Imagine you’re too busy to go to the pub and socialise with your friends.

Would you send a complete stranger along to socialise with them on your behalf?

You’ll be able to brief the stranger on topics you like to talk about. Tell him about what makes you tick. He might be able to do a good impression of the way you talk. Use your mannerisms. Almost becoming your avatar.

But there’s a problem isn’t there?

He isn’t you. Your friends would know that. Instantly.

The real you

As good as he was at mimicking your personality and style, he’d be a poor substitute for the real you. And your friends might find it a little weird you sent him along in the first place.

If you wouldn’t get a complete stranger to impersonate you in a social setting like a pub, why would you get a complete stranger to impersonate you on social media?

There are companies out there offering such a service.

“Outsource social media to us,” they say. “We’ll tweet on your behalf. Let us post on LinkedIn and put photos up on Instagram.”

So it’s possible to get a complete stranger to do your social media for you but is it a good idea?

The answer depends on what you use social media for. If all you’re doing is promoting your stuff then it doesn’t matter who is pressing the tweet button. If all you do is sell your products and flog your services then who cares who schedules your posts?

But if you’re having real conversations in real-time, asking questions, giving answers, helping people and engaging with people, how can anyone else do that better than you?

It is just like socialising in the pub.

Team you

If you’re a larger company you might have several people trained up and running your social media accounts. They’ll know your strategy, and your brand and how social media is about engagement and not blatant selling. You might even use a bit of automation to send out links to great content.

As long as you keep up the social aspects of your activity it can work. You can keep interacting. It can be engaging. Continuing the pub analogy your friends would recognise your team members and would understand.

And if you do it yourself. Or keep it within your team. Think of how much you’ll learn. How much you’ll grow. It’s so tempting to think “How much money can we save by outsourcing. How much time time can I free up.” Instead of thinking, “How much can we as a team learn?”

If an outsource company approaches you and convinces you they can run your social media for you, just check you’re clear what social media is, and why you are doing it before you hand off your socialising to strangers.

Now it’s your turn:

Do you outsource your social media? Do you still manage to engage with people and have conversations? Or is it mainly promotional?

Would you like help?

I’m not offering to do your social media for you! That’d sound a bit rich after what I’ve just written. But if you want help putting together a social media plan, or if you’d like social media training then let’s chat. Please do get in touch.