfold if you have the right guy.
While there's a time and place for new social media consultants, you don't want to hand over the reigns to someone that has minimal experience in generating profits online. Anyone can do social media management, but about 1% of those will actually make you real money and dramatically grow your business.