How to get low-cost social media assistance

[joshsparkes]

Trying to find the best way to get social media talent for a early stage-revenue startup.

It seems as though all of the government backed schemes like Kickstart have ended, and traineeships now require resources to be office-based (which doesnt work for me).

Potential avenues that I can't clarify the viability of online:
- Unpaid internships - I believe these are not legal
- Kickstart - Scheme finished
- Traineeships - Not possible

Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Dillon Lawrence Ltd]

Why would social media talent work for the “low cost” you’re wanting?

And the schemes you’ve listed are training schemes. They are designed to allow the person to learn from someone more experienced so they can learn the skillset, not for cheap labour.

It doesn’t sound like you have someone in house to train them and as they are starting out you wouldn’t get much in the way of experience from them either.

It’s the usual - you pay for what you get. Low cost being the motivator will end in poor quality. Find an agency or freelancer if you don’t want the staff overhead.

 

[joshsparkes]

We'd be able to offer an environment for growth I have no doubt about that and we can certainly train somebody in various aspects of marketing, business and social media to some degree.

Low-cost is to be taken literally as, of low financial cost to the organisation, because it is a start-up.

It would be a mutually beneficial relationship, but we need (ideally government) support to provide the salary element.

Agencies and freelancers are likely too high cost at this stage.

 

[fisicx]

What do you mean when you say ‘social media talent’? Are you looking for someone to tweet and create Instagram stories for you?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

The people that are successful in this field are making good money and won't be entertaining such requests

To launch you start up you would need to pay the going rate for such a campaign

 

[joshsparkes]

What do you mean when you say ‘social media talent’? Are you looking for someone to tweet and create Instagram stories for you?

Mainly Instagram stories and tiktoks.

 

[joshsparkes]

The people that are successful in this field are making good money and won't be entertaining such requests

To launch you start up you would need to pay the going rate for such a campaign

I think it's less a case of successful, and more a case of 'wanting to get some real life experience creating content for a business outcome', then growing with the company. Salary coming from us when we can afford it of course.

 

[fisicx]

Mainly Instagram stories and tiktoks.

Can’t you do these yourselves?

What is it you are selling?

 

[Financial-Modeller]

...It would be a mutually beneficial relationship, but we need (ideally government) support to provide the salary element...

Err, it wouldn't! You want the taxpayer to pay for your staff.

Are you running a public service, or a commercial company?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If you want the maximum impact in your startup, you will need experience & talent to get noticed, not a trainee.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Can’t you do these yourselves?

What is it you are selling?

Furthermore is social media the answer for your start up . Some industries like the one Im in depends on SEO and adwords for online presence much more than Tik tok ect

 

[fisicx]

Just tried your app. If you want someone to work for you - pay them. But fix the app first. It's not that good. There are better tools out there.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Just tried your app. If you want someone to work for you - pay them. But fix the app first. It's not that good. There are better tools out there.

Talk about turning the knife
You could at least offer to sort the app out for him , You and your people


Its good feedback from the right people before the wrong people experience it

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Its good feedback from the right people before the wrong people experience it

What he said!

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Just tried your app. If you want someone to work for you - pay them. But fix the app first. It's not that good. There are better tools out there.

HTF did you get access to @joshsparkes site I cant see it

 

[Mark T Jones]

You seem to be confusing training and development programmes with cheap labour.

You pay for talent, or you invest in creating that talent.

The reason there are no current schemes is that there is no recruitment problem (at the moment) - there is an excess of vacancies over the skills available, which means you have to have a very enticing offering to attract talent.

 

[fisicx]

HTF did you get access to @joshsparkes site I cant see it

Look in his profile. I googled the business name and his wix site was top of the results.

 

[Dillon Lawrence Ltd]

Look in his profile. I googled the business name and his wix site was top of the results.

He should save the time and money on social media and focus on the site first. It looks cheap and amateur like most DIY sites. The Wix banner on mobile doesn’t help.

It might be a solid idea - but the execution is off and that won’t drive people to use it.

 

[fisicx]

He should save the time and money on social media and focus on the site first.

I don't think they have any money - that's the problem. The app has adverts and in-app purchases. Teenagers revising for GCSEs aren't going to part with any cash so their whole business model falls over.

 

[gpietersz]

Teenagers revising for GCSEs aren't going to part with any cash

Their parents will. There is a huge market for revision materials, tuition, etc. for GCSEs.

 

[Dillon Lawrence Ltd]

Their parents will. There is a huge market for revision materials, tuition, etc. for GCSEs.

There is several text books makers that now have apps or online versions. They’re also accredited by the exam boards which gives them a massive leg up.

 

[fisicx]

Their parents will. There is a huge market for revision materials, tuition, etc. for GCSEs.

Yes, but this is a free app. Money comes from adverts and upgrades. Which isn’t a viable business model.

 

[gpietersz]

Yes, but this is a free app. Money comes from adverts and upgrades. Which isn’t a viable business model.

I easily found one app in this space that has the same model and has been around a few years (although I think its ad free -money comes only from extra content) but they have a 100k+ downloads and claim 40k active users, and they have a lot more content to sell as far as I can see.

There is several text books makers that now have apps or online versions. They’re also accredited by the exam boards which gives them a massive leg up.

Yes, but its possible to complete, as the app I referred to above has one. On the other hand they have better marketing, a better sales pitch, and have taken a few years to get there. I have heard of them myself through recommendations. Of course it means more competition for the OP (if my daughter wanted to use one of these apps, I would definitely buy theirs rather than OP's).

 

[ecommerce84]

Surely the answer is to outsource your social media to a specialist company rather than trying to do it in house.

If you find the right people they will pay for themselves without the hassle of employing someone.

 

[gpietersz]

Surely the answer is to outsource your social media to a specialist company rather than trying to do it in house.

That is a good solution, the OP is looking for a cheap solution.

 

[fisicx]

That is a good solution, the OP is looking for a cheap solution.

No, they are looking for a free solution.

 

[japancool]

Get a startup loan. Use that to pay the salary.

Then, when you start earning revenue, you can pay off the loan and fund the salary yourself.

 

[Beautinow]

It depends a lot on what your business needs, if you specify better what you exactly need on social media, would be easy to find a solution.

But speaking from a general aspect, try to find emerging talent on these platforms, there are a lot of emerging content creators, or also a lot of new talent to be discovered.

So go out there, and start messaging these "prospects" to have a better understanding of what these prospects could do for you! I know some of them will be interested in working with a start-up or getting some real work and experience so they can prove themselves. But I would pay them, try to make an agreement or something that works for you, because of what are you sharing, an agency would not be affordable for you at this moment!

So yep! Go there and start creating a list of prospects and start communicating your needs and see what you could get.

 

[JohnAhya]

Here are some pro tips and tools which can solve your problem.

Tips:

• Stay active in social media
• Run social media takeovers
• Take full advantage of client reviews and testimonials
• Optimize posts for maximum user engagement
• Use social media listening to engage warm leads

Tools:

• Vista Social
• iMovie
• Post For Rent
• Funimate
• All Hashtag

 

[ecommerce84]

I don’t think OP wanted to pay anyone.

They either wanted someone who would work for free or someone that the rest of us would be paying for.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I don’t think OP wanted to pay anyone.

They either wanted someone who would work for free or someone that the rest of us would be paying for.

Impossible successful results cost

 

[Winx]

my advice if you are a start up and small business owner, with anything Marketing wise, understand the main concepts of what you want your potential employees to do before you get someone else to do it.
This does not mean you must be the master of knowledge for everything, but you should have a basic understanding.

With regards to your specific criteria, I would strongly recommend you start this yourself. If you do not know how you can learn in 30 minutes. Whilst the value is not in you doing the process, the value is in you knowing and understanding the process. This in turn means when you do have someone in place doing the job, you can ensure they are working efficiently and when the market / social aspects change, you are better to adapt than be left behind.

 

[MBE2017]

I doubt the OP will see any messages, he joined one day, not been on since the following day.

 

[jonmcculloch]

We'd be able to offer an environment for growth I have no doubt about that and we can certainly train somebody in various aspects of marketing, business and social media to some degree.

Low-cost is to be taken literally as, of low financial cost to the organisation, because it is a start-up.

It would be a mutually beneficial relationship, but we need (ideally government) support to provide the salary element.

Agencies and freelancers are likely too high cost at this stage.

If they're doing their job properly — bringing in new business — then the cost becomes an issue of ROI, not outlay.

And if their work isn't bringing in business there's no point in them doing it.

 

[JanviArora]

There are a few ways to get low-cost social media assistance:

1. Hire a freelancer or a virtual assistant from an online platform like Upwork, Fiverr, or Virtual Staff Finder. You can set a budget and look for individuals who offer social media assistance within your price range.
2. Consider hiring a student or a recent graduate looking to experience social media management. They may be willing to work for a lower rate in exchange for the opportunity to learn and build their portfolio.
3. Utilize social media management tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule and automate your social media posts. This can help you save time and money on social media management.

 

[WebCider]

emm, I totally understand your frustration. Why not try to look for some from university? I know many uni allows businesses to post job on their career office website for free. You can try to find someone studying marketing, etc. Obviously not everyone applied the job are suitable so you need to come up with some idea to discover the one best match your needs.

 

[Frimley111R]

Are you 100% sure SM is the way to grow your business?
Go with the MVP strategy first and do it yourself.
SM requires content, think hard about what that will be first, it is the big challenge of any type of regular communication.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Are you 100% sure SM is the way to grow your business?
Go with the MVP strategy first and do it yourself.
SM requires content, think hard about what that will be first, it is the big challenge of any type of regular communication.

Probably not if your offering business to business furthermore the requirement of "cheap" is going to get you nowhere

 

[DoolallyTap]

Instagram stories and tiktoks.

I am cheep and kan rite storis and stuf . I cud get yoo lodes of intrest just telmewhot yu wan