Do you not feel qualified enought to start social marketing, so you have decided to hire a consultant? Then you should know that if he or she is truly professional, sooner or later it should cost him a job. A company cannot be truly "social," if it doesn't feed information directly to their audience. Consultants should teach you how to do it.
A good quality social media expert must first understand perfectly all processes in your company. Later you should expect the following:
- Setting a goal. If the aim was solely to obtain a large number of fans or followers, do not expect a long-term effect of social marketing. Determine your specific case, such as the greater site traffic, increase sales or quietly.
- ROI. If your consultant tells you that social media ROI is not quantifiable, it is not true. The outputs of social marketing are measurable.
- "The number of fans or followers does not matter." Their number has nothing to do with engagement. Try to get influencers who can further disseminate information through their blogs or social profiles.
- "Facebook and Twitter are only the beginning." An expert should know what social media are right for you in connection with your business.
- Data interpretation. Consultant must not only be able to interpret data obtained from social media. He or she should also advise you on other appropriate metrics and measurement options.
- "Your website should be social." You should learn how to optimize your website for maximum dissemination and sharing of content via social media. For starters, try to connect to Facebook's Open Graph and measure social activity on your domain (ie., not only your Facebook page).
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