Now that you’ve taken the plunge into the world of social media, you are faced with yet another decision. How do you find the best person to maintain your company’s message? The importance of this decision cannot be overlooked.

Social media has opened a window that gives your customers a more personal connection with your business. It creates an opportunity for us to talk with our customers instead of at them. As a result, loyal followers expect authentic interaction and finding the person or team who will act as your authentic company ‘voice’ is crucial.

There are three popular methods to approaching this decision.

1. Allocate resources within your company by selecting a person or team.
2.  Outsource the work to an agency or consultant.
3. Utilize a combination of internal and external resources.

Here are some key questions to help you decide the best approach. Each have their own risks and rewards.

Do you have an employee full of passion for your brand and an eagerness to share their enthusiasm? The advantage of selecting an existing employee is that they are likely already familiar with the message you want to communicate. However, most situations call for a social media training investment to bring the individual up to speed on how to launch and maintain an effective campaign.

A common misconception is that hiring an agency is an unnecessary expense – but consider the time sacrifice that must be made when tasking an existing inexperienced employee with your social media management. Can you afford to have that team member fulfill this extra position? While there are available tools that help streamline social media maintenance (i.e. HootSuite and TweetDeck), consumers will not be fooled by a ‘set it and forget it’ approach. Content should be relevant, timely and constant to keep your audience hooked. Many companies find it daunting to take this on themselves.

How do you pick a consultant to partner with to meet your social media needs? Look for an individual or firm with its own online presence. Are they engaging in social media and exhibiting a strategy that mirrors your own needs? What types of clients have they worked with and have they delivered successful social media campaigns? How are they keeping up with emerging trends, tools and strategies? Education and training are essential when dealing with this ever-changing medium.

If you are not comfortable with outsourcing your social media management you should consider an internal/external team combination. Hiring an agency to help identify an appropriate existing employee to take on the role of the company’s voice, create a social media strategy and plan with measurable goals, and coach the employee on implementation of the campaign.

No matter which path to social media maintenance you take, the most important element is that you focus on creating a consistent presence and voice throughout your efforts.

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