Do I need a Community Manager inside or outside my company?
One of the debates that most often occur among companies that intend to address Social Media, is whether the figure of the Community Manager should correspond to that of an external professional or a specialized worker working within the structure of the company itself.
For some the answer is clear, but, as we have always heard, not everything is white or black, there is a very large range of grays in between. Whether we choose a professional who manages our social profiles from within the company or we choose someone who is external to the company, we must be very aware that these elections have their pros and cons.
At all times we must be aware, before deciding on one or the other, the needs we want to cover and think very well if this professional is going to satisfy them.
We live a few complicated moments in terms of economy, and it is clear that hiring a professional is an important expense for the company, since you have to pay your social insurance in addition to your salary. For this reason, it is better to resort to the services of a freelance, since we do not have to pay taxes, but it is he who pays those expenses.
A point in favor of the internal professional is something that many companies consider very important: it is essential that the Community Manager have a deep knowledge of the brand that represents and that is able to imbue the spirit and philosophy of the company, something difficult to get a professional external to the company, in addition to having a greater facility to access information than the Community Manager that is not within the organization.
On the other hand, the professional who is foreign to the company, has in his favor the objectivity. It is a proven fact that perspective is achieved by looking at something from a distance. In this sense, freelancers can contribute their new point of view of someone who is not “infected” by the company’s point of view, which can significantly enrich the management of their social profiles and provide differentiating value. In this sense, the professional that belongs to the company is influenced by it as far as actions and way of thinking are concerned.
In addition, generally and unfortunately, the Community Manager of a company is usually, and I say usually because some companies do look for a professional with previous experience in this work, someone who has been formed by the same company to manage social networks, using them, normally, as a way of promoting themselves, while the freelance is a professional who is exclusively dedicated to this, with training and experience that, normally, the Internal Community does not have.
It is clear that the link of the Community Manager with the company, with the brand it represents must be total, since it will be the voice of the brand and who will relate to the audience, trying to create a large community environment to our brand and trying to locate their needs to satisfy them, but that does not mean that the freelance Community Manager can not do it, since the degree of linkage that you establish will depend in large part on your professionalism.
The debate is served. Internal or external Community Manager? As they say in Las Vegas, place your bets.
