When you’re working with a social media consultant, you obviously want them to care about their work. But I’ve seen consultants get downright hostile when it comes to the client because they have fully entwined their self-worth in their work. That is bad. That is so far beyond bad that they can’t even see the line anymore.

On the other hand, a good social media consultant will try to guide a client to the best solution they know of while also knowing that it’s ultimately the client who best knows their goals. And if there is hostility on either side, it’s probably time to walk away because the consultant and client are no longer a good fit.

But a good client-consultant relationship should have a good, respectful push and pull. It will make everything better. The key is to recognize when it is that and when it has ventured into something that is unhealthy for both parties.

There is an argument every time a client brings an idea

What is that argument? Well, it usually is around how the client knows nothing about social media or their audience and that the idea will not work for social media. Whether or not that is actually true is not very interesting. The combativeness is what is problematic and that it is happening every time.

For me, I think it’s important to let the client have some wins, so they feel some ownership of what is happening on their social media accounts. But what do I do when a client clearly doesn’t know what social media does or doesn’t do? Or when they don’t know anything about what their audience actually reacts to?

Look, it’s a tough situation for sure. I have even had clients belittle me and my work, but I can even turn that kind of client around (within reason, because I don’t work with anyone who is constantly tearing me down). The worst thing you can do is to unilaterally turn down every idea and tell this kind of client that they don’t understand social media. That’s when hostilities start developing. What does work in most cases is taking the time to educate. Educate them on what social media can do and what it can’t. Sometimes it can be as simple as that.

But also, finding something good in client ideas can help encourage them. I love client ideas, because it can usually get the ball rolling a little faster when I know what directions they’re thinking about. Finding the gems and reworking them can show a respect for the client. It can show that everyone knows that we’re all coming from a place of good intentions and that we want to do the best for the organization.

It feels like you’re critiquing them rather than their work

This is a huge problem that is just waiting to blow up. I used to be the person who thought my work was who I was, and there are a lot of people who walk around with this same belief. So when you bring up criticisms, they take it as a personal attack rather than just trying to make the work better.

I want to tell you this is a fast fix, but it’s not. It took me years to divorce myself from my work enough to fully accept critiques. And now that I’m adding more services that I’m nervous about, I’m going through the process of divorcing myself from my work again.

Your best bet in this situation is to have a heart-to-heart with your consultant about this. Ask them about how you can better give them critiques. Talk about ways to improve your working relationship. And then watch what happens. Either they start moving towards some kind of change or they will dig their heels in.

If they are showing change, that’s a good sign. If they’re not, it’s probably time to start looking for another consultant.

The social media consultant isn’t engaging at all

I have had clients completely refuse to engage with me and put me in a silo off to myself. It sucks. I can’t even imagine a consultant choosing this life. But apparently some do.

If you have a social media consultant out there doing their own thing, it’s more likely that they’ll take a left turn and be nowhere near the organization’s goals. It’s something that needs to be stopped immediately regardless of who started the relationship off on this foot.

When you have a consultant who isn’t engaging at all, I would start asking for weekly meetings at a minimum. But you really should be asking for approvals as well. If none of this is covered in your contract, it needs to be there. It’s likely that a consultant will ask for more money for extra meetings. If you don’t have the budget for it, start looking at their services and figure out what you can bring in-house. That’s how important it is to make sure those meetings happen.

Maybe you’re thinking that once a month is enough. If you’re in a position where a consultant isn’t engaging at all, once a month isn’t enough. Making sure that it’s consistent weekly engagement will make sure that everyone stays on task. Too much can happen over the course of a whole month.

In the end, these are all big red flags in consultants. If you can’t right the ship, they’re all good reasons to move on. So as soon as you identify one of them, I would start looking at who could replace this consultant as soon as possible. You may not need that other consultant once you start addressing it. But if you do, they’re there and ready to go.