Doing digital marketing the right way has become a must, not just for big businesses. Small and medium businesses have also got the opportunity to promote themselves in a simple and affordable way, and not using it would be madness. Not having an account on the most popular social networks means that you practically don’t exist and working on your SEO properly can do great things for your company. However, sometimes, it all seems like a bit too much to handle, having in mind that you need to actually run your business at the same time.
That’s why it’s a common practice among businesses to find a marketing agency to help them with this. The number of agencies offering their services is huge and we’re all flooded with their sponsored posts every day. This is what makes it difficult to choose among them, but having a brief look at their social media profiles can be very useful in this respect. After all, it’s pure common sense – if they’re not able to handle their own marketing well enough, you can’t expect them to do it properly for you either. To a layman, their profiles might seem very similar to each other at the first glance in terms of their stories or their visual identity and be picking one can be difficult. Nevertheless, there are details that can reveal a lot about the way the agency works and its efficiency and potential. Here are a few tips on how to recognize those details.
Regular updates
One of the most obvious indicators, whether an agency is doing social media marketing right, is how often they post new content. There are no definite and unequivocal rules on how often you should post and when, but if the agency updates their profiles only once or twice a week that’s never a good sign. If they’re neglecting their own accounts, which should be the basis of their business and a kind of their own portfolio, then they’re not a good choice for you either. Also, look for patterns in their posting – if they post a specific type of content at a specific time of the day or week, it probably means they’re detail-oriented and have a developed social media strategy for their own company. This can be an indication that they’re diligent and serious.
Look at their numbers
If you want to grow your business by increasing your social media numbers, check if the agency that’s supposed to help you with this is good at it on their home turf. Don’t be fooled by the total number of followers, as this number can be deceitful and is relevant only to a certain extent. Sometimes, quality agencies are very narrowly specialized and therefore won’t have a large number of fans. On the other hand, there will be agencies followed by a lot of people just because they occasionally post random viral stuff found on the internet. This is branding done completely wrong and it’s definitely not a good way to keep their target audience engaged.
In this sense, one of the most important numbers to look at is their engagement rate, which is basically the number of people who like, share, repost or comment on their original content. If this number is high and steady, it means that their followers find their content relevant and that they know how to get people involved and make them interested.
Check their previous clients
Most of the agencies will have some info on their social media about their previous clients. The fact that they’ve worked with big brands doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve done their job well, but it leaves less room for error. Make sure the agency has some experience working with companies from an industry related to yours. Also, check what their clients’ social media profiles look like, in terms of design and content. See if these are updated regularly and if the voice they use is adapted well enough to whoever seems to be the target audience. You can use specialized search engines to not only check on the agency you’re considering but also to get more familiar with their clients. Platforms such as 2easy can help you with this, as they provide important info on companies and agencies of all sorts.
Design
A creative and well-thought-out visual identity of an agency is one of the crucial signals that you’re dealing with professionals. The power of visuals in social media is remarkable and having an innovative and consistent design is essential if you want to make to make your accounts on social networks grow. If an agency is able to make their pages look appealing and create their visual identity in a way that suits their brand, it’s a good sign that they’ll be able to do it for you as well.
To conclude, the way marketing agencies manage their social media reveals more about them than you might notice at the first glance. Of course, you shouldn’t base your choices only on this fact, but it’s a good start. Apart from this, you should also try asking around for references, see what their website looks like, check their search engine rankings, take a look at their price list, and at the end of the day, meet them in person. Only then will you be able to make an informed decision on this important matter.
Hi Claudia,
The points which you have mentioned come in handy while filtering the marketing agencies on social media as there are too many options and most of the time people get confused with their choices