For a startup company, which is better, to outsource or manage social media activities in-house?

In-house.
It's your brand and your voice.
If you truly want to engage and understand your fans, it is you who needs to be there, not an outsourced entity!

Well, in my opinion, social media for business is all about being social and humanizing the communications over social media platforms.
It involves all the employees to become brand ambassadors for their company and make sure they keep promoting the company with updates about their work, their products, technologies, work space and everything that's worth sharing about their company.
If one outsources it, the purpose of being social would die.
I am not against outsourcing but I am in favor of doing it in-house.
I would prefer if company trains it's employees to be a good communicator on social platforms and make sure they help achieve the branding goals for the company.
Concluding my comment, I would prefer a startup manages social media in-house and make sure they humanize the communication and interaction on social media platforms.
Also, they should make sure that they are accessible to everyone on every possible social media platform that exists out there.

I think that start-up companies should manage social media in-house.
Being a start-up is like being a small shop in the neighborhood, not able to compete with the city's supermarket but it's closer to people's hearts because they know the real people running the shop.
The work of any start-up company is so dear and start-ups are believers where they can put all their love and belief in their product and share it with other people.
Budget wise, from my experience, reaching out to people through social media platforms can be done using zero-budget through firstly friends and families (who are great supporters) then through the word of mouth which surprisingly can spread and expand quickly.

In my opinion managing a social media channels should be always in house.
Because no one knows the brand like the ones who are in direct contact with the product or the brand.
Not to underestimate the work of agencies but a great idea like this questionario would have never come through an agency..
An agency stables the activity and keep things running but doesn't help in creativity and product development.

Money cannot buy the passion, drive, motivation and love of the brand which usually exists in th start up environment.

In -House is better and u have to: Monitor your competitors on social media sites.
Spend a little time looking at what your top five competitors are doing out there in the social media world.
Look at which social sites they are most active on, what kind of content they are publish, how many fans they have and how they promote their site and what they have to offer.
Tailor your posts to your target audience’s experiences.
You should write about things your customers can relate to or they will not share your content with their friends.
Take the time to read the status updates your customers are posting and identify recurring themes and issues you could mention in your own posts.

In House - As a start up, will be cost effective and more effecient to carry out your social media campaigns in house.  

Managing Social Media Activities In-House should be the best ever option for the New Start up companies as they know them best about their products, branding Psychology, Marketing Strategies, targeting Clients/ Users etc.
Targeting Users with specific regions, how to cater clients, and they ofcourse need to work not only for a branding but a community where users, even their top prior competitors can share their thoughts openly.
However, If you have any other queries, Concerns or any suggestions, you are most welcome to share them with me on syedwaqassaghir@hotmail.com or swaqas@cointelligence.co Have a Nice Day.
Syed Waqas Saghir Internet Marketing Expert, SEO Consultant, Social Media Evangelist.
http://www.facebook.com/syedwaqassaghir http://www.cointelligence.co

It's a combination of in-house and out-source.

The social media platform is moving very rapidly, and each day we see new products and services in offer. It would be good to have in-house facility to compensate social media drive, but in reality it is not possible. For e.g., you might have tight budget and limited staff who might be good in on-line social media campaign, like face book or Twitter etc, but SEO or Adwords need real effort and skills.

Another top social media strategy which is often neglected is email marketing, people often confused with simple marketing, i am sure all of us get tons of email every day offering product and services, but we bother to open only those email's which are relevant to us or of our subject matter. It is not advisable to Buy Email database, rather rent it.

Freelancing is another way to hire staff and boost your social media campaign, but digital marketing company and boutiques can fill in gap too.

So straight answer is what is your goal for social media campaign? (as start up company), can it be fulfilled in house? or better to take services of digital marketing company, and as you progress, hire social media strategist team, budget will play a key role in decision making.

 

Tauseef Sarwar

www.dublinmedia7.ie

www.infomist.com

 

If you have the resources to manage this in-house then it can be a great asset to the company.

However in some cases, it is a job best left to professionals from the get-go to ensure that your business recieves the maximum benefit from the platforms.

IN HOUSE, AS YOU MAY SPEND THE SAME TIME TELLING OUSOURSEES WHAT TO DO IN DETAILS IN REPONDING TO YOUR CHANNEL PARTNERS QUESTIONS .....

IT IS ALSO YOUR BRAND AND YOU KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE ITS CHARCTERISTICS.