It happens sometimes. Your social media consultant veers in another direction than you expected and you have no idea how they got there. But you need to get them back and fast.
From my experience, there are usually a few different causes, and they can easily be changed. So let’s take a look at what you can do.
Your website is prioritizing the wrong things
“Why would you create a post about that?” The client was obviously angry during our approvals process, and I was newer to their team so I had no idea how this was going to go.
I blew out a breath and pointed to the website. The content this client did not want me to post about was prominent on their website and looked like a high priority item. So I put it into the content calendar. It came off the content calendar pretty quickly. And although it stayed a priority item on their website, I never created a post about it again.
When I’m working on content ideation, I’m going through your website. I dig through or sometimes I just look at what is shown as a priority. I do whatever I need to do to get an idea. I’ve found more often than not that organizations treat their website as a static site rather than a living and breathing thing. When that happens, pages get stale and the content is not the best available. And that will eventually come to the social media consultant who is relying on that website (as they should be).
This may not happen with all social media consultants, but usually with me, if I’m going off track, it’s because your website got there first. Fix that and you’ll probably see a big difference in your content.
You aren’t involved
The next reason why I’m likely to go off track is because the client has gone MIA. I for sure have had a couple of clients who hired me so they never have to talk about social media again. It’s such a bad call to do that. If you hire someone with the intention to never be collaborative, the content will go haywire quickly.
If you can’t handle another item on your plate, then you have to ask yourself a couple questions. The first is whether you are the right person to be the client contact. Is there someone more junior who could handle the day-to-day contact to keep the social media consultant up-to-date on what’s happening at your organization? If there is, then hand social media consultant off to them as soon as possible. Honestly, the consultant will likely be grateful for this change.
If there is not another person, you have to move onto the second question: Should you have hired in-house? Do you need an extra set of hands to do other tasks? And maybe someone with set hours that can be closer to the inner workings of your organization? Because if you can’t handle the day-to-day demands of a social media consultant and there is no one else to do that for you, it sounds like at least a part-time person might be needed in-house. Otherwise, things will only get worse, not better.
The social media consultant is not listening
If your website is up-to-date and you are giving enough time to the social media consultant to tell them about ALL THE THINGS, then they are likely not listening. So you have to figure out what kind of problem this is.
It could be an ego problem. The social media consultant could think they know more than you and has little to no respect for you. I hate to say this, but this is not a problem worth fixing. I would have a stern discussion with them about how unhappy you are with your social media presence and then leave it in their hands to decide. Either they fix their ego or they don’t. And if they don’t, you can fire them with a clear conscience. You did the best you could and they still chose to ignore you.
Another issue could be that you’re just not speaking the same language. If that’s the case, a stern talking to won’t get you very far. But a talk is definitely called for. Find out if they are in over the head and then determine if it’s a fixable problem. Maybe they just need more time to learn your company’s language and spending some time going in for a deep dive about your company would be a worthy way to spend your time. Or maybe they just aren’t getting it and it’s time to part ways.
If you’ve had a long relationship with this social media consultant, there could be something else going on that is preventing them from listening. They could have lost interest. In that case, you have to decide if this relationship is worth finding a way to spark their interest again. It could just be a temporary situation because of something going on in their lives. That happens to all of us from time to time, and most of the time, finding out that a client is aware of it is enough to get us back on track.
Or it could simply be time to move on as well. If the consultant has taken the client as far as they possibly can, then it might be time to bring in someone else who can bring a fresh set of eyes to the situation.
Whatever it is, talk to your social media consultant the second you think things are at all getting off track. Some discussion and coaching may be exactly what they need right now to get your social media back to where you want it to be.
What have you done when you’ve noticed a social media consultant is going off course?