Comments on: The Dark Side of Outsourcing Social Media http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/ Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Personal Development Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:21:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Rhona Bronson http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9700 Rhona Bronson Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:21:39 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9700 Coming from a marketing perspective, I agree that social media is best as an in-house endeavor. But then again so is marketing and communications, and companies continue to have problems either understanding the value of in-house expertise or just don't have the resources to absorb the overhead. Social media, more than other talents, lends itself to off-site services since it can be done from any computer. In this recession, the knee jerk reaction has been to let go the marketing staff, and guess who was leading the charge on the social media front? You guessed it. Marketing. The good news is that those companies who laid off marketing early on are realizing the errors of their ways and rehiring. Other companies are just starting down the lay off road and are the same ones who don't yet see value at all in social media. The other good news is that many other companies are actually actively looking for online and social media talent. I suspect they will be the ones picking up all the social media talent and will have the last laugh post-recession when they are still around to tell the tale. .-= Rhona Bronson´s last blog ..<a href="http://themarketingplaza.com/2009/07/27/storytelling-in-a-used-car-culture/" rel="nofollow">Storytelling in a Used Car Culture</a> =-. Coming from a marketing perspective, I agree that social media is best as an in-house endeavor. But then again so is marketing and communications, and companies continue to have problems either understanding the value of in-house expertise or just don’t have the resources to absorb the overhead. Social media, more than other talents, lends itself to off-site services since it can be done from any computer.

In this recession, the knee jerk reaction has been to let go the marketing staff, and guess who was leading the charge on the social media front? You guessed it. Marketing. The good news is that those companies who laid off marketing early on are realizing the errors of their ways and rehiring. Other companies are just starting down the lay off road and are the same ones who don’t yet see value at all in social media.

The other good news is that many other companies are actually actively looking for online and social media talent. I suspect they will be the ones picking up all the social media talent and will have the last laugh post-recession when they are still around to tell the tale.
.-= Rhona Bronson´s last blog ..Storytelling in a Used Car Culture =-.

]]> By: Elizabeth Burton http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9687 Elizabeth Burton Sat, 16 May 2009 14:45:07 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9687 In trying to train my authors on the use and etiquette of social media, I compare it to a huge party where you might know half a dozen people well, be acquainted with a dozen more and have no idea who anybody else is. The goal, then, is to find the people who share your interests or whom you find interesting and get to know them. I don't think that's something you can farm out. As Ms. Vogel noted, you can take an etiquette class and learn how to dance, but if your goal is to become known to potential clients/customers you can't send do it by grabbing someone off the street and sending them to the party in your place. Sadly, even individuals don't "get it." As often as I tell them to engage in conversation, most still do little more than post the occasional link to an interesting blog or website and/or focus to the exclusion of all else on touting their book(s). That being the case, it's no surprise that mega-corporations think they can, indeed, hire some agency to take care of this latest trend in customer relations. In trying to train my authors on the use and etiquette of social media, I compare it to a huge party where you might know half a dozen people well, be acquainted with a dozen more and have no idea who anybody else is. The goal, then, is to find the people who share your interests or whom you find interesting and get to know them.

I don’t think that’s something you can farm out. As Ms. Vogel noted, you can take an etiquette class and learn how to dance, but if your goal is to become known to potential clients/customers you can’t send do it by grabbing someone off the street and sending them to the party in your place.

Sadly, even individuals don’t “get it.” As often as I tell them to engage in conversation, most still do little more than post the occasional link to an interesting blog or website and/or focus to the exclusion of all else on touting their book(s). That being the case, it’s no surprise that mega-corporations think they can, indeed, hire some agency to take care of this latest trend in customer relations.

]]> By: Alex Romanovich http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9686 Alex Romanovich Sat, 16 May 2009 14:37:13 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9686 My blog (and I am a novice blogger) was completely setup by an outside company with all integrations, design, buttons, etc. I would never let that company blog for me, but everything else, including analytics in the future, is handled by them. A HUGE TIME SAVER. My blog (and I am a novice blogger) was completely setup by an outside company with all integrations, design, buttons, etc. I would never let that company blog for me, but everything else, including analytics in the future, is handled by them. A HUGE TIME SAVER.

]]> By: Jonathan Fields http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9688 Jonathan Fields Sat, 16 May 2009 14:32:23 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9688 So, it seems most are in agreement that while strategizing, outside advice can be super valuable, the execution side of the equation is hugely more challenging to hand off. I am curious, though, if anyone else is leaning the other way or has had an oposite experience they'd be willing to share? @ Robert - It's a great question and the answer is simply that the process takes time. Maybe weeks, months or even years. Allow for it...and be okay with it. So, it seems most are in agreement that while strategizing, outside advice can be super valuable, the execution side of the equation is hugely more challenging to hand off.

I am curious, though, if anyone else is leaning the other way or has had an oposite experience they’d be willing to share?

@ Robert – It’s a great question and the answer is simply that the process takes time. Maybe weeks, months or even years. Allow for it…and be okay with it.

]]> By: Robert Fay http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9689 Robert Fay Sat, 16 May 2009 11:23:39 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9689 But Jonathan, what do you do if you are so bogged down that you don't have time to initiate connections until after you have gotten your site up and going? I am a social person that would have liked to do it all correctly, but haven't had the time even to look into and respond to all those blogger I wanted to. But Jonathan, what do you do if you are so bogged down that you don’t have time to initiate connections until after you have gotten your site up and going? I am a social person that would have liked to do it all correctly, but haven’t had the time even to look into and respond to all those blogger I wanted to.

]]> By: Alex Romanovich http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9690 Alex Romanovich Sat, 16 May 2009 03:05:25 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9690 I mostly agree with the assessment, but as someone who spent half of his career in marketing and the other half in IT Services (and Outsourcing), I think that certain things can be outsourced. Social Media is a very broad discipline - it contains elements of strategy, communications, community involvement, and other content related and behavioral elements. Yet, other components are tactical, such as blog creations, integrations, tracking, data collection, data mining, and other 'tactical' components. These can certainly be outsourced, if properly managed. So, if you look at Social Media Marketing as a communications vehicle - I agree. Once you add the tactical and execution components, much of those elements can be outsourced. I mostly agree with the assessment, but as someone who spent half of his career in marketing and the other half in IT Services (and Outsourcing), I think that certain things can be outsourced. Social Media is a very broad discipline – it contains elements of strategy, communications, community involvement, and other content related and behavioral elements. Yet, other components are tactical, such as blog creations, integrations, tracking, data collection, data mining, and other ‘tactical’ components. These can certainly be outsourced, if properly managed. So, if you look at Social Media Marketing as a communications vehicle – I agree. Once you add the tactical and execution components, much of those elements can be outsourced.

]]> By: Dixie Vogel http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9691 Dixie Vogel Fri, 15 May 2009 21:53:09 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9691 While you can hire a consultant to give you the ins and outs of social media etiquette, I don't see how the execution of an effective social media campaign can be handled by an outside agency. Thinking about it...what you're essentially doing is hand over a company identity to your consultant and saying, "Speak to our customers us" in real time with no review. Add to that the notion that if you don't know the social media scene firsthand, you have no idea how badly your "specialist" might be mucking up your rep, just as in your example (and not everyone will be inept enough to do so little damage). If your representative is not a part of the company or the culture, the "real" factor is gone, and there is no way to know what message is being communicated. If that doesn't scare the pants off any sensible business owner, I don't know what will. While you can hire a consultant to give you the ins and outs of social media etiquette, I don’t see how the execution of an effective social media campaign can be handled by an outside agency. Thinking about it…what you’re essentially doing is hand over a company identity to your consultant and saying, “Speak to our customers us” in real time with no review. Add to that the notion that if you don’t know the social media scene firsthand, you have no idea how badly your “specialist” might be mucking up your rep, just as in your example (and not everyone will be inept enough to do so little damage).

If your representative is not a part of the company or the culture, the “real” factor is gone, and there is no way to know what message is being communicated. If that doesn’t scare the pants off any sensible business owner, I don’t know what will.

]]> By: Joe Lima http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9692 Joe Lima Fri, 15 May 2009 17:56:12 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9692 Spot on as always. Frankly, if a company is thinking about outsourcing its social media activities, it should not even bother getting into social media. I think having an outside perspective is fine but the conversations MUST be between the company/group/organization and the people it is trying to reach. Have a great weekend. Spot on as always. Frankly, if a company is thinking about outsourcing its social media activities, it should not even bother getting into social media. I think having an outside perspective is fine but the conversations MUST be between the company/group/organization and the people it is trying to reach.

Have a great weekend.

]]> By: Twitter Today: May 15, 2009 | kenneth lim . net http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9695 Twitter Today: May 15, 2009 | kenneth lim . net Fri, 15 May 2009 16:05:36 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9695 [...] The dark side of outsourcing social media (Via: @danschawbel) [...] [...] The dark side of outsourcing social media (Via: @danschawbel) [...]

]]> By: Deniz http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/the-dark-side-of-outsourcing-social-media/#comment-9694 Deniz Fri, 15 May 2009 15:53:03 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=1112#comment-9694 Thanks for this post. It raises a lot of questions, i have been asking myself as well. A month ago I (@Roninja) started twittering for a small company where they just get started to see the benefit of Social Networks and are willing to enter the field. We use different twitter profiles: there is the "official twitter" of the Company @Outsource2Guate, some people are twittering on their own accounts (like @carrcin, @deztyped among others, the CEO is twittering as well at @officient, It works fine, because of 2 reasons (i found so far, there may be more of course) 1. always being open on who you are. 2. Communicate internally. If I talk to someone on Twitter about some special topic, the specialist on the topics always helps me out immediately. Probably this is possible because the company is still small. I dont know how it would work to twitter for some huge conglomerate all by yourself though. Thanks for this post. It raises a lot of questions, i have been asking myself as well.
A month ago I (@Roninja) started twittering for a small company where they just get started to see the benefit of Social Networks and are willing to enter the field.
We use different twitter profiles: there is the “official twitter” of the Company @Outsource2Guate, some people are twittering on their own accounts (like @carrcin, @deztyped among others, the CEO is twittering as well at @officient,
It works fine, because of 2 reasons (i found so far, there may be more of course)
1. always being open on who you are.
2. Communicate internally. If I talk to someone on Twitter about some special topic, the specialist on the topics always helps me out immediately.

Probably this is possible because the company is still small. I dont know how it would work to twitter for some huge conglomerate all by yourself though.

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