Once you've decided to work with a social media consultant, communication becomes a top priority. At Take Flight, we pride ourselves on our accessibility. We want our clients to know they can contact us with questions, ideas, and concerns at any time — and we’ll reply as soon as is practical. Communication involves more than accessibility, though, and we recommend several tools and tips for keeping clients connected to their social media team.
Talk about communication expectations
Earlier we mentioned we reply as soon as it’s practical, but that means different things to different people. Setting clear expectations at the beginning of a business relationship offsets possible frustration. Be upfront and honest about what you need from your team. Do you expect emails or other messages to be answered within minutes? Hours? A day?
Take time zones into consideration and remember communication works both ways. Timely communication on both sides works best for workflow, so it helps to have those timing issues on the table. If the set expectation for a response, on either side, is two or three hours, don’t get worried if you don’t receive an answer to your question within twenty minutes. Like any business, social media matters can become urgent, so the Take Flight Team’s response time amps up in those situations.
Show, don’t tell
Successful social media communication follows the old storytelling rule: Show, don’t tell. If you’re envisioning something for your brand, don’t try to explain it in words when you can use an image to convey exactly what you want.
Secret Pinterest boards offer space for vision boards, aesthetic aspirations, and color schemes. Don’t be afraid to screenshot things you love — or hate — from other businesses. Your social media team can make your vision for your brand a reality a lot easier if they know what that vision looks like.
Embrace collaborative tools
When working with clients across time zones, states, and even oceans, getting comfortable with collaborative tools makes communication easier than ever before. Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Voxer, and Google Hangouts all offer collaborative work platforms — and each has advantages and disadvantages.
Remember more tools won’t automatically provide a better experience. Pick one or two that work for you and go with those. Your social media team should be comfortable with them — or savvy enough to learn quickly.
Be open and honest
Communication begins to break down when honesty takes a backseat. When you’re working closely with a team, the working relationship becomes a little more relaxed. Don’t let the relaxed relationship get in the way of what you need from your social media team. Be honest if something doesn’t feel right for your brand or needs tweaking. A professional consultant won’t take it personally and will adjust their strategies and practices until they find something to get your social media strategy in line with your overall marketing strategy.
What communication challenges have you had when working collaboratively?
Take Flight Social Media Consulting would love to chat with you about your social media needs. Contact us today about the different options we have for brands and small businesses.
Unsure if your business needs a social media team? We have a few tips to help you determine if it’s time to bring a social media consultant on board.