Here Is Why DIY Social Media Management Can Be Risky

If you’re an entrepreneur, then you’re no stranger to the idea of doing whatever it takes to get your business off the ground. With the adrenaline rush pushing you through new and challenging tasks, you’re comfortable with figuring out how to do things. And even though you’re good at completing things on your to-do list eventually, you could be at risk of losing or limiting your brand.

As a full-time business owner, you must manage your company. Your responsibilities include:

• Spending a majority of time and effort on key activities that create 80% of success to the business.
• Using your strengths, talents, and gifts to focus on either one or a couple of the main aspects of the business, such as accounting, design, marketing, and project management.
• Completing tasks and projects effectively as well as efficiently.
• Assessing results to make improvements wherever necessary.

On the other hand, a person obsessed with DIYs may end up doing the following:

• Becoming Superman and trying to manage all aspects of the business by himself.
• Spending more than 50% of his time researching and/or troubleshooting.
• Spending a majority of his time on doing and re-doing tasks and/or projects either because he does not possess enough skills to manage the job, gets overburdened with everything, or gets distracted while trying to complete tasks.

Social media management is no different. Coordinating events, creating posts, managing a schedule, uploading photos, detailing promotions, etc. are just some high-impact activities that you need to do to promote your brand.

Leave it to the professionals

Social Media Marketing is relatively new, so it’s not surprising that there’s still a bit of resistance to its inherent value. Overall, there is a lack of understanding of how to manage it entirely. But let’s not forget about the DIY fanatics that believe they can do anything. With the internet overflowing with suggestions, they feel that they can do just about anything.

Apparently, it’s not as un-demanding and straightforward as it seems. The most frequent mistake that businesses are doing is not relying on the expertise of a professional social media manager. If you’re still debating whether it’s necessary to hire one, here are some reasons why it may be risky attempting to do it yourself.

1. Lack of expertise

Just because you know how to cook well doesn’t mean that you are a chef. Similarly, owning a smartphone and having a social media account doesn’t make you an expert in social media management. Professionals in this field are experts of communication. They know how to implement the potentialities of social media extensively. While they focus on their job, you can concentrate on building a brand that stands out from the crowd. And you won’t be forced to do things you don’t necessarily enjoy.

2. Insufficient knowledge of various platforms

Each social media platform has rules and regulations. Though there are numerous blogs, videos, and social media posts to inspire and guide you through every step, you could end up with the wrong base. For example, some people make the mistake of using their personal profile instead of their business page to promote the business on Facebook. In doing so, you are breaching Facebook’s terms of use, and risk having your Facebook account suspended. Moreover, a personal profile you can have up of 5000 friends, whereas a business profile can have unlimited followers. A business page provides the opportunity to carry out promotional ads as well as monitor people’s’ views and interactions on your page.

3. You don’t implement the right strategy

For any social media marketing strategy to be successful, you need to develop a plan that’s best for your business. This includes analyzing the industry, your sector of reference, the competitors, the development of an editorial plan, content publication, etc. In fact, preparing, posting, and monitoring the content is an important aspect of any online business. There is a lot of research and effort required. It’s not a simple DIY project that you can hand over to your friend’s teenager who’s on summer vacation.

4. You’re not paying attention to the customers

If you spend a great deal of time trying to DIY everything, from managing the numbers to building a brand, you may be missing the most crucial part of the equation – the customers. It’s important to understand what your clients and customers need from you. Optimize your products or services, collect their feedback, read up on recent trends in the industry, and prioritize customer service. Input from social media management can help organize priorities and streamline information from customers.

5. You don’t have the right tools

Professionals have adequate knowledge and the necessary tools at their disposal. They can help you with graphics software, creativity, language proficiency, scheduling marketing campaigns, analyzing customer preferences, tracking their activities, engaging with the audience, etc.

6. You don’t have enough time

If you feel this is a great DIY project, think again. You’ll need to spend a great deal of time keeping everything up to date regularly. A good social media account provides accurate and consistent information to build consumer trust and online visibility.

Hiring the right individual to manage your social media account is a vital part of your business. The reputation of your brand banks on it. Since 79% of the US population uses social media, it’s arguably the most important way to control the conversation surrounding your online business. And because the digital marketing world is constantly advancing, sometimes changes are made without warning. A social media manager is equipped with all the latest information. Therefore, it’s no longer an option. It’s time to go to a pro.

About the Author:

Alma Causey is a Freelance writer by day and sports fan by night. She writes about tech education and health related issues. Live simply, give generously, watch football and a technology lover. She is currently associated with Thrive Team.