Today, our staff, Adlina, shares her experience and thoughts about this topic.
I’ve worked both in-house and with marketing agencies, and let me tell you, the way companies approach social media is all over the place.
Some businesses try to save money by asking any of their employees to handle social media tasks on top of their day job. At the same time, they outsource design, video, or strategy work to agencies. Others go for a solo in-house marketer and expect them to be a one-person army — from handling social media, email campaigns, SEO, and content writing to even graphic design. And then there are those who outsource everything to a full-service marketing agency.
Honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your budget, goals, and internal resources.
The Reality of Being a Solo Marketer
If a company chooses to hire just one person to manage everything in-house, that person should be paid well. Seriously. Being a one-person marketing department is becoming common, especially during a recession when many companies are cutting back on costs. But it comes with burnout risk if not managed properly.
So what’s the key to making it work?
Tools, structure, and clarity.
Having the right marketing software can make a huge difference, whether it’s for scheduling posts, tracking analytics, managing campaigns, or keeping everyone in the loop. Tools like Trello, Notion, Meta Business Suite, Buffer, or Hootsuite can help simplify your workflow.
Want a head start? Grab Otinga free Social Media Content Calendar Template to plan your monthly posts with ease!
Building Your Social Media Dream Team
Now, imagine you have a dream team inside your company, or at least a few employees willing to help with social media. Who takes the lead? In some companies, it’s the marketing department. In others, it might be PR, communications, or even customer service.
But once your strategy involves multiple voices including blog posts, LinkedIn updates, Twitter/X content, and more, coordination becomes crucial. If you’re asking employees to link their personal profiles or contribute branded content, it must be voluntary, and privacy should always be respected.
Pro tip: Let staff create hybrid accounts which is still under the brand but with a personal touch. This keeps things professional while giving content a human voice.
Regardless of whether it’s your internal team, an agency, or a mix of both, always monitor your social platforms. Not just through reports, but do log in yourself, scroll through the feeds, and engage. Social media is dynamic and ever-changing. Your eyes on it matter.
What Makes a Great Social Media Manager?
If you’re lucky (or strategic) enough to hire someone dedicated to social, they need more than just platform knowledge. Here’s what you should look for:
- Can write quickly and in the right tone for your audience
- Knows how to listen to customers and trends
- Communicates well and avoids brand-damaging posts
- Understands the business and your products/services
- Thinks creatively and solves problems fast
- Handles online criticism with maturity and empathy
- Can educate others on the value of social media
- Uses data to make better decisions
- Adapts to new platforms and trends quickly
And yes, they need to love this stuff. Social media is not a “side task”, it’s a full-on job that requires focus, creativity, and emotional intelligence.
Should You Outsource Instead?
You don’t have to do everything in-house. In fact, hiring experts for podcast production, video editing, design, or content strategy can save time and level up your brand. Whether it’s for short-term campaigns or long-term support, agencies and freelancers can fill the gaps.
You usually can’t just add social media to someone’s task list; be prepared to reassign some tasks to other people. Depending on the size and nature of your social media effort, your dream team may also need someone with production skills for graphics, podcasting, or videocasting, or at least for producing and directing the development of those components. Although this person may not need extensive graphical, photographic, presentation, or data-crunching skills, having some skills in each of those areas is helpful. Hiring 20-somethings (or younger) because they’re familiar with social media may sound like a good idea, but people in this age group aren’t as likely to be familiar with business protocol and sensitive to business relationships as someone older and more experienced. You might need to allow extra time for training, review, and revision.
- Looking inside Before implementing a social media plan, speak with your employees to invite their input, assess their level of interest in this effort, evaluate existing skill sets, and ascertain social media experience. Consider all these factors before you move forward; by rearranging task assignments or priorities, you may be able to select in-house personnel to handle this new project. Leave time for communication, education, and training both at the beginning and on an ongoing basis.
- Hiring experts Think about using professionals for the tech-heavy tasks, such as podcasts, videocasts, or design, unless you’re going for the just-us-folks tone. Professionals can get you started by establishing a model for your staff to follow, or you may want to hire them for long-term tasks such as writing or editing your blogs for consistency. Many advertising agencies, PR firms, search engine optimizers, marketing companies, and copywriters take on social media contracts. If you’ve already worked with someone you like, you can start there. If not, select social media professionals the same way you would select any other professional service provider. And here at Otinga, we also offer this service. Email us to know more about it.
When hiring, do it properly:
- Ask for referrals
- Check their LinkedIn, Upwork profile or portfolio
- Get multiple quotes (especially for big projects)
- Ask for references and review past work
Outsourcing is especially helpful if you want professional-level content or need consistency across channels.
Final Thoughts
Social media marketing isn’t just about posting for the sake of it. Whether you build your dream team in-house or outsource it all, what matters most is how well you manage the process.
Define the goal. Use the right tools. Communicate clearly. Pay your team (or agency) fairly. And always, I mean always monitor and adjust as you go.
Don’t forget to subscribe us and grab your free social media content calendar template to keep your marketing on track!
