Asking us to manage your social media is a lot like asking us to write your diary: we can do it, but only if you tell us about your day.

Share what’s on your mind, and we'll gladly help you pen a good entry—or even illustrate it—but we can't do it without you.

We bring this up because sometimes a client will approach us about doing social media, and what they really mean is doing it for them. In their place. We'll ask some basic questions like, "What sorts of content do you have in mind? Who and what within your company would you like to feature?" And they'll reply, "You're the creative agency. Isn't it your job to come up with those ideas?"

Sorry, but no, it isn't. Only you know what's going on inside your own head and company. As a creative agency, we can help you get that internal content out and present it creatively, but we could never make it up. Along those lines, here are the three things we emphasize when establishing a social media partnership.

1. We’ll need a mutual BFF.

It takes an insider to manage social media with an outsider. Meaning, it requires someone who works for you and with us to help generate ideas, provide internal assets (like photos), and answer things we can't possibly know on our own.

This mutual friend is truly the lynchpin in our relationship.

2. Today’s diary entry should be written yesterday.

Or actually, last month. If you’re doing social media in-house, there’s more opportunity for spontaneity, but as soon as you bring in an outside partner, you’ve got to plan ahead and work from a schedule. We develop 1-2 month content calendars so that everything is nailed down beforehand. It not only prevents surprises, but lessens the daily workload. With everything made in advance, we just have to monitor the daily results.

There’s still flexibility within this structure. For example, if you want to post pictures during or after an event, we obviously can’t load those ahead of time, but we can still plan to publish the images once they’re available. We also have no problem with some last-minute posts. They just can’t be the norm.

3. Working with a friend won’t ward off all enemies.

We can’t rid you of online antagonists, but will have your back—whether that means alerting you of a real complaint, hiding a nasty comment, or blocking someone entirely. These issues go with the territory on social media, and it never hurts to have someone help sort them out.