Social Media Strategy: Should You Do It Yourself?

You realize you need to be more active on social media. Looking at your competitor's Instagram feeds, you start to get an idea of what's working. Then you quickly realize the pictures you take don't look anywhere as good. Your posts aren't as witty or creative. You probably also think outsourcing it will end up too generic.

This sort of thinking is exactly the reason why you aren't active. Overthinking, doubting yourself, or perhaps too lazy to learn something new.

You end up with a couple of options:

A. Should you just pick up the phone, call up a social media agency and pay them to do it all for you?

or

B. Try to do it yourself.

Truthfully, there isn't one single right answer. There are pros and cons with each option, and choosing one will leave you with both - pros and cons.

The right solution to tackling your social media strategy should be a multi-pronged approach. You need multiple components working for you.

1. Get Good at iPhotography

Do yourself a favor: go out and get the latest and greatest iPhone. I'd recommend either an iPhone 8+ or iPhone X. The cameras on those phones hold up well to a lot of DSLRs on the market. Save the money on an expensive pro camera and get yourself a new iPhone instead.

Watch a few YouTube videos walking you through how to take good looking pictures with your phone. You're going to need to conceptualize a shot, get the right subject and background, make sure the lighting is good, find the right angle and BOOM take the shot.

Personally, I recommend bumping up the contrast. It gives it some extra POP. But certainly find your own creative style for your brand. Try to be consistent. Post your pictures on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and any others that are relevant to your brand.

2. Hire a Social Media Agency

Handling social media yourself is definitely the ideal way to go. No one knows your brand more than you. But it can be a lot of work all on your own. That's why we recommend sprinkling in a couple of posts each week from someone else, whether it's an intern, employee, or outsourced. Two to three posts per week that include pictures and a recipe, or holiday wishes, for example.

This will help populate your feeds with more content, and give you a break at the same time.

3. Invest in Professional Photoshoots

Between your new iPhone shots, and the posts from the social media agency, your feeds should be looking good, and well-filled. However, you'll still need content that requires more professionalism than a cell phone or stock photos and deliver.

As a third piece of the puzzle, we recommend having a few professional photoshoots done each year. Make sure you have a stylist to help with the shoot. This will give you your best photography possible - but it will also be the most expensive option.

This is ideal if you have new products, a new line, or team headshots, for example. You'll get a bunch of great shots you can use across many mediums - including social media, your blog, or promotional materials. You'll have the shots ready for both print or digital. Sprinkle a couple of these in your feeds each month.