More than a million people join social media EVERY DAY! In 2022 alone, 366 million new people marked their presence on social media. The numbers are ever rising. The social media is growing stronger day by day. But…what about your social media marketing results? Is your audience growing or are you getting desired conversions? Well, if the answer is no, you need a reliable social media marketing company that can handle your social media campaigns. And if the answer is yes, keep reading this post. You may strike gold, discovering something useful that can throttle your social media campaign’s performance. So this post is about finding and finalizing a trustworthy, result-oriented, data-driven social media marketing company after thorough research. Eager to know more? Let’s dive in straight away. CONTENTS 1. What is Social Media Marketing? 2. What’s the need for Social Media Marketing? 3. What if I do it myself? 4. Factors to Consider while Choosing a Social Media Marketing Company 5. Social Media Audit & Consultation 6. Common Set of Objectives 7. Do They Practice What They Preach? 8. Agency’s Client Portfolio 9. Company’s Founders and Team Memberse 10. Client Testimonials & References 11. Case Studies Review 12. Service Costs 13. Key Success Indicators 14. Communication & Support Strategy 15. Any Other Online Marketing Services 16. Conclusion 1. What is Social Media Marketing? We use social media to establish connections with our friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and people we know. And it’s not just about people but businesses as well. So this means, we have different types of social media users. From a marketing perspective, if we categorize all these users under an umbrella, we would call them – an audience. To interact with the audience, you have two options: Post regularly and grow your reach organically to establish a connection with the audience Extend your reach using paid advertisements or paid social media services The second aspect comes under social media marketing, wherein you pay for promoting your business on social media platforms. Let us look at some of the definitions of social media marketing. Wikipedia states, “Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service.” Search Engine Land states, “Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.” If we state the social media marketing definition, it will be: “ Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to promote a product or service, convert visitors into leads, manage reputation by engaging with the audience, and establish a social media influence.” As you can see, we can leverage social media for multiple purposes. So when you finalize a social media marketing agency for your needs, you should know the purpose. And this brings us to our next topic. 2. What’s the need for Social Media Marketing? According to Hubspot, nearly one-third of the world population uses social networks regularly. For these people, social media and video viewing are the two most popular online activities. What do these statistics convey? People spend most of their online time on social media and engagement levels are also the highest on social media. So social media marketing is definitely a MUST for businesses who have any of the following purpose or goal to achieve: Lead Generation Social media platforms are excellent sources for generating qualified leads. You can target the right set of audience and offer them giveaways in return for their contact information. Whether its B2C or B2B business; social media marketing works equally well in both cases. Brand Awareness Want to give a BIG shout out to the social media community? Share informational, engaging, and irresistible content in multiple formats. With social media marketing, you can extend your reach exponentially on all social media platforms. Product Marketing People love what they see and if you show it to them on social media, you will definitely witness more conversions. With social media, it’s easy to target and retarget the audience interested in your offerings, whether it’s a product or a service. Reputation Management A review can make or break your reputation. Most of the social media platforms, such as Facebook, also serve as review websites. You can initiate social media campaigns to engage existing customers and ask them to rate & review your services. SEO When it comes to search engine rankings, social signals have a significant role to play. A study indicates a direct correlation between search engine rankings and social media engagement. More social shares will give rise to more content visibility, resulting in higher search engine rankings. Customer & Industry Insights With the right set of analytics tools, like Facebook Analytics and Google Analytics, you can identify content that’s performing well, find an audience for retargeting, analyze competitor’s campaigns, and much more. A social media marketing service provider specializes in all these verticals. And as evident, investing in a social media campaign to achieve any of the aforementioned purposes can be a game-changing decision for your business. But still, most of the business owners think about adopting a DIY approach for social media marketing. It’s definitely – a WRONG DECISION! Why? Read on to know more. 3. What if I do it myself? There are two possibilities – either you will succeed or you will fail. If you succeed, you have to pay high costs in terms of time, money, and other resources. You have to: Deploy an all-new social media management wing Invest a lot of time to launch, monitor, and optimize campaigns Plan a budget and incur high monetary costs If you fail, then it’s because social media marketing is not your forte. It’s that simple. In both cases, it’s actually your LOSS. You generate minimum ROI. Therefore, it’s wise to outsource social media marketing operations to an expert. This is because a social media marketing service provider: Is an expert in social media marketing Has a team of professionals having prior experience in multiple domains Is capable of launching different types of campaigns Works as per Service Level Agreement (SLA) Knows how to generate maximum ROI Aware of the latest trends in the industry Okay. Now it’s clear that you should hire a social media marketing agency, and not opt for DIY social media marketing. But what’s the criterion of selecting a social media marketing company? Well, there are numerous factors to consider while outsourcing social media marketing to a service provider. We have outlined all of these in detail. Have a look at them. 4. Factors to Consider while Choosing a Social Media Marketing Company Don’t just settle for an “experienced” and “result-oriented” social media marketing firm. Look out for the following aspects when scouting the right candidate for your needs. Social Media Audit & Consultation Common Set of Objectives Do They Practice What They Preach? Agency’s Client Portfolio Company’s Founders and Team Members Client Testimonials & References Case Studies Review Service Costs Key Success Indicators Communication & Support Strategy Any Other Online Marketing Services 5. Social Media Audit & Consultation A credible social media marketing agency will be willing to perform a social media audit for the client. This is beneficial for the parties. For the service provider, it is an opportunity to convert a prospect into a client by showcasing their expertise and knowledge. Once they identify the loopholes and the remedial course of action, they inch closer to finalizing the contract. For you, it’s an opportunity to analyze the proficiency of the service provider. Moreover, you will come to know whether they have a similar mindset as yours or not. The social media audit will unveil the set of measures taken in the past, the current state of social media presence, and discover the possibilities for the future. The ultimate aim is to devise a social media marketing strategy that will aid you in fulfilling your objectives. Once the audit is complete, it’s time for the consultation. The representatives of the company will sit down with you to discuss existing problems and suggest remedial measures. Make sure they have credible data, such as case studies, to back their suggestions and strategies. Most of the agencies offer a free social media audit and consultation. You can opt for free ones but in case you are not satisfied, don’t hesitate to pay a nominal price for the audit & consultation. 6. Common Set of Objectives When you hire a social media marketing agency, you are relying on the agency to meet your goals and objectives. You both will be working as a team and therefore, it is important to be on the same boat. Instead of adopting the common market trends, the marketing company should launch campaigns that are specifically customized for your business. For example, if you want to promote clothes made of 100% organic cotton, like in the case of No Nasties, the agency should emphasize the unique propositions of the product. They can work on the idea of “sustainable fashion” rather than promoting it as a “generic fashion brand”. It’s really important for them to understand your business so that you can work together to meet the common set of objectives. 7. Do They Practice What They Preach? There are social media marketing companies that promise to propel your social media engagement. But when you look at their social media accounts, you will find a couple of thousand likes on the Facebook page, a few hundred followers on Instagram, and an incomplete profile on LinkedIn. Surprisingly, some of them have no presence on LinkedIn! What can you expect from these agencies? They don’t have time or are not capable enough to maintain their social media profiles. How can they cater to your social media marketing needs? 8. Agency’s Client Portfolio The social media marketing company’s website always has a section where they have listed the clients they have worked with. Have a look at the brands listed in the section. This will give you an idea of whether the company is the right fit for your needs or not. See the list of clients SimilarWebs has worked for. Don’t just stop right here. When you look at the clients, check out if any of these operate in the same industry as yours. This will clarify whether the agency has prior experience in handling social media campaigns in your industry or not. But you may argue, is there any proof of any association with the listed clients? Well, you can confirm this by: Contacting the agency’s representative, asking for the links to social media campaigns or any documental proof. They may not share complete information but they will do the needful to win your trust. Contacting an employee of the brand the agency has worked for. In most of the cases, you may not get the desired information because of confidentialities. But there is no harm in trying, right? 9. Company’s Founders and Team Members As stated earlier, it is important to know about the people who will be handling your social media campaigns. You just cannot bestow responsibility on anyone you don’t know about. Therefore, you have to dig in and get familiar with people like founders, key decision makers, employees, and others. You can easily extract the details of the founders and employees from the company’s website. For example, Moz has the list of all the leaders under “Teams” section. Along with the basic information, you will learn about their position and other credentials. Once you know the names, search for their profiles on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. You will gain information related to their credibility and past work experience. In addition to this, it is important to know about the professionals specializing in particular domains, social media marketing to be specific. And it will be better if you can talk to them face-to-face. This will be beneficial in developing a connection with them. 10. Client Testimonials & References If a social media advertising company is an established one, there will be client testimonials on its website. Check out the testimonials section to know about client opinions. Ensure that testimonials are written by authoritative personalities. For example, check out testimonials on Gloryweb’s website. These have been written by credible persons who are founders or belong to the C-suite. However, not all testimonials are trustworthy. Most of the companies publish fake testimonials. So in case, you feel testimonials are not enough to assess the credibility of the agency, then check out online reviews. For example, you can check Google reviews or Facebook reviews or reviews on any other platform. However, not all testimonials are trustworthy. Most of the companies publish fake testimonials. So in case, you feel testimonials are not enough to assess the credibility of the agency, then check out online reviews. For example, you can check Google reviews or Facebook reviews or reviews on any other platform. 11. Case Studies Review Everyone likes to boasts their achievements, especially to gain traction in the business. Social media advertising service providers are no different. They will definitely post about their accomplishments in their blog or website. In most of the cases, you will find case studies about their social media campaigns. See how Lyfe Marketing used their social media campaign results in the form of case studies. They accumulated all the proofs such as analytic reports to curate a data-driven case study. Right from consultation query to the goal accomplishment, Lyfe Marketing shared everything in the case study. When a prospect, like you, analyzes this case study, he is more determined to opt for the company’s social media marketing solutions. However, what worked for others may not work for you. So when you are analyzing case studies, check out if you can find something related to your industry. Or if you don’t find anything, ask the company representatives if they have any unpublished case study related to your industry. 12. Service Costs There is no fixed cost for social media marketing. The costs vary depending on your goals and willingness to spend. In addition to this, the agency will charge their service fee. The pricing models can be described as: Fixed Price The agency will charge a fixed fee for a particular time period, let’s say a month. While signing the contract, the list of services covered under the fixed cost will be listed. Variable Price The variable pricing model comes into the picture when your service requirements are subjected to change. For example, for the first two months, you focus on social media reach and from the third month onwards, you want to generate leads as well. Percentage Confusion may arise when dealing with fixed and variable pricing structures. That’s why some of the companies simply charge a percentage of the total social media marketing spend. Whatever the pricing model, there is always a scope for negotiations. Also, check out if there are any hidden charges or not. Once the negotiations are over, ensure everything is inked in the contract as well. Most of the social advertising companies offer services at affordable or cheap prices. And to be very frank, most of us are actually looking for affordable services. There is nothing wrong with it. After all, who doesn’t likes to save money! But if you find an agency offering social media marketing services at low prices, there may be issues that you are not aware of. Some of these are: Outsourcing jobs to third-party service providers that may use unethical social media marketing strategies. This can adversely affect your social media reputation in the long run. Forming a team of inexperienced employees that don’t have the required skill set to handle your social media campaigns. This will result in a waste of time, money, and resources and there is no assurance of fulfilling desired objectives. Assigning more-than-required client accounts to an employee. Usually, an employee handles social media campaigns of 4-6 client accounts on a daily basis. But if an employee is handling 10 or more clients, there will be a compromise in productivity and efficiency. So now you know that for cheap marketing packages, you have to pay a higher price. You may face grave consequences, such as negligible engagement rates and low conversions. 13. Key Success Indicators 60 percent of the small business owners are unable to track and measure ROI from their social media campaigns. What’s the point if you cannot measure the success or failure of campaigns? Therefore, it is important to define key success indicators before beginning with the campaigns. A social media marketing solution provider should gauge the success of campaigns according to the following metrics: Reach: What’s the reach of your campaign? How many users saw your social media content? Growth: How many fans or followers gained or lost in a particular time period? Engagement: How did people interact with social media content? Complete information about likes, comments, shares, minutes watched, and so on. Traffic: How much website traffic generated from social media promotions? Lead Generation: How many leads generated from social media? What was the opt-in rate? 14. Communication & Support Strategy You have the right to know what’s happening with your social media accounts. And therefore, you should be aware of the communication and support mechanism of the service provider. Some questions that you may ask: Do they have a dedicated account manager who is available all the time during working hours? What are the available modes of communication? How often will they share progress reports with you? Do they have 24/7 support or not? How many one-on-one meetings will be arranged? 15. Any Other Online Marketing Services Besides social media services list, look out for other online marketing services offered by the company. They may also excel in other verticals, such as: Creative Design & Development Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Paid Media Website & App Development Content Creation & Marketing Conversion Rate Optimization E-commerce Advertising If you are looking for more than just social media marketing solution, you should get a consultation from the agency. It’s important to know how they will integrate different digital marketing strategies to fulfill a common set of objectives. Moreover, discuss service costs in detail. When you opt for a complete digital marketing package, you will definitely get a discount. Ready to Step Up Your Social Media Marketing Campaign Discuss with our Marketing Experts 16. Conclusion These are the most prominent factors that will influence your decision while scouting a reliable social media marketing agency. You may have more queries in your mind. Don’t hesitate to ask them because an unresolved confusion may result in a costly affair. Finalize the agency that is: Strategic Action-oriented Creative Agile Metric-driven Follow SACAM approach to identify the best social media marketing company that also understands your business as you do. Now we have a question for you. Are there any other factors to consider when searching for social media advertising agency? If yes, let us know in the comments. We would love to hear from you.