There’s much debate this day over whether or not businesses should outsource social media. The truth is, the answer is different for every company. For some, outsourcing social media allows them to more time to focus on their core business. For others, outsourcing social media does not really achieve the goals they hoped.

Are you unsure whether you should outsource social media for your business? Read below to see if this strategy could be the right fit for you.

1. Do you think social media is important? If you think social media is important but you just can’t find time in the day to fit it in, outsourcing social media may be for you. This allows you to focus on the many, many other tasks a small business owner needs to complete in a day. However, if you just don’t see the value in social media, outsourcing the work may not be the best solution for you. Outsourced social media will still require some minimal involvement from you – deciding on strategies, how you want to represent your brand, and responding to questions your consultant may have. If you don’t place a high value on those things, you may choose to wait to start a social media presence. Another way to look at this question is “What is your motivation for outsourcing social media?”

2. Do you already have a social media presence you’re not managing? If you are on social media, your customers will find you. Even if you’re not, it’s likely they’re talking about your services on social media. If you have a social media presence that has gone dormant, you may want to outsource your social media duties. Customers expect you to be social with them if you exist on social media. However, the average rate of response customers get on social media is 11-28%. That means a large chuck of time, your customers are getting ignored on social media. If you want to stop ignoring your customers, you need to find someone to manage your social media presence, whether it’s in-house or outsourced.

3. Do you already have strong SEO? You may get a ton of inbound leads through your awesome SEO – we’re lucky to have this be the case for us. Certainly, other businesses are in this boat as well. If you can’t figure out why you’re not ranking higher in search engine results, being strategic on social media may help. Rather than responding to spammy emails promising you page 1 results, consider ramping up your presence on Google+. A good social media consultant will be able to coach you on which platforms and strategies are best to help you boost your ranking in search engines. Keep in mind, you can still choose to execute these strategies in-house if you’d like. Talking to a specialist doesn’t always require handing them the full workload – you can opt to undergo a social media audit or plan several strategy sessions to help you improve your presence on your own. Be sure your social media consultant let’s you choose the package that’s right for your unique business.

4. Do you know your work style? This can be a tricky question. Every client we work with has a different level of involvement in their social media presence. If you take the time to think about the relationship you want and discover you’d really like to be able to walk out of your office and ask questions any time, you may be best served to hire someone to manage your social media in-house. If, on the other hand, you’d like to “set it and forget it”, you may want to outsource the work. This really comes down to your personal work style; everyone is different. Finding the solution that works best for your work style, whether it’s weekly calls with an outsourced consultant or daily meetings with an in-house employee, is key to making social media successful for you.

How do you know when it’s time to delegate? Have you ever struggled with outsourcing some part of your business?