Why you don't need a social media consultant.

The title to this blog is an odd one. Not because it's particularly edgy or controversial, most people already know that a lot of social media consultants are stealing a living, but because I spend a lot of time myself actually being a social media consultant. This blog post is to convince you that you don't need to hire me. Is it a revolutionary new marketing strategy aimed to subconsciously persuade people that they do in fact need me? Probably not, let's find out.

Come on in, I'll make you a brew.

First of all:
What do social media consultants do?
When I have my social media boots on (they're bright colours and they flash when I walk) my main aim is to make your social media activity better. I want to make your content more creative, your fan base more receptive and ultimately your advertising more effective. People like me are out to make your online communities blossom and grow lovely successful fruits. I charge a bargain price for this, you'll be amazed at how I even afford to live.

How do we do it?
There aren't many trade secrets with social media. If you click the right buttons then you'll find everything we know out for yourselves. But in reality there isn't a lot to find out! The content that will prove most successful on social platforms uses common sense as its key ingredient and I'm sure you've all got buckets of that stored up inside you just waiting for its chance to shine. And when there are tonnes of useful websites and blogs out there full of advice and tips on how to behave on social you should never find yourself without the inspiration to do better.

How can you do it for yourself?
Step 1: Sign in to a social media site.
Step 2: Begin.

Why won't you do it for yourself?
Ah, the bit you were all expecting. 'Surely this maverick won't purposely lose himself business?' Well no, of course not. I've been eating gone off bread for days now and it's about time that changed. Where social media management gets tricky is the amount of time it takes to do. You're all perfectly capable of running your own Twitter feed or Facebook community. You can all stick a video up on YouTube. Writing a blog post about the work you've done shouldn't be too tricky. But when you put all of that together, complete with moderation, the creative process, proofreading, copywriting, analysis and your actual job on the side, it all of a sudden becomes a massive undertaking. A big, soul sapping mistake people make with social is believing that it's a quick advertising fix, a simple thing to do, something maybe an intern can be responsible for. Wrong. It's a full time job to run a successful social media campaign and that's why, even though you could do it yourself, you'd be better off getting someone else to do it instead.

The best social media advertising is done by people who are dedicated to that job. You wouldn't ever make a TV ad yourself, you wouldn't consider designing your own billboard or press campaign. Don't consider doing it with social either, you'll quickly find you end up spending more time with that than you do your real job.

Counter productive, that.