HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING AGENCY
Choosing a social media advertising agency to work with can be a tricky process, even for the most experienced of business owners.
The industry is facing somewhat of a crisis due to a large number of ‘have-a-go’ catchpenny marketers forcing their way into the industry by offering second-rate services at an absurdly reduced cost.
This has become an issue for many brands that have been tempted by the cheaper price tag.
If there’s one piece of advice we strongly recommend for all brands it would be the following
Only ever work with experienced and results-driven practitioners.
This article is dedicated to helping you do just that, with tips and pointers throughout that will help narrow down your search for a social media advertising agency.
Contents
GET A SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
Any social media advertising agency worth their salt will always offer a free social media audit as part of initial consultancy to a prospective client.
A social media audit is designed to give the practitioner a better view of what you’ve done previously, where you are now and what needs to be done in order to meet your objectives.
This will give both you and the prospective ad agency an overview of the current state of your social media advertising. Think of it as a type of ‘situational analysis’. Go into it with an open mind, listen carefully to their diagnosis, and allow the ad agency to go into detail about the findings.
MEET WITH THE PROSPECTIVE AGENCY
Meeting with a prospective social media advertising agency is always a wise idea if you’re looking to forge a sustainable, long-term relationship.
Meeting the people behind the ad agency, in the flesh, will give you a good opportunity to familiarise yourself with how they work and the methods they employ.
This is also an appropriate time to ask any questions you might have whilst the ad agency can do the same to gain some background.
EXPLORE CLIENT PORTFOLIO & PREVIOUS WORK
Most social media advertising agencies will have a list of clients they’ve worked with readily available for you to see.
Besides being an excellent indicator of competence, this gives you a good idea of what industries the ad agency has served in the past.
Even if none of the brands in their client portfolio are in your industry, think about whether there is overlap from one to another.
Be sure to explore the ad agency’s previous work and pay special attention to detail.
CREATE SMART OBJECTIVES
Before choosing an ad agency to work with, make sure you’ve created one or more SMART objectives that both parties can agree on.
S – specific, significant, stretching
M – measurable, meaningful, motivational
A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented
R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented
T – time-based, time-bound, timely, tangible, trackable
An example of a SMART objective would be:
To increase our Facebook ad conversion uptake by 5% in the next 12 months
Setting SMART objectives will help avoid any confusion, whilst providing a strong framework to continuously monitor progress as the relationship moves forward.
Source: SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING AGENCY: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE | Trend Jackers
