When to Hire an In-house Social Media Specialist vs. Social Media Firm

Companies engaged with social media as part of their digital marketing and selling strategies have won up to 50% more new business than companies that ignore social.

In this way, it’s obvious that social media does much more than build awareness of brands — it’s part of real sales pipelines.

What can social media team members bring to business owners?

• Knowledge of social media marketing tools
• Expertise in making social media posts across platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok etc.)
• Content strategy, copywriting, and SEO tasks
• Content marketing training
• Graphic design for social media
• Years of experience handling social networks
• Experience in broader marketing campaigns
• Online presence management skills
• Influencer collaboration experience and contacts

Want to boost your brand and sales using social media? You’ll likely need some extra help to realize that goal.

When managing social media, companies have two primary options: hiring an in-house social media teammate or outsourcing to a social media marketing agency. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages, and there are best use cases for each.

To choose which is right for your business, evaluate your current requirements for social media and review our recommendations below.

In-house Social Media Specialist

What is an In-House Social Media Marketing Manager?

An in-house social media teammate is a full-time employee dedicated to managing the company's social media accounts.

This individual is an integral part of the company's marketing team and is responsible for creating and implementing the social media strategy, managing content creation and curation, engaging with followers, analyzing data and metrics, and reporting to upper management.

5 Benefits of Hiring In-House Social Media Specialist

In-house social media teammates are able to bring social media content to your team with a close understanding of your company and its culture. On a day-to-day level, there are clear advantages to bringing social media support internally.

1. Dedicated resource for your brand
2. Reliable accessibility
3. Better understanding of your brand
4. More control and customization
5. Long-term investment

An in-house social media manager can make all the difference for online marketing strategies owned by large and small businesses alike.

1. Dedicated Company Resource

An in-house social media marketer is a dedicated resource focusing solely on your brand's marketing efforts. Digital marketing agencies and social media firms will have other clients to attend to, but in-house employees will be exclusively focused on your efforts.

With an in-house teammate, you won’t need to worry about fighting for time or attention from an external agency. Instead, you can rest assured that the internal employee will closely collaborate with the rest of your team to understand the brand's unique voice and tone deeply.

This will enable them to create social media strategies that best represent the company and contribute to better brand awareness.

2. Reliable Accessibility

An in-house social media marketer will always be available to you within the confines of your own office. That means that you can immediately access them whenever you need to communicate, brainstorm, or give feedback. With someone in-house, the communication will be faster and turnaround time will follow suit.

For instance, a question around a content calendar entry would be solved much faster with a quick face-to-face clarification than it would be over Slack or email.

In addition to being accessible to managers, in-house teammates are also embedded in the team culture. They can work more closely with other team members across marketing, sales, and customer service departments. This means that your social media presence will be more integrated with broader business goals.

3. Better Understanding of Your Brand

An in-house social media marketer better understands your brand's values, mission, and audience simply because they show up and participate in your internal team’s culture day-to-day.

Since they have more opportunities to interact with your team and the product they’re promoting, they’re more likely to develop a more nuanced and intimate understanding of your brand than an external social media firm.

4. More Control and Customization

An in-house social media marketer gives you more control and customization over your campaigns because you have more oversight on their work.

Because in-house teammates are able to be more collaborative and embed themselves in your team culture, you’re better able to work together to build campaigns.

With regular check-in and reviews, you can make small corrections to steer them in the right direction over time. A social media firm may do a decent amount of work that doesn’t align with your goals and not realize it until weeks later.

The power to adjust small things over time through several touchpoints with your social media resources shouldn’t be undervalued when choosing a social media provider.

5. Long-term Investment

Hiring an in-house social media marketer is a long-term investment in your brand's marketing efforts.

This person can build relationships with your audience over time and establish a consistent presence on social media that reinforces your brand's identity.

Small businesses may hesitate at the upfront costs of adding a permanent social media employee to the company, but the returns on investing in a teammate should be convincing.

5 Challenges of Hiring In-House Social Media Teammates

While there are tons of perks to adding an internal social media strategist to your team, not every aspect of them will be universally ideal.

These 5 drawbacks may steer some companies toward outsourcing social media tasks to an agency:

1. Higher costs
2. Limited skill sets
3. Limited bandwidth
4. Possibility of burnout
5. Potential for bias and limited creativity

If these disadvantages strike you as particularly taxing, it may be best for your business to consider a social media marketing agency.

1. Higher Costs

Hiring an in-house social media specialist comes with higher costs than an agency or a freelancer might ask for, here’s why:

Costs associated with hiring new in-house teammates:

• Salaries
• Employee benefits
• Training and onboarding costs
• Cost of hiring process

The long-term nature of a permanent internal hire also can make the choice of an in-house teammate seem a bit daunting. This can be a financial burden for small businesses or those with limited budgets.

2. Limited Skill Set

An in-house social media specialist may have a limited skill set because they’re simply one person.

For instance, an individual might have more specialized experience in social listening but not be as skilled in design. There are definitely individuals out there with a broad skill set, but they will always have more experience in some areas than others.

In contrast l, an agency will have numerous teammates specializing in different areas of social media marketing, granting them a stronger execution as a unified front.

Plus, social media agencies are more likely to have experience working across a broad spectrum of industries, which helps them tailor their work to client needs.

3. Limited Capacity for New Tasks

An in-house social media specialist has limited capacity, which means they may be unable to handle a sudden increase in workload or a large-scale campaign.
This can result in delays and missed opportunities for your brand.

Unfortunately, this can come at a great cost to your business. In order to mitigate these risks, companies may need to hire additional in-house employees, freelancers, or outsource to a social media company.

4. Risk of Burnout

Due to the nature of social media marketing, there’s a potential for burnout.

Suppose you choose to hire an individual in-house teammate. In that case, they’ll need to concern themselves with all of your social media platforms, responding to comments, analytics, content design, and overall strategy.

This could lead your teammate to experience burnout, which will later cause reduced productivity and lower-quality work.

5. Potential for Bias and Limited Creativity

An in-house social media specialist may have limited exposure to new ideas and strategies, resulting in a lack of innovation and diversity in social media campaigns.

Internal biases and politics may influence an in-house social media specialist within the organization, which can impact the effectiveness of social media campaigns.

Social Media Marketing Firm

What is a Social Media Marketing Firm?

Outsourcing work to a social media agency involves hiring a third-party organization to manage the company's social media accounts. This agency typically has a team of experts with a broad range of social media expertise.

They also generally have the resources to keep up with the latest trends, tools, and best practices.

Additionally, agencies garner experience by working with multiple clients across various industries. This wealth of expertise can bring new ideas with social media strategy.

5 Benefits of Working with a Social Media Company

Social media companies offer skills to their clients that individual in-house employees aren’t able to. Here are the 5 top ways that social media companies differentiate themselves and add value to their teammates:

1. Diverse skill sets
2. Cost-effective
3. Scalability
4. Limited oversight needed
5. Industry experience

If you’re looking for the full coverage and knowledge of an agency, they might be the optimal choice for your operations.

1. Diverse Skill Set

Social media agencies typically have a team of professionals with diverse skills and expertise, including content creation, social media advertising, analytics, and community management.

This means you can access a range of skills and experience that you may not be able to find in a single in-house specialist.

2. Cost-effective

Outsourcing social media to an agency can be more cost-effective than hiring an in-house social media specialist. The monthly agency fees are generally less expensive than the salary of in-house teammates, and you’re getting the skills of a whole team rather than just one employee.

Agencies also often offer flexible pricing options and can scale services up or down as needed, which can be beneficial for businesses with varying budgets.

3. Scalability

Social media agencies have the resources and expertise to handle large-scale campaigns and sudden increases in workload. Because they have a larger team of employees that can be staffed on different projects at will, agencies can easily ramp up or scale down their services as per your needs.

4. Limited Required Oversight

Outsourcing social media to an agency frees up your time and resources to focus on your core business operations. With social agencies, they’ll often staff a project manager to be in charge of your account. This means that you won’t need to worry about moving individual tasks in the project forward.

This allows you to concentrate on your strengths while delegating marketing responsibilities to the agency.

5. Experience and Industry Knowledge

Social media agencies have experience working with a range of businesses and industries, which means they can provide valuable insights into industry trends, competitor analysis, and other emerging opportunities on the industry's cutting edge.

Further, social media agencies can pinpoint the latest and most impactful tools and technologies. Because of this, many agencies will already have access to social media listening tools and analytics platforms prior to engaging with you.

5 Disadvantages of Hiring a Social Media Marketing Firm

Social media marketing firms can raise brand awareness and drive conversions with their industry expertise, but at what cost?

Keep track of these potential pitfalls when considering an outsourced collaboration:

1. Lack of direct control
2. Communication challenges
3. Potential for misaligned goals
4. Limited availability
5. Limited brand knowledge

Organizationally, there are some drawbacks to choosing a SMM company to handle socials rather than an in-house employee. Be sure to take note of those that could potentially impact you.

1. Lack of Direct Control

Outsourcing social media to an agency means giving up some degree of direct control over your social media channels.

It can be difficult to ensure that the agency is capturing your brand's voice and messaging accurately, and making decisions that align with your overall marketing strategy.

2. Communication Challenges

Working with an outsourced agency may create communication challenges, particularly if the agency is located in a different time zone or region.
This can result in delays and miscommunications, which can impact the effectiveness of social media campaigns.

3. Potential for Misaligned Goals

Outsourcing social media to an agency can result in misaligned goals and expectations. The agency may have different priorities or objectives than your in-house team, which can create conflict and reduce the effectiveness of social media campaigns.

While outsourcing social media to an agency can be cost-effective, but it can also lead to higher costs if unexpected changes or additional services are required. Agencies may also charge extra fees for additional services that are not included in the initial contract.

4. Limited Availability

An outsourced agency may have limited availability, particularly if they are working with multiple clients. This can result in delays in responding to customer inquiries, complaints or issues, which can hurt the brand's reputation.

5. Limited Brand Knowledge

An outsourced agency may not deeply understand your brand, its values, and its unique voice. This can result in social media campaigns that do not accurately reflect your brand's personality or messaging.

Factors That Influence Social Media Hiring Decisions

Social media has become a crucial part of any business's marketing strategy. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to hiring in-house or outsourcing, several factors must be considered before deciding.

These factors are what will move the needle between in-house social media specialist vs. social media marketing agency:

• Cost
• Collaboration
• Scope of Work
• Type of Projects
• Expertise

While making these considerations is important, don’t lose sight of your company’s needs and aims. By acting on goals and the needs of your target audience, companies can make an informed decision that best supports their social media objectives.

Social Media Management Hiring Decisions Depend on Internal Priorities

Hiring an in-house social media teammate and outsourcing to a social media agency have advantages and disadvantages.

Your final decision between in-house social media support and a social media agency must consider your priorities and budget. However, by strongly considering the benefits and drawbacks of both options, you’ll make your choice with the most confidence.