We’ve said it before, you can’t do social media alone. When you’re running your own business, your plate is already full with the day-to-day work of managing a company. In the same way that you would hire an accountant to run your finances, you can hire social media strategists who specializes in digital marketing who know the game and can save you tons of time and money.
It can be tempting to save a little cash by using an intern to head your social efforts. However, there’s a huge difference between having an experienced strategist head your social media accounts, and having an intern behind the wheel. Here’s why– even though it may be tempting– you should never hire an intern to manage your social media.
An Intern Is Temporary Solution For A Permanent Need
If you want your company to be competitive, effective social media marketing is a must. We can’t go back to newspaper ads and radio spots (though these are still viable tools). Social media is here to stay and it has a BIG impact on businesses, large or small.
Along with SEO experts and content writers, social media managers are keystones of a successful digital marketing strategy. Without the watchful eye of a skilled manager, your social strategy falls behind in key areas like:
These services are vital for a thriving online business that converts viewers to customers, and they will continue to be for the foreseeable future. An intern can be a cheap fix in the short term, but they’ll cost you big in the long run.
Interns leave your business, and take their experience with them. Internships are learning experiences first, and jobs second. You can spend six months carefully crafting your online voice with an intern, but all that progress is gone as soon as they move on.
A full time social media strategist is not only well-versed in effective social media strategy, but they’re your employee. You keep them as long as you want. They have all the time they need to get to know you and your brand. Which leads us to our next point.
Interns Can Never Be Fully Invested In Your Brand
Your audience wants to talk with someone who cares about your business. Someone who answers their questions promptly and with ease. While interns can certainly execute a strategy, they don’t provide this kind of engagement with your followers.
Interns can be great for finding new followers or racking up a couple more views on a post, but they can’t fully integrate themselves into your brand’s community. A few months is nowhere near enough time to become acclimated to regular customers and immerse yourself in an industry.
A social media strategist has the time to build relationships with your customers. A strategist won’t seem like an outsider trying to play a part; they can actually become a functioning arm of your business. Plus, they can do everything your intern did, but better.
Interns Will Make Mistakes, And They’ll Make Big Ones
With experience comes patience and skill, and interns can be low on both. When you’re representing a business and are responsible for its online presence, you must to maintain a sense of professionalism and carefully plan your actions.
While you may think your intern can’t screw things up too badly, you’d be surprised to see how impactful one simple mistake can be. Little errors happen more often than we’d like to think, like:
Even small mistakes can damage your image and create hours of clean-up work. A professional will always double and triple check their work, interns… not so much.
Not All Interns Are Bad, They’re Just Not For You
We know there are some great interns out there who will make excellent marketers in the future, but interns need to be taken on by digital marketing companies. Seniors will show them the ropes, monitor their progress, and ensure they don’t interrupt the flow of business.
Your company is not a training ground, and you deserve actual professionals. We don’t want to sound like we hate interns and college students, we don’t! But, we do want our clients understand how hiring less experienced personnel can adversely affect their brand.
If you have any questions about social media strategy, or just want more intern horror-stories, get in touch. We want you to invest in your story, and a large part of that story is told on social media.