One of your colleagues recently asked:

How can someone outsource their social media and maintain authenticity?

And this is something that is very close to my heart. 💗

You only have so much time in a day. Social media posts can easily wind up on the back burner. Once you outsource your social content or social media management, you must maintain authenticity.

If you’re not authentic on your socials, you’ll never build true relationships or become a thought leader. With this in mind, let’s see how you can remain authentic even if you’re outsourcing your socials.

Define Your Brand Voice

Do you have a brand voice? 🎤 

If not, the people you outsource to will struggle to communicate in your voice. Before handing over the reins to your account, you need to find your voice and allow the professional to “continue your work.”

Decide if you want to be:

• Serious
• Funny
• Witty 
• Etc.

Another important point that may be hard to accept is that you need to know what you stand for. You have to be willing to repel the people who aren’t for you and attract those who are. Knowing what you stand for does precisely that.

Kelly Rohrs, CPA, is someone who I admire, and she isn’t afraid to take a stand on her personality. Just look at this post where she explains how she’ll be “nice/nasty” when it comes to business. She’s bold, and that “nice/nasty” approach allows her to maintain boundaries and say no.

Take time to define your voice and what you stand for before choosing a partner to take over your social profiles.

Choose a Partner Who Understands Your Voice

There’s a right and wrong way to hire someone to handle your socials. You can work with an agency or freelancer who either understands your industry and voice or doesn’t. Why complicate things?

Hire someone who:

• Understands your voice
• Knows what you stand for
• Has an understanding of your industry

When someone really grasps what’s important to you, you’ll have a much easier time maintaining authenticity when you outsource your social media.

The last thing you want to do is have to spend your precious time trying to explain to someone the ins and outs of your industry. There is a reason why people go to college for years to learn a subject; it’s not reasonable to expect someone to understand what you do in 45 minutes. 

This is why we only work with accountants or those who serve the accounting industry. We know the industry back and forth. That way we can spend our time focusing on the specific details of their person and what makes them unique. 

Stay at the Helm of Ideation and Content Approval

Choosing the right partner – someone who understands your voice and your industry – is just one piece of the puzzle. If you want to maintain authenticity, make sure that you’re:

• Staying at the helm of ideation
• Approving the content before it gets posted

How do you stay at the helm of ideation? Start by brainstorming and coming up with ideas. The best kind of content comes from real-world experiences. Stories, insights and updates are excellent ways to be authentic. 

The ideas and insights you provide can help your social media manager craft more comprehensive and genuine content. 

But even if your partner “gets you” and your brand’s voice, it’s important to have a content approval process in place. An approval process ensures that you only post the content you want and is aligned with your voice and values.

Create Templated Responses But Encourage Direct Communication

Templated responses are a great way to ensure that your voice is consistent. Work together with your social media manager to come up with common responses to questions. By working together, you ensure that you’re both on the same page and your brand responds to customers or followers the way you want.

For example, when you personally respond on social media, do you give a lot of details or do you keep it simple? Are you enthusiastic and tend to use a lot of emojis or “!”? Little things like this make a difference in maintaining authenticity.

For those one-off, uncommon questions, ensure your social media manager feels comfortable reaching out to you for clarity and help with the response.

Prioritize Video Content

The great thing about video content is that it’s you. Your authenticity shines through because you’re the one who’s on camera.

And people love video content. In fact, 88% of people want to see more videos from brands.

Sure, AI can create videos – but they’re not great at this yet. For now, your video content will still be all about you, and this can be a very powerful tool on social media. 

Not all social media managers will offer video editing services. So be sure to check if yours does. Even if yours doesn’t, they will like be able to help with posting the videos for you.

Provide Feedback

It’s important to view your social media manager as a partner. Like with any partnership, it’s important to have feedback and communication. 

If you find that their posts aren’t aligned with your vision or voice, communicate this to them. Provide constructive feedback, so they can improve their content and ensure it matches your brand voice. 

Stay Involved

Outsourcing can save you time, but it’s important to remember that it’s still your brand. Stay involved. 

• Hop on your social media accounts to engage with your followers and respond to comments. 
• Check your inbox discussions and respond from time to time. 
• Create personal posts whenever it feels right.

It’s important not to detach yourself from your brand and its online presence. Find a balance that allows you to maintain efficiency and authenticity.

And, that’s a wrap on this Dear Katie question.

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Now I want to hear from you. Do you have a question? 

Submit it here

Until next time, cheers to your success!

Katie