Because customer conversations do not happen on your laptop’s C drive, they happen in the Social
space!
Say what? Yeah, ok, I kind of jumped the gun.
So let’s start at the beginning.
As we meet clients and talk to them about Social Media initiatives and strategies, many times, we realize that what we are advising is something that a client can so easily do himself. Well, not all parts of it, but many of the simpler ones.
So then, why does the company need us? Why can’t they do it themselves?
Some of the reasons in response to these questions:
- Unless it is a day job, it does not get done well: There are times when there is a “mood” to jump into Social Media. Usually starts somewhere at the top levels of management. And the plunge is taken. Facebook page is started or a Twitter account initiated, or some blogging takes off. May even go on for a few months. And then, one of many things could happen:
- a. The ‘champion’ of the project leaves the job, or
- b. A joint venture initiative comes up, which occupies the mindshare, or
- c. The CFO asks some awkward questions on resource utilization, etc.
And the effort dies down. Slowly but surely, it fizzles out to a zero. Nobody even tries to clean up the mess. The ‘fans’ on the Facebook pages are left high and dry. Nobody responds back to the tweets. The blog looks like an abandoned ghost town.
Impact on the brand? I am sure you can imagine!!
If alternately, an agency was involved, such holes would not remain, usually.
- You know all the stuff, but you do not how to present it: The business belongs to the client. She knows her business better than anyone else, and we, as Social Media consultants cannot even come close. However, with the client’s knowledge of her business, and her ability to put content together about the business, there may be a shortfall in the area of presentation.A very long blog post may be written, that no one reads through. Posts may sound too technical and boring. There may be a struggle to communicate in short for, say, 140 characters, for Twitter. And of course, fundamental language skills may not be that good.
Here again, the Social Media Agency will fix all of these issues, and create content of suitable size, suitable style, and present it well.
- There are only 24 hours in the day: Many times, we find that on the scale of good intentions, clients score 110%. That they want to go after Social Media and want to crack the puzzle, and they want to blog, and they want to tweet, and they want to do everything that comes in between. And they want to do it themselves too.With that kind of earnestness, the task begins and is taken up. The ‘honeymoon’ period goes like a breeze. They are frequent blog posts, there are regular updates on Facebook, on Twitter, etc. And then…. then, a big tender / RFP comes up, and getting that business could mean wonders for the client. OR, perhaps there are some regulatory / compliance issues that come up and grab the time of the client. And the first casualty of time is the Social Media plan. Because it is not delivering short term results!
A Social Media agency would ensure against gaps of this kind!
- The best things that you do are also often, your best-kept secrets: Most companies have, over time, worked on some amazing projects, some outstanding work for their clients. In doing so, they satisfied their clients no end, perhaps even earned some bonuses for themselves. They have probably even made a case study document out of this, with an intention of showing it to some other client, if a similar case comes up.There are also times when companies have come up with this brilliant presentation about themselves, and which they shared to their bankers or potential investors or while pitching for some new accounts.
Such case studies, such presentations are then, hanging around somewhere in the C drives of computers. And sitting there, they do not have a chance to impress anyone else.
A Social Media Agency will typically prompt the client to come out with such “secrets” and which are then showcased strategically, via Social Media, and then, have a chance to reach a wider audience!
In conclusion, I repeat that as a Social Media Consultant, or a Social Media Agency, there is almost nothing that I can do, which my client cannot do. There is scarcely any ‘technical’ skill that I bring forth, that a client would not have.
The only reason then, for a client to engage us, is because, “we will get Social Media done”, and left to themselves, clients may or may not do it consistently / regularly!
Yes, I generalize to an extent, to make the point. What do you think, though? In your experience, do you think this generalization is valid?