I never hear much controversy over the idea of companies hiring an advertising agency to design a promotion, or a marketing firm to publicize their products and services.  But when people think about outsourcing their social media marketing, a huge debate ensues.

   Don’t try to snow me.

   It’s not authentic if it isn’t YOU doing the posting.

   It’s a big scam.

I am bewildered and confused.  As an entrepreneur growing a company, do you get assistance with coding your website? How about administration tasks? Do you subcontract any of your marketing and sales?  If you don’t, you aren’t growing.  You can’t be successful alone.  It takes support.

So why all the indignation when someone talks about outsourcing their social media marketing?

We all accept that “someone else designed your website” and “someone else wrote the copy for your sales page.”  But someone else posted your content for you? Someone other than you took a phrase from your blog post and added a hashtag and posted it on Twitter?  Someone saved you hours every day, while helping to spread YOUR message to the people who need to hear it?

Why do people act all horrified by that?

My thought is that they really don’t understand what outsourcing social media means.  They think it means someone is pretending to be someone else.  They think that someone is posting opinions and stories that aren’t authentic to the person who owns the account.  They think someone is making up things that may or may not be true.  They assume a masquerade.

But here is the truth: A good social media marketing firm will spread YOUR message in the most effective way.

They don’t pretend to be you.  They add value to your business and they save you time.  They take YOUR message, and communicate it to the people who should be hearing it.  They get you more visibility and excite more people to want more from you.

So tell me – what do you think is fraudulent about outsourcing social media marketing?  Let the righteous comments begin…