Creating a dynamic and user-focused digital marketing strategy is essential for B2B marketing success in today’s fast-paced online environment. Managing such a strategy, however, requires expert skills and ongoing attention and can be pretty time-consuming. This is why nearly 50% of B2B marketers are outsourcing social media marketing some or all of their social media marketing efforts to specialized agencies.
Outsourcing has the potential to boost growth and increase conversion rates, but it’s not the right solution for every business. It’s crucial to recognize the signs that it’s time to outsource your B2B social media marketing and carefully weigh the pros and cons.
One telltale sign that outsourcing might be right is when your in-house team struggles to engage potential clients and generate conversions on social media platforms and niche networks. In these situations, external agencies can offer expertise in producing attention-grabbing, high-quality content like infographics, managing targeted social media campaigns, and distributing blog posts across relevant channels with carefully selected, SEO-friendly hashtags.
However, it’s important to remember that outsourcing digital marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. When making this decision, you must consider factors like your target audience, demographics, and brand personality. The key to success in outsourcing marketing often lies in finding the perfect balance between your in-house team’s abilities and the specialized know-how external agencies can bring.
Keep track of your social media marketing and social media campaign performance using analytics tools like Google Analytics and implement a well-structured funnel to engage your target audience, ultimately driving conversions. Regularly update your content marketing strategy to maintain relevance and ensure it addresses popular user queries related to the topic. Whether you outsource your B2B social media marketing or stick with your in-house team, always stay focused on your goals and remain committed to ongoing experimentation and improvement.
Here are seven indications it might be time to outsource!
1) SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES AND ONLINE PRESENCE FEEL MEH
According to research, 78% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a business they’ve had a positive experience with on social media. That’s why a company’s marketing strategy is essential.
Most B2Bs have their own social media strategy, focusing on goals such as likes, shares, saves, comments, branding or brand awareness, and lead generation. This allows businesses to avoid social media marketing strategies that can lead to lackluster results, including:
Inconsistent posting schedules
Lack of engagement
Inconsistent tone
Failure to reach the right audience or demographics
Low-quality content marketing
Inability to measure results
How can an outsourced B2B marketing agency help?
For medium business owners, an external marketing services department has someone on staff with industry expertise and a current understanding of the algorithm and audience trends for the social media platforms you are targeting—and time to keep up with them—to develop your own strategy. Plus, a team of creatives and analysts to execute.
Today’s most effective social media platforms for B2B marketers, like LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, require more than the set social media strategy you can find for free online.
The best digital marketing companies will spend time socially listening to consumers’ research and create a living marketing strategy that anticipates and reacts to your target audience where they are on the right social media channels. They’ll have the analytical tools needed to test and improve repeatedly to increase their chances of success.
When is outsourced marketing not an ideal choice?
If you have a small audience or a tight marketing budget, paying for agency-level research to develop a marketing strategy may not make sense. However, hiring a marketing partner to assist with content creation or a specific social media campaign could make boost your social media efforts.
2) YOU NEED A FRESH PERSPECTIVE
It can be challenging to come up with fresh ideas and perspectives. This is where a social media specialist shines! Especially when you are constantly dealing with the same products and services. This is where perspectives outside your particular business operation become critical.
How can an outsourced B2B marketing agency help?
A B2B marketing agency service isn’t just a melting pot of talent; it’s a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Having a partner that can help you or your business owner see your company’s whole online marketing strategy from an outside point of view can help break stagnant thinking and execution on social media networks.
When is outsourced marketing not an ideal choice?
Sometimes a fresh perspective can come from a different department within your company.
3) Your engagement & growth have cratered
There are several reasons why B2B brands may be unable to excel in a marketing campaign and generate likes, shares, or online conversation.
Lack of relevant content
Difficulty in standing out
Limited social media budgets
Changes to social media algorithms
Lack of engagement with followers
Wrong audience
Poor search engine optimization
How can an outsourced B2B marketing agency help?
Lack of engagement can seem frustrating, especially if you have a strategy. Even if you have a team member who understands the algorithm and audience, they may not have the time to create the content needed to succeed.
An outsourced social media marketing agency can focus on increasing your key metrics as a goal and provide you with cutting-edge solutions at the fraction of the cost and time it would take to find an independent expert and onboard them. Agencies are always two steps ahead of the game and deeply understand social media audiences.
When is outsourced marketing not an ideal choice?
Audit the above bullets internally with your social media manager first. It may turn out that all you needed is to make small tweaks, the help of an intern, or a little more budget to turn the ship around.
4) You aren't sure how to handle negative reviews
Social media is as much a customer service tool as it is a device for content marketing. Just consider some of the problems that can arise from neglecting to treat it this way:
Not responding to reviews quickly enough
Coming across as rude or unhelpful
Highlight product or brand shortcomings
Inconsistent messaging
Failure to meet expectations or promises
How an outsourced marketing agency can help
94% of shoppers point to a bad review for reasons they avoid a business. Agencies can monitor your social media accounts and respond quickly to negative comments. This shows your customers that you care about their feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service.
It is important to consider not only customers’ queries immediately, just the speed at which you respond, but the tone and messaging of your brand. If you want to maintain direct control over how your brand is presented online and ensure that responses to customer feedback are consistent with your brand voice, even a consultation can be of use.
Agencies can help you develop a voice, tone, and crisis management plan to handle negative comments. They’ll guide you on how to respond, who to involve in the process, and how to prevent potential damage.
Outsourced partners may also be able to generate positive reviews and feedback on social media. Whether through campaigns, incentivizing customers, or sharing customer success stories, you can offset negative comments and build a positive online community presence.
When outsourced marketing may not be ideal
If your business has a dedicated social media team with experience managing reviews and feedback, it may make sense to keep the process in-house. Additionally, smaller brands with fewer customer interactions on social media may find it more cost-effective to take care of internally.
5) You don't have the time
By some estimates, you should be spending 25 hours per week on marketing. That’s a lot of time–and the truth is you’re probably spending more! Think about everything social media managers and their departments have to do almost daily, and then think about all the other marketing tasks you have. It’s a lot for one marketing manager to handle.
Manage a content calendar
Source photography, video, and other creative
Write and schedule posts
Conduct social listening
Analyze and plan
Engage
Report
How an outsourced marketing agency can help
Saving time is one of the biggest reasons to outsource. Anything from writing a blog post to media buying takes time. Your own team may not have it.
When outsourced marketing may not be ideal
One very important thing to consider here is that when you have an outside marketing department working on your own social media strategy, it will still require time investment on your part. Be realistic. Do you need to delegate internally? Do you need to hire an internal social media manager before going to an agency?
6) You don't have the in-house expertise or resources
When companies seek out the services of top marketing agencies, it’s often because they’re looking for more expertise than a general marketing manager.
They want a specialized marketing team, who can speak to different marketing channels, do the media buying of professional ads managers, better content creation production value, creative ideas, and better results. But hiring an in-house marketing team is hard, and mistakes are costly.
How a marketing agency can help
Social media takes a highly specialized set of skills to master. But not every business can afford the hiring and onboarding process. Some may also have limited social media needs, so don’t require a full-time manager.
Hiring professional paid ads managers in-house may not be in your marketing budget. Maybe your full-time marketing manager needs help developing organic traffic, consumer research, or social media search engine rankings.
Social media video attracts new customers to 93% of brands. As video content continues to dominate the social media landscape, agencies with a whole creative team can offer many more possibilities than one graphic designer. Think professional photo and video shoots, paid ads campaigns, email marketing, social marketing, and content marketing.
You gain the knowledge and skills of a team of content creation experts for a fraction of the cost.
Marketing agencies also give you more flexibility if you want to work on a project-by-project basis or specific marketing campaigns — some businesses use an agency to help them to recruit an influencer or to manage influencers.
When outsourced marketing may not be ideal
If you have the budget and time, adding a social media manager to your staff may make sense before going the agency route.
7) You want to scale your business
Outsourcing your social media and marketing efforts can be a game-changer if you want to scale your business.
How an outsourced marketing agency can help
A professional social media marketing agency can help you set a marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals and target audience. They can also encourage engagement and boost brand loyalty by creating compelling content and immediately responding to customers’ queries.
Having a separate social media marketing team assigned fully to your accounts allows you to focus on your core business operations and let the experts handle your company’s online marketing presence.
When outsourced marketing may not be ideal
While marketing efforts are a large part of scaling a business, be sure you are budgeting appropriately. Don’t spend so much on marketing that you can’t keep up with production.
How To Choose the Right Social Media Marketing Agency
When it is time to outsource, finding the right partner is not always easy. Common issues include finding an agency with the right expertise who understands the audience, budget issues, communication, and lack of clear ROI.
Look for a social media marketing partner who sees themselves as community managers who have worked with businesses in your industry and have a track record of delivering results. An excellent digital marketing company should be able to provide you with a comprehensive plan that outlines multiple aspects of its approach
