When people think of what a social media consultant, like myself, does, it’s usually pretty straight forward. They think all they do is post on social media. That can be one aspect of what I do, but it’s nowhere near the whole story.
If you think you might need to bring in a social media consultant and are stuck with that one idea of what they do, it can be hard to fully pull the plug if you don’t need that level of service. You might only need something much smaller, so let’s take a look at the different ways you can work with a social media consultant.
Speaker
I have been a speaker on multiple occasions, and it’s a fun part of my job. I get to meet people I wouldn’t normally work with, and I get new problems thrown out at me. Honestly, if I could do more speaking engagements, I absolutely would.
When booking a social media consultant as a speaker, there are several things to keep in mind. Not only are you booking their time when they are actually speaking, you are also booking the time it takes for them to prepare for it. For me, this includes putting a personalized deck together that will fit the needs of the particular audience as well as time practicing so I can speak fluently and without notes. The longer the speaking gig, the longer this all takes.
If you’re saying that you’ll pay me in exposure, it’s an easy no for me and most qualified social media consultants. Why? In all of my years of speaking, I have only signed one client from it and it was a very small project. The kind of people who will sign contracts with me are not likely coming to one of these seminars. So exposure at a seminar does not do a lot for me.
I usually look at the amount of time it will take me to prepare and the length of the speaking gig. I’ll give a quote based on that timing. So if you are thinking of hiring a social media consultant as a speaker and you want to get a good one, I would expect that this is the kind of quote you will get.
Coach
This can really be broken down into two parts. The first is regularly meeting with me to work through your social media strategy. And the other is just a one-off meeting based on what you need at the time.
The one-off is treated very similarly to a speaking gig. But as we go through the deck, we take frequent stops to talk through how it applies to your particular social media issues. Usually includes giving me access to your accounts ahead of time, so I can further personalize your training to your specific needs. This is not an all out audit. It’s more like pushes toward the right directions.
A real coaching relationship is for people who want to take their social media to the next level. But they don’t want to hire a social media consultant to do it all for them. They want to learn it themselves. I take them step by step through my processes and we figure out where to go next together. And then I give weekly feedback on the content. They then can learn how to write for their audience at the same time. It’s a slow process. But it’s good for companies that really want to invest in their employees and keep them in the long-term.
I love working both of these options because I love seeing the lightbulb go on for clients. And happily, that always happens for anyone who works with me like this.
Strategy and content with a social media consultant
I know there are a lot of social media consultants who like to work on just strategy. But if I’m going to do a strategy document, I feel the need to enact it. Then I can see how it does in the real world and make necessary adjustments. Because in the end, that strategy document is just full of educated guesses. Yes, there is real research that goes into it, but the conclusions are guesses at what your audience would like to see from you.
So for that reason, I either do the strategy document and enact it or I work with the client on how to create the strategy document so they can enact it. That way, they are capable of making those necessary adjustments as they put their guesses out into the real world. Because any social media consultant who says their strategy document is gospel is lying to you or just has way too much faith in themselves. These documents are meant to breathe and be changeable in the end.
I also love the community management part of social media. Getting to talk with your audience and see what interests them can provide such usable information. It can take them from being audience members to community members. Audience members are passive and react to what you give them. Community members interact with you and each other. And they provide each other what they need, which can inspire a lot of future content if you pay attention.
Other ways to work with a social media consultant
I, like many other social media consultants, provide options on my website. Those are only there to get prospects thinking about how they would like to work with me. If you find the right social media consultant for you, then they can easily customize what they do to fit what you need. So if you are thinking now is the time to get help on some level, start by thinking about who you would like to work with. The perfect package for you can be figured out later.
How have you worked with a social media consultant?