Should you work with a social media marketing agency? With over 5.1bn users on social media, marketing on these platforms has become a business staple. But, it can be time consuming, and it takes skill to get it right.  

That’s why many businesses are now considering working with an external agency. In this blog we cover the ins and outs of how to outsource social media marketing activity, and answer the common questions people have about the process. 

What social media services can an agency provide? 

A social media agency can provide many different services. Some agencies are all-rounders, others are more specialised. In general, here are the kinds of services you may expect:

• Profile and activity audits
• Social media strategy
• Social media management – from publishing posts to analytics
• Social media campaign creation and delivery
• Paid ads and lead generation
• Influencer marketing

RELATED: Social media marketing services – what’s involved?

How do I choose the right social media marketing agency?

Like any partner, you want to make sure you have a good relationship with your chosen agency. This means considering its professional ways of working as well as its values.

When choosing the right social media partner for you, consider the agency’s:

• Packages, and what services and channels they offer
• Sustainability and ethical values
• Standard operating procedures, like the frequency of communication and the review process
• Policy on creative control and how much transparency you’ll receive
• Experience in your domain and previous successes

When’s the best time to outsource social media marketing?

An outsourced social media agency brings the benefit of expertise and specialised skills that you may not have in-house, in addition to capacity. Or, they can offer a fresh perspective to reinvigorate results when they’re stagnating.

That’s why the best time to start looking for an agency partner is when you’re starting a new project. For example, launching an acquisition campaign, or taking on a strategic refresh.

Will a social media agency be able to align with my digital marketing strategy?

Absolutely. At EV, we want to be an extension of your marketing strategy. We’ll audit your social media presence, review your commercial goals, and run market and target audience research. This means we know who you are and what you’re trying to achieve.

So, our social media plan will be aligned with your marketing, commercial and brand strategy.

Can (and should) a social media marketing agency be reactive?

Yes and yes! Social media should be approached with a strategic plan, but there are many instances in which your social media team should be ready to adapt.

1. News jacking is a big strategy in social media. Jumping on timely trends can boost engagement, and commenting on news updates or providing advice around them will show your thought leadership. Nevertheless, this should only be done in cases where you can actually add unique value.
2. Engagements aren’t something that can be planned for. If someone mentions you or comments on your posts, your agency should be ready to engage in these conversations in real time.
3. Agencies should also be reactive based on data. If the analytics show something is working – a design or caption style – they may consider boosting this post or even change the upcoming plan accordingly. Social media success is about making proactive changes as much as it is about having a long-term strategy.

There will always be timely opportunities that need to be accommodated. Whether it’s because a team member forgot to share pictures of an event until the last minute, or there was an unexpected announcement. Your social media agency should be prepared for these scenarios.

How does the content creation process work?

Essentially, it depends on what works for you. Some agencies like to create everything in the background, then deliver a complete campaign. These agencies will likely manage everything from creative direction to posting, and just provide intermittent reports.

This is perfect if you want to take a more hands-off approach.

If you want more control, other agencies will bring you on the journey. For example, our process is quite collaborative. We’ll still manage all the creation, but we’ll get your ideas, insights and approval every step of the way.

Can an agency manage my social media profile directly?

Yes, a social media marketing agency can manage your profiles. You just need to provide your logins and most agencies will post, manage interactions, and check analytics themselves directly.

How do I measure an agency’s success?

Set SMART goals right at the beginning of your relationship. It’s also a good idea to take a baseline of metrics to compare against on a regular basis, and see how things are improving. The metrics you’ll want to track will depend on your strategic goals and the activity.

Success metrics may include:

• Follower increase
• Engagement rates
• Leads generated
• Average impressions

Other soft, but still important, success indicators are things like how quickly they take on your brand voice, how smooth the review process is, and how reliable their timekeeping is.

Align your social media channel strategy with your business goals using this blog.

How fast can a social media marketing agency get results?

If your agency is using a data-driven strategy, you should get consistently rising results. There will always be ups and downs, but a good agency will adapt quickly to these learnings to ensure an upward trend.

Nevertheless, it takes at least three months before any marketing activity will make a lasting impact. The benefit of working with an outsourced agency is that they can hit the ground running. They have the best practice, the tools, and the capacity to start delivering results, quickly.

Learn more about the benefits of outsourcing, including increased resource, infrastructure and tried and tested processes.

How much does a social media marketing agency cost?

A social media agency can cost anything from thousands to hundreds of thousands a year. It depends on factors like:

• The geographical range you’re targeting
• How ambitious your targets are
• The timeline you are working to
• The type of services you want
• How long your contract is

And, of course, the agency’s own rates. These will typically cover the management of your accounts and campaigns, but likely won’t include a budget for paid media. Therefore, you can expect to pay extra if you want to put spend behind your social media ads, for example.

Social media agency case studies

Here are some of our favourite social media case studies, that showcase the potential impact of a well-planned strategy!

Increased organic social traffic by 484%

OSL case study

Gained 90 MQLs through LinkedIn

Trailight case study

Paid campaigns to target SQLs

Riskaware case study

Discover social media marketing packages

Make meaningful engagement and results-focused communication with our social media packages, and help grow your business sustainably. Explore our social media services now.