Do I Need a Social Media Agency?
Many of the clients we’ve worked with or otherwise bumped into over the years have probably asked themselves this question — given that we’re a social and digital media agency. But how do you go about finding the answer? We have some questions for you to ask yourself about your current marketing situation that will help.
But wait, TMG, you’re a social media agency! Won’t this whole blog post be biased because you obviously want us to work with you?
Nope. That actually couldn’t be further from the truth.
We’re not going to lie to you and say we don’t love getting new clients, because we totally do. But if we sign a new client who either doesn’t have a need for us or isn’t a good fit to work with us, our relationship will probably suffer, and we won’t end up working together forever like we’d prefer. So we have as much of a vested interest in making sure we’re the right team for the job as you do. And we have a pretty good idea of who needs a social/digital media agency and who doesn’t, so if you aren’t quite sure, try considering some of the following questions.
Do I have enough people in-house to handle this?
If your marketing team is only a couple people without a lot of time to focus on the tactical execution of social and digital campaigns, partnering with an agency is the perfect solution for you. A good agency will work as an extension of your own marketing team, and will be a lot cheaper than hiring more talent to add to your team in-house. Social media takes time – a lot of time. And so does SEO, content marketing, web development and graphic design. To really do all those things right, you’re going to need at least one person devoted to each.
Can you afford to have one person on staff solely devoted to managing your social media content? Can that person be responsible for engaging with your audience and responding to social posts at all hours of the day? If the answer is yes, you’re already in great shape. But we find that this is a huge need for a lot of companies. If you’re really serious about your social media channels and getting maximum results from them, you should consider partnering with an agency team to take things to the next level.
Do I have the right skill sets on board?
It’s not just about having enough people, it’s also about having the right people. Getting leads online is a little bit of art and a little bit of science, and you need the right people who can bring some of both to the table. Our agency has specialized talents focusing on graphic design, web development, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, and social media, and the same goes for other digital and social agencies. Having a staff of people who can focus in on one specific skill that they specialize in goes a long way to maximizing results and assuring high quality.
So if you don’t specialize in the skill sets that you need, considering an agency is probably a good idea.
Do I have too many projects on my plate?
Social media is such an ongoing effort that it needs to be maintained on a daily basis. And if you have a lot of other big projects eating up your manpower, it can be difficult to give your social campaigns the love that they really need. Your customers can tell if you’ve been putting off work on your social presence, and the savviest of buyers will just ignore you if you don’t have your act together. So if you have the right staff, but they’re just too busy with other things, partnering with an agency is probably a good option for you.
What’s my budget?
The best agencies will work with you to show that you’re getting the right ROI for each of your campaigns, and as a result, you’ll know whether or not your marketing dollars are being well spent. But just how much can you spend? Most agencies will work with you to devise a cost structure that fits your needs, but if your budget is a couple hundred dollars for the year, you might be better off concentrating on other things, because that may not get you as far as you would hope.
Hopefully this has helped you sort out your current situation and determine whether or not a social media agency would make a good partner for you. And if you do think you need some help, we know a pretty cool social media team for you to check out!
Tags: Marketing, social media agency, Social Media Marketing