Top 3 Questions To Ask Your Social Media Marketing Agency
Choosing the right team to help you with social media is not easy. You need a trustworthy agency that can professionally expand your marketing goals across the internet.
Whether it’s your first experience with a Social Media Marketing Agency (SMMA), or you’ve had a disappointing experience before, thorough vetting is crucial. Choosing the right agency means asking specific, informed questions to check if they can manage your brand’s digital presence effectively.
Here, we gathered the top three questions that any qualified agency should be able to answer confidently and transparently. Each question should thoroughly assess the agency’s expertise, how well they align with your business strategy, and the concrete results they can deliver.
How will you tailor your strategy to meet our business goals?
The Importance of a Customized Strategy
Generic strategies yield generic results. A competent agency will create a personalized plan for your business. You should craft this plan around your existing content marketing goals and include fresh strategies on how to achieve those goals in the easiest ways possible.
Sub-Topics to Explore:
What process do you follow to understand our business model and audience?
An agency should start with a deep dive into your business model, products, and services, as well as your target audience. Ask how they plan to integrate this understanding into their strategy development process.
How do you align campaign objectives with larger business goals?
The SMMA should demonstrate how they’ll turn your broad business goals into specific, actionable social media campaigns. For instance, if your goal is brand awareness, how will they measure and achieve this?
Can you provide examples of customized strategies you have developed for other clients?
Ask for concrete examples of times they’ve tailored their approach to meet the specific needs of their clients. This will give you an insight into their strategic flexibility and creativity.
Here’s a great example of a marketing strategy.
Core Value to Check: Strategic Growth
Before the interview, review the agency’s core values to ensure they match their responses. Look for a focus on strategic growth, as this indicates their understanding of strategy’s importance in the digital realm.
How do you stay ahead of the social media curve?
Adapting to the Social Media Evolution
The digital marketing realm is a living, breathing entity, evolving every second with each cultural shift. The digital marketing agency you choose should be forward-thinking, ready to anticipate and adapt to new trends and changes.
Sub-Topics to Explore:
Can you provide an example of how you’ve capitalized on a new trend or adapted to a platform change?
This is a social media basic, it’s a red flag if an agency can’t answer this question. Check their track record in using trends or algorithm changes to a client’s advantage.
What is your approach to ongoing education and staying informed about the latest social media trends?
You don’t want to work with an agency that leaves their strategy to chance. Inquire about the systems they have in place for keeping their team educated. This can include attending industry conferences, and certifications, and staying abreast of emerging social media platforms.
How do you handle algorithm changes and platform updates?
A Social Media Marketing Agency should have deep knowledge of each social media platform’s algorithm. Their approach to change reveals if they’re reactive or proactive in handling social media dynamics. It also speaks to their problem-solving abilities and agility.
Core Value to Check: Lifelong and Continuous Learning
Continuous learning is vital for social media agencies due to frequent algorithm and policy changes on platforms. Static insights only lead to diminishing success.
What metrics will you use to measure success and how do they correlate with our ROI?
Measuring Success in Social Media
While likes and shares are nice, they don’t pay the bills. You need concrete metrics that correlate with your return on investment (ROI). Understanding the agency’s definition of success is key to knowing how they’ll report their progress to you.
Sub-Topics to Explore:
How do you define key performance indicators (KPIs)?
The potential agency should offer a clear explanation of how they establish and track KPIs. More importantly, your business goals should be directly tied to these KPIs.
What tools and techniques do you use for tracking and analytics?
Inquire about their data analytics tools and how this data shapes your social media strategy.
How often will we review analytics, and how are these reviews conducted?
Confirm they have a structured plan for sharing analytics with you, aligning with your business’s timeline.
Core Value to Check: Accountability or Transparency
Metrics are only useful if they’re accurate. Otherwise, they can lead you to disappointing pivots. Accountability is crucial in any agency relationship, as it builds trust.
Deep Dive
Measuring Success in Social Media
With the three overarching ideas outlined, let’s dive deeper into why these should be the pillars of your interaction with an SMMA and how they can impact the success of your social media marketing efforts.
Sub-Topics to Explore:
Custom Strategy
Success in social media hinges on strategy alignment with your audience and brand values. The agency should conduct a thorough analysis, assessing your past social media efforts, current market position, competitor landscape, and audience behavior.
A Thorough Analysis
To formulate such a strategy, the agency should first perform an in-depth analysis covering:
- Past Social Media Efforts: Reviewing past efforts helps refine effective strategies for your brand.
- Current Market Position: Knowing your market position against competitors aids in identifying unique selling points.
- Competitor Landscape: Analyzing what competitors are doing can offer lessons in both what to emulate and what to avoid.
- Audience Behavior: Studying how your audience interacts online guides content creation and engagement strategies.
The agency should offer a customized, data-driven strategy, not just a generic template.
Social Media Navigation
Staying ahead in social media requires both historical knowledge and clear foresight. A top-tier SMMA should have no problem guiding you with a strategy that anticipates the future. They need to be up-to-date with social media innovations, like augmented reality or live streaming.
KPI to ROI
At the end of the day, your investment in social media marketing should lead to tangible results. The agency must have a clear map to track the treasure trail, with metrics that reveal the ROI of your campaigns.
Beyond Vanity Metrics
The focus should be on metrics that directly impact your bottom line. These include:
- Lead Generation: How many potential customers are you attracting through your social media efforts?
- Conversion Rates: Of the leads generated, how many are converting into paying customers?
- Customer Acquisition Costs: How much are you spending to acquire each new customer through social media campaigns?
- Customer Lifetime Value: The expected total revenue from a customer over their relationship with your company.
Advanced agencies might use predictive analytics to forecast future trends based on current data. This can help in making proactive changes to your strategy, and staying ahead of market shifts.
Social media data analysis offers insights into customer preferences and behaviors, aiding in more targeted marketing efforts.
Maximize the Investment
Before starting a campaign, be clear about what you want to achieve. Set clear goals like increasing sales, brand awareness, or website traffic for effective success measurement.
Be open to experimenting with various content types, messages, and strategies. Adapt based on what the data tells you.
Integrate with Overall Marketing
Ensure that you integrate your social media marketing efforts with your overall marketing strategy for a cohesive approach.
Measuring the success of your social media marketing efforts in terms of ROI is essential. Focus on the right metrics, analyze performance regularly, and adapt your approach for significant business impact.
Conclusion
To recap, asking the right questions isn’t just due diligence; it’s the first step of digital success. The agency’s responses will indicate if they’re just enthusiasts or experienced professionals.
Choose an agency that does more than just answering these questions. Look for one that is excite by them, showcasing their talent in personalizing strategies, adapting to change, and delivering results. This kind of enthusiasm indicates a team that’s eager to align with your goals and contribute to your project’s success.
Next Steps
If you’re considering a skilled Social Media Marketing Agency, we know one of the industry’s best. Contact us today!
