So you’ve decided you need to bring in someone to help with your social media. Now who do you bring in? Should you be looking for social media consultants or agencies? What’s the difference?

This is a place companies find themselves in when they’re ready to bring in your help. I’m of course going to lean towards one side over the other, but I actually have some very good reasons why I land there beyond it’s what brings in my income.

Want to know why you should hire a social media consultant over an agency? Let’s take a look.

Price

Social media consultants are typically cheaper.

Why is that? It’s not because they have less skills. It’s not because you’ll be working with someone more junior or at the beginning of their career.

The truth is that a consultant doesn’t have to cover as many expenses as an agency. They typically have much less overhead because they are usually not working from an office and do not have pay for employees, etc. That savings is usually passed onto clients.

Not all social media consultants will do this. Some will charge the same prices as those pricy agencies, because they know they are worth it. I think they’re right in so many ways. But as a whole, social media consultants will charge less than those agencies.

Flexibility

Agencies have set ways of doing things and make their clients fit into those set ways. This is just not what happens when it comes to social media consultants.

To be honest, most social media consultants get into this line of work because they want flexibility, and they pass that onto their clients as well. From hours to packages to communication, it can all be customized to a client’s needs, and if that is necessary for a client, then a consultant is just going to be better suited for that.

There is nothing wrong with the rigidity of an agency. That is actually good for clients who are not sure of how a client-consultant relationship might work and need the basic structures done for them. That is where an agency can really come in handy. But if you want something fully customized to your needs, a consultant might be a better fit.

Speed

When I was doing some work for an agency, they told me, “We respond to all client requests within twenty four hours.” I had to stop myself from responding, “You’re joking, right?” This seemed to be completely at odds with my social media world, but I just responded, “Okay.” There are some things not worth fighting over.

On the other side, I usually respond to client emails and messages within an hour. If I can’t, it’s probably because I’m out of the office and the client already knew that was happening. I have a strict policy that if I’m going to be out of the office for more than three hours, I tell my clients and tell them they should send a text for anything that needs a response within the time frame I will be gone.

I actually once apologized to a client that I didn’t respond back within an hour because I had been doing head down work. He said, “You do realize you got back to me quicker than anyone else I email, right?” Yes, because I feel like that’s part of my job and part of the appeal of working with social media consultants. I just always wish I was a little quicker.

Direct access to the expert

One of my friends was complaining the other day. He said the account executive didn’t know much about social media and was explaining things so poorly to the client. He worried that the client would eventually fire them simply because he couldn’t speak with them directly. This is a big problem with some agencies: They have a barrier between the client and expert, and you have to just hope the message is getting translated properly.

Not with social media consultants. The person who does client relations is also the person who does the actual work. So when you ask questions, you’re always talking to the expert and will always get the most accurate answers.

Should all experts be speaking to the client? Absolutely not. There is a good reason why there is that barrier. But if speaking directly to the expert who is doing the work for you is important to you, then you really need to consider social media consultants for your work.

In the end, there are good reasons to choose consultants over agency and vice versa. Knowing exactly what you want from your relationship will lead you closer to which one you need. So if you’re going back and forth about which to hire, write down what it is you want, and then you might want to talk to both to see what feels more like a natural fit. Simply talking to both and seeing what each values can tell you a whole lot.

Why did you pick a consultant over an agency? Or the other way around?