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Am I Ready to Hire Someone to Manage my Facebook Page?

The other day, I posted an entry called Five Factors to Consider When Seeking a Facebook Page Manger. As I was adding a point here and there, it occurred to me that I had started with the assumption that business owners are READY to have someone manage their pages.  Certainly, time may be crushing in on business owners and they may WANT someone else to take over, but are they ready?

In an attempt to help my fellow business owners answer this question, I recommend considering the following before you even begin trying to find someone to help you manage your Facebook page (or any other social media, for that matter):

1. Do you honestly have a solid understanding of who your target audience (ideal client) is?  Seems basic, but I constantly run into business owners who respond vaguely to this question.   
2. Do you know WHY you want to have a Facebook page?  What is it you hope or intend to accomplish with this page?  Do you have specific business objectives that you are trying to reach?  Do you have an idea of how you will measure against these objectives?
3. How will you coordinate with your content manager?  Weekly phone calls?  Regular emails?  What is the escalation procedure should an urgent client request be posted? 
4. Are you comfortable letting your content manager discuss industry related topics that are not related to your business?  Do you understand that it is not always beneficial to simply offer links to your own content and discounts to your own products? 
5. Are you committed to the success of the page?  Are you ready to establish a personal Facebook page so that, when needed, you can comment on your business page?  Are you ready to relay news and updates about your company to your page manager? 
6. Do you have a basic understanding of public relations?  (Social media is a lot like public relations.)  Do you recognize that the person ought to be monitoring your brand beyond Facebook and bringing brand mentions to Facebook?   Are you prepared to expand your communication repertoire beyond Facebook - to local media, podcasts, YouTube, etc.?

For all of us, business owners that is, time is critical!  That goes without saying.  But, before you dive into bringing a Facebook manager on board to rescue your sanity, make sure you have a solid plan in place so that it a successful venture for you.   

Five Factors to Consider When Seeking a Facebook Page Manager

Business owners, from the largest corporation to the smallest, in-home start-up, have heard of Facebook and are establishing their presence there.  Facebook has become one of the tools to use for establishing community, building brand recognition, learning about the competition, and understanding buying personas.  For all of its positive marketing uses, however, not every business owner has the time to or interest in building a robust page on their own, so they turn to consultants to manage the pages on their behalf.  

If this sounds like you, what should you keep in mind before agreeing to have another party manage your Facebook page?  The following are five key factors to consider.

1. "Talk the Talk".  The ability of the page manager to provide engaging content and get people talking will somewhat depend on their ability to understand who your target audience is and the lingo that the community is accustomed to using.  For instance, if you're target audience is the basketball fanatic and your candidate can't jump into a conversation about the Celtics offense this year, you may want to keep looking for someone who is as enthusiastic about the topic as you.
2. Professionalism.  While you may be looking to cut costs and assume that hiring someone right out of college will enable a lower rate, remember that not everyone who departs college steps forth with a high level of professionalism.  This is often a skill that is learned in time while working in a variety of settings under a variety of situations.  
3. Understanding of measurement.  Experience not only brings the vague quality of professionalism, but it also ensures that the person hired understands the importance of defining measurement goals for the page and then watching/working towards those goals. 
4. Customer service or public relations background.  Engaging someone with a strong ability to address and mitigate any negative comments that may be posted to your Facebook page is key.  You don't want negative comments lingering unanswered for the rest of the world to take in as truth.  
5. Trust.  Most importantly of all, as a business owner, you must trust that this person or agency is trustworthy and has your best interests at heart.  If you doubt that, move on! 

Keeping these five factors in mind as you find someone who can assist with your workload will ensure that your Facebook page is managed in line with your overall business objectives and that your brand maintains or enhances its current standing.