How to find the best social media marketing agency

 28% of businesses use social media marketing agencies for their social media efforts. This tutorial will help you find the best social media marketing agency for your business.

You know that social media marketing is important. However, he knows too little to be confident in his abilities. The truth of the matter is, many companies feel overwhelmed or under-qualified in their approach to the ever-changing world of social media.

Social media marketing agencies can be a valuable resource for businesses. They allow you to increase the capabilities of your team, run key campaigns, or outsource your entire social media presence.

According to a recent survey, 28% of small businesses use social media marketing agencies.

A social media marketing agency provides expertise and manpower. Highly skilled external teams can provide the knowledge that internal staff lack, and the extra hands allow you to be successful with overall initiatives.

Agency partnerships offer many benefits but they are complex and demanding relationships. You need to choose equipment that suits your company culture, the skill set required, and the price.

This post outlines six factors that will help you identify the right social media marketing agency for your business:

• Set your needs
• Ask the right questions
• Ask for references
• Prioritize good fit
• Do Your Homework
• Read third party reviews

1. Set your needs

Before you go to an agency, learn what success on social media means to you. Do you need to create a strategy, execute a strategy, or just modify an existing strategy? You may want to increase your visibility, generate results, or differentiate yourself from the competition. Decide on a direction, then find an agency to clarify the most relevant goals, strategies and initiatives.

Agencies can perform multiple functions, so decide what kind of work you want them to do. Are you looking to outsource the management of your social profiles? An external team will allow an internal team to focus on more central tasks. Time to rebrand and launch a national campaign? If so, agency experience will be critical to scaling your brand. Your short-term business goals should guide who you hire for your partner agency.

2. Ask the right questions

A large agency will create a customized solution for your business. They will be disruptive, have experience in their industry, and be able to solve problems in innovative ways.

However, agreed strategies often do not go as planned. Research shows that companies have a number of problems during agency partnerships, such as:

Performance tracking (43%)

Limited understanding of company strategy (41%)

Lack of innovative or practical ideas (37%)

Project management (33%)

Moving from strategic execution to technical execution (33%)

Limited ability to integrate channels, campaigns, technologies and communications (23%)

These mistakes are common in agency associations. A quality partner will be able to provide examples of overcoming similar challenges in the past. What happens if the strategy does not go according to plan? Start again? Push towards a solution? Offer free cancellation?

Find out about the metrics that are important to your business, then ask the agency how it plans to fix them, and report regularly on those metrics. If you do not find a satisfactory answer, it is best to find a candidate who can perform under pressure.

Ask the following questions to assess the competence of potential agencies:

• What are your core competencies?
• What are some examples of success in my industry? Will you make a presentation?
• How do you research and analyze my industry?
• How do you deal with content development?
• What are some examples of how you adjust strategy halfway through?
• How is reach measured? Increase? Commitment?
• Who is my point of contact?
• How often do you contact me?
• What is your reporting process?
• Do you outsource your work?

3. Ask for references

Many agency partnerships start verbally, and for good reason. Peer recommendations are an effective and efficient way for marketers to find a suitable agency.

A recent survey showed that 43% of companies use referrals to meet with potential agency partners.

As the most popular method of finding a digital partner, referrals promote agencies that are trusted, priced, and experienced in your industry. It will save you time in the selection process when asking for suggestions and will help you ensure that you get a good choice.

4. Prioritize good fit

Good relationships with agencies have led to great results. Therefore, it is best to look for a partner whose business culture is aligned with your own culture. Coherence between teams, from collaboration to communication and exchange of ideas, works well.

On the contrary, misalignment will have a negative impact on workflows and outcomes. Research shows that, after the price, praise from a friend or colleague (37%) and cultural adaptation (31%) are the main factors influencing final engagement.

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Cultural adaptation will help you optimize your operational efficiency, boost productivity and guide you toward quality results.

Ask yourself: is this the person I can work with? Would I like to have a beer with this one? Will I entrust your company’s reputation on social media to you? The longer the partnerships last, the more critical interpersonal factors will be, whether you speak daily or every other month.

5. Do your homework

The quality of an agency’s online resources speaks volumes about their experience and expertise. Read blogs, case studies, webinars and customer testimonials with an eye toward relevance and thought leadership. An agency whose processes and strategies are aligned with your own will be competent to help you achieve your goals.

Apart from referrals, the most common ways for companies to research social media agencies are through case studies (22%), client referrals (17%), online ratings and reviews (16%), and the agency's presence on social media (14%). Use these resources to make sure that an agency can do everything it says.

The strongest proof of ideas in practice is the agency’s presence on social media. Does the agency follow its own advice? Case studies allow you to predict your own results, so look for solutions that overlap with your chosen objectives.

6. Read third party reviews

Crowdsourcing is a quick and easy way to make a purchasing decision with confidence. Third-party review sites like Clutch.co allow you to access many customer testimonials that are maintained with their relevance. Read reviews, check ratings, and then check prices.

As an all-in-one resource, sites like this help you identify top companies and save time in the evaluation process. Similarly, you can search on Yelp or Facebook. If you find something frightening while conducting an investigation, be sure to mention it and see how the agency responds.

Find out more about the top 5 social media management software solutions.

How to find the best social media marketing agency

An ideal social media marketing agency should choose based on suitability and performance. The best agencies have the experience and resources to support you. Evaluate candidates based on peer references, independent research, and in-depth questions.

This article was originally published on The Manifest on September 19, 2018 and was written by Ian Heinig.