Does looking for a social media agency seem overwhelming? You can make a great choice with our step-by-step guide. Your friend’s or colleague’s recommendations are a good place to start, and remember that your company is unique, so you may find that you have to do a bit of digging to come up with a social media agency that’s just right for you. It’ll be time well spent, and we’ll walk you through each phase of the decision.
1) Decide if you want to dominate your local area. Sometimes local sales are most important to a firm. Maybe you are a photographer in Boise, Idaho and you want to corner the wedding and newborn photographer market there. This laser focus means you don’t care about competing with wedding photographers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But you may be very much interested in competing with photographers in all of the cities surrounding Boise. So in this case you will want to find a social media agency that can help you conquer your local area.
Suppose you sell running shoes and you want to market to a national audience. Then geographic considerations aren’t as important to you. You’ll want to work with a social media marketing company that can build a campaign on a national scale. As you can see you will want to sit down and decide which audience you want to reach; local or national. Once you have decided that, add your decision to the list of items you will discuss with your agency prospects.
2) How to find social media agency prospects. Sometimes you can call your local newspaper and they either will offer services with a partner company, or they will offer services themselves. Another place to look is by doing a simple Google search with the largest city near you as part of the search phrase, such as:
Atlanta social media agency
After you have done a bit of research create a list of 4 or 5 agencies. You will then get ready to interview them.
3) Preparing for the informational interviews. Some people feel more comfortable working with a social media agency that is in their own city. Others don’t mind working with an agency that is located out of town. Today’s technology allows everyone to communicate on conference calls or video chat, so these capabilities open up your options when it comes to selecting an agency. If you are interested in dominating your local area, you may wish to find an agency near your location, but that is not a prerequisite; many agencies do great local marketing work for companies outside their own state.
Once you have your short list of social media marketing companie, you will want to take some time to interview them. Ask that your potential campaign manager is also present on these calls, and also the head of the social media department, not just the sales person. Here are a few key questions to include in your interviews:
a. Tell me about yourself and your experience.
b. I want to have you create a (local or national) social media campaign. My goal is to sell X of my goods by X date. I understand that social media can help with that; it may not necessarily be possible to attribute sales totally to social media. I would like to learn how you would structure a campaign where social media can help increase my sales.
c. What social networks do you believe would fit my company best (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)? How would you use these platforms to improve my online visibility?
d. Do you offer several packages or plans that I can choose from, depending on my goals and budget?
e. Please discuss your portfolio or previous work with me, and can you link me to or send me examples?
It’s a good idea to ask specific questions and allow plenty of latitude for detailed answers. One thing that may seem confusing is if you find that your agency prospect has not been in business very long; you may be wondering if you should consider its services. Find out if the agency principals have spent a few years working for other firms, and what their experience is. It may be that they have a lot of experience and are just starting out building clientele for their new agency.
f. Ask for a custom proposal with proposed monthly cost to you. Get this from each agency so you can make comparisons.
4) After you have conducted several interviews with multiple agencies, it’s time to make a decision. A lot goes into this decision, and here are a few points to keep in mind:
- What is the agency offering you? Are they offering anything more than other agencies you have interviewed? Does this additional service provide you with real value?
- Price: This of course is always a prime consideration. After interviewing several agencies it’s important to see what you are getting from each, for your monthly investment. Also find out from each agency about the contract you will sign. Will it be a 6 month or 1 year contract, or do they offer a month-to-month contract? It might be wise to sign only a 6 month contract at first to see how the agency performs and if you feel comfortable with them.
- How do the agencies stack up in regards to campaign strategy? Which strategy do you believe provides you with the best chance to succeed online? If you don’t feel qualified to answer that question, then you can definitely observe which agency offers the most logical strategy outline; i.e., which firm provides you with the clearest plan that they will follow for your social media campaign?
- How do you feel about the fit? What about the people who will be managing your campaign? Do you believe they will be easy to work with? Do they seem competent and energetic, are they actually interested in your success? This is an important point to weigh when making a decision. Sometimes you will have to go with your gut.
Bonus Tip: Don’t rush your decision. You can set a timeframe to make your decision, but don’t feel pressured to decide. If you are not comfortable with any of the agencies you have interviewed, that’s okay. Take some time and interview a few more. This is your decision, and we hope this guide will help match you with the best social media agency for your needs.
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