Figuring out when it’s time to bring in an expert can be difficult, especially when you’re talking about a social media consultant.

Do you have the budget? Is it worth spending that budget with a consultant? Might it make a bigger difference somewhere else?

To be honest, those are questions only you can answer. I don’t really know all of the particulars of your situation. Only you do.

But if you’re already starting to think like this, that’s a big sign that it might be time to at least start talking with some social media consultants. Let’s take a look at some other signs.

Not posting consistently

I’m not saying you need to post every day. But has a week ever gone by and you forgot to post? That’s not good.

Why? You’re basically starting from scratch with the algorithm when it’s been that length of time. I would say that at a minimum you should be posting every other day to make any kind of dent with the algorithm.

Does that sound like way too much when you factor in your other duties? Then it’s time to bring in some help.

No idea what to post

Do you feel like you’re constantly starting from scratch every time you post? Or do you feel like you should only post when there is something going on?

I see a lot of this. A surprising number of social media accounts only post when there is an event or news and obviously have no idea what to post when neither of those things are going on. That’s how we get so many pages that post for every made-up holiday on the books.

A good social media consultant can start sketching out a calendar with just your analytics, website and some `. They don’t have to be dependent on events and news. And because of this, when there are events and news to promote, they will get a bigger boost because of the work that has been done during those in-between moments.

Doesn’t know if any progress has been made

If you can’t articulate the kind of difference your social media program is making, then you need some help.

Yes, the analytics are a place to start, but it’s honestly just a place to start. What are your business goals? What social media metrics will get you there? How do you improve them?

And those are just the hard numbers. There are soft things that happen on social media as well. Do you know what you’re looking for there? Once again, knowing that and how it can contribute to your overall business goals will help you know if progress is being made.

If you can’t do all of this, it might be time to call a social media consultant.

Consistently getting negative feedback

This could be happening in one of two ways: Your fans could be telling you to your face or you could be looking at your analytics and seeing negative actions (hiding, etc). If they’re telling you to your face, it’s probably a lot worse than they’re even telling you. But either way, it’s time to turn this ship around.

Am I saying that you should take every piece of negative feedback seriously? No. There are some people who are never going to be happy and you can’t bend over backwards to try to make one person happy. It will ultimately hurt your social media program.

How to know when you should take the feedback and make a change? A social media consultant can look at the whole picture and tell you if the feedback is valid. They can then guide you to what’s next.

Want to get to the next level

Look, sometimes it’s just a feeling. You know that there is more you could do, but you don’t know what that looks like. What is the next level anyway?

I always describe my job as looking for the holes. I’m looking for the places where there is nothing, but my client can bring something. But that’s not exactly right because there are holes in content that no one cares about. I have the tools (as do all good social media consultants) to find the right holes in content that people want more information on. And then I can use that information to create the content your fans are looking for. Finally, I can take that content and work the algorithm so your fans can actually see it.

If all of that sounds super hard and out of your field of knowledge, it’s time to start talking to a good social media consultant and make room in your budget to pay them well. We’re not cheap but we will get you the results you need.