Is it Time to Hire a Social Media Manager?

Social media marketing can fall in that funny category of feeling like work all the time or feeling like you're not actually 'working' if you're scrolling Instagram. If you're getting a lot of clients through your social media and you feel like you spend almost more time on your phone than you do on the things you’d rather be doing, it might be time to hire a social media manager.

When hiring a social media manager it's important to know if they’re going to be able to create the content that is truly helpful for your ideal client and if they can show enough of you that your social media feed feels like someone your ideal clients want to continue to follow and work with.

I think there are social media managers out there who can do that. But you’re going to have to really search hard for them and likely pay them good money. They’re going to need to really “get” your ideal clients, their struggles, and have an understanding of some complexities of how you work. They’re going to need to understand the pitfalls and landmines that could be problematic for your clients.

As an eating disorder therapist, if I hired someone they’d need to know and understand Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating on a deep level.  Otherwise, they may post something about healthy portions or self-control or some other thing that non-ED professionals and non-ED clients screw up all the time when talking to folx with eating disorders. If you work with depression, the idea that “Happiness is a Choice” is a popular social media trend and attitude that would make your clients feel like you could never understand them.

While you can hire someone to do this for you it’s going to be much harder than hiring the college student your mom’s friend knows or even a professional social media manager.

The typical engagement questions from potential clients might also be highly inappropriate for a social media manager to handle.

For your social to bring in clients, it needs to be impactful and not something that any other therapist could or would say in the same way. Don’t let that feel like pressure. You say things in different ways from other therapists all day every day. You already are different and original. You just have to get it out there.

I recommend choosing one social channel and going hard on that one instead of spreading yourself thin on many. Remember, social is just one of many strategies to choose from. I’ve never had an active social page for any of my practices and I’ve stayed full. You don’t need it. If you don’t enjoy it, and since you’re asking about outsourcing, I’m thinking you may not, then don’t use it as a strategy. Choose something else.

We have social media training in the Abundance Party if you feel like you need more support, join us and learn everything you need to learn to have a full practice for only $49/mo.