Digital marketing is essential for promoting your business and reaching new customers, and social media marketing is a huge part of that. It can allow you to access potential customers that you cannot reach any other way, or at least not in the same numbers, and can be hugely effective when done right.
Social media marketing can, however, seem pretty daunting to those without the right kind of expertise. If you are thinking of outsourcing your company’s social media marketing, read on to find the qualities you should be checking for first…
What do we mean by social media marketing?
So, what do we mean by social media marketing? Well, in simple terms it refers to the use of social media platforms to engage with and promote to a highly targeted audience.
Social media is changing the way we shop, and interact. As such, social media marketing should utilise a range of techniques and strategies to identify and connect with the right people – without being too pushy. It’s all about establishing trust and providing free value so that your ideal customers simply cannot resist!
What qualities should a social media marketing agency display?
Wondering what qualities your ideal social media marketing agency should have? Keep an eye out for the following…
1. A clear understanding of each platform, technology and the data available
Clearly an in-depth knowledge of social media is a must. Not just the platforms themselves, but the way they analyse data, the technology available, and all of the intricacies of each. The best way to determine a prospective agency’s authority is both in the content they share and in their social proof.
2. Showing an interest in getting to know your brand
Your agency should be able to engage with you and your brand with passion. They should be as invested in your success as you are, and know everything about you and what you stand for. You shouldn’t hire a social media marketing firm who doesn’t truly get you and you can usually tell this by the questions that they ask you during the initial consultation / discovery stage.
3. High levels of engagement with your customers
There’s a reason this type of marketing begins with the word ‘social’. The key to succeeding here is with speedy and continuous engagement with your visitors and followers at all times. Messages need replies, questions need answers, and discussions need to be triggered and contributed to.
How can you tell if a social media agency can achieve this for you? By looking at their previous case studies and gauging how their existing and previous customers feel about them.
4. Excellent customer service
It is also not enough to simply engage with your visitors in a timely manner, you have to do it in the right way. Your ideal social media marketing agency should be able to adopt your brand voice and mentality and respond to your customers the way that you wish.
You can get a good idea for how well they interact by the way they communicate with you. If they go above and beyond to understand your needs and accommodate you, you’ll have a much easier time entrusting them with your customers.
5. Creativity
Your agency needs to be able to create informative, intriguing, high-quality content for your marketing strategy. There are so many formats and mediums for communicating through social media and different ways to make an impression. Creativity is certainly a must-have quality in this regard.
Again, you need to deep dive into a prospective agency and look at the type of content they share on their own platforms. Does it represent the quality of content you would like to emulate?
If they can’t create great content for themselves, there’s a good chance their work they do for you will be sub-par.
6. The ability to analyse and adapt
It is not enough to be able to set up and maintain your social media marketing and let it tick over on its own. The right agency will also be able to analyse all the data collected and discover which parts of your strategy are succeeding, and which need refining.
Social media marketing is constantly evolving and adapting, and your marketing agency should too. Don’t settle for less than they very best and make sure that you hold out for a company that will best serve your needs and long-term goals.
