Social Media Consulting, Why, Who and How Much
Social Media consulting is a fuzzy function to say the least.
People type that phrase into Google and get back a list of websites that are basically savvy freelancers looking to leverage their skill set to generate an income.
When I look at the websites for the social media consultants on page 1 of Google I'm just not sold.
I say this with complete understanding that I may appear to be one of the same, I assure you I am not.
A lot of these people are over the age of 40, and while age may not be a deciding factor in critiquing a skill set, I'd like to believe it is still a factor.
I grew up using social media, I'm a social media native.
I'd like to think that counts for something.
Furthermore, consulting is more than being a fact and decision making resource, it's also about leading.
To be a thought leader, you need credibility and I think that being native to something helps with that.
I'm rambling now, the point of this post was to help you flush out a few things that will help you find a social media consultant that works for you.
Here we go.
Why hire a consultant? Good question.
Most people hire a consultant because either they do not have enough time or they need a jump-start.
Consultants are a great resource for helping define your initial goals, tools and execution strategy.
Sometimes it helps to have someone to bounce stuff off of.
Who should be hired? Hire someone who can provide real life references.
Better yet, those references should be from a similar industry to yours.
From small business to big brand, pick someone who can provide real testimonials for the work they've done.
It's just to easy to fake success online these days and just because someone has 40,000 followers on Twitter doesn't mean they know YOUR business.
How much? Depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
A good social media consultant will be able to provide a price range based on tasks - not an overarching hourly rate.
Setting up a Twitter profile takes much less time that studying social media sentiment - and they should be priced accordingly for the value they provide.
People type that phrase into Google and get back a list of websites that are basically savvy freelancers looking to leverage their skill set to generate an income.
When I look at the websites for the social media consultants on page 1 of Google I'm just not sold.
I say this with complete understanding that I may appear to be one of the same, I assure you I am not.
A lot of these people are over the age of 40, and while age may not be a deciding factor in critiquing a skill set, I'd like to believe it is still a factor.
I grew up using social media, I'm a social media native.
I'd like to think that counts for something.
Furthermore, consulting is more than being a fact and decision making resource, it's also about leading.
To be a thought leader, you need credibility and I think that being native to something helps with that.
I'm rambling now, the point of this post was to help you flush out a few things that will help you find a social media consultant that works for you.
Here we go.
Why hire a consultant? Good question.
Most people hire a consultant because either they do not have enough time or they need a jump-start.
Consultants are a great resource for helping define your initial goals, tools and execution strategy.
Sometimes it helps to have someone to bounce stuff off of.
Who should be hired? Hire someone who can provide real life references.
Better yet, those references should be from a similar industry to yours.
From small business to big brand, pick someone who can provide real testimonials for the work they've done.
It's just to easy to fake success online these days and just because someone has 40,000 followers on Twitter doesn't mean they know YOUR business.
How much? Depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
A good social media consultant will be able to provide a price range based on tasks - not an overarching hourly rate.
Setting up a Twitter profile takes much less time that studying social media sentiment - and they should be priced accordingly for the value they provide.
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