14 Sep Six Secrets of Top Performing Social Media Agencies

Social media marketing is unlike any other. It’s the only form of marketing where the target audience is able, and even encouraged, to talk back to the brand. When you hire a dedicated social media marketing agency, they’ll be able to guide you toward the strategies and tactics that help brands win at social media. 

But how should you choose a social media agency to ensure you are working with one of the best? Below are a few secrets that separate high-performing social media agencies from the pretenders. Hear the six secrets directly from our CEO, Jim Tobin.

Secret #1: All or Nearly All of their Business is Social Media Marketing

Because social media marketing is so different from other marketing, the top-performing social media agencies focus exclusively, or nearly exclusively, on social media marketing. 

Marketing is getting more and more difficult and more and more technical, so no single agency is good at everything. Find a social media agency that is really a social media agency. A generalist will cost you money with what they don’t know. 

Secret #2: Your Social Media Agency Works with Brands Like Yours

The right social media agency has clients that look like your brand. Why? Because using social media to market a single restaurant is very different from marketing a franchise of hundreds of restaurants and different still from marketing a national or global brand. 

Everything from budgets to tactics changes from one type of brand to another, so finding a social media agency that matches your needs is a secret to success. 

Secret #3: They’ve Been Working in Social Media for More than a Decade

While there’s no magic to the “decade” mark, the longer a social media agency has been in business (and focused on social media) the more likely they are to have seen challenges similar to yours. 

The longevity of the social media marketing firm is also a sign that they are well run, that their clients are happy with their work and that they are keeping up with the ever-changing social media marketing trends. 

Secret #4: Your Social Agency is a Preferred Marketing Partner to Key Social Networks

Have you ever tried to get help from Facebook? It’s pretty difficult if you don’t have an in and a Facebook rep you can talk to in an effort to expedite things. At Ignite Social Media, we’re Facebook Business Partners, Pinterest Marketing Partners, and Snapchat Certified Partners. We have reps at all the major social networks. 

All too often social media ads get shut down or accounts get locked. If your social media agency is a preferred partner and can get someone online quickly, it will save your brand time, money, and headaches. 

Secret #5: Top Social Media Agencies Employ Specialists in Each Discipline

After working in social media marketing for more than 14  years, I find it amusing when someone says they are a social media expert. Social media marketing is best done by people with expertise in their part of social media marketing. There are many unique social media marketing services agencies provide. 

Brands need social media strategists, content producers (writers, photographers, videographers), community managers, media buyers, influencer marketing managers, data analysts, and account managers. I’ve never met someone who was truly great at all of those very different disciplines, so if an agency tells you they have “social media specialists” on staff, it’s a huge red flag. Dig into what they’re really good at.

Secret #6: The Best Social Media Agencies Hate Words Like “Buzz” and “Viral”

Social media marketing, like all marketing investments, should drive a business’s overall marketing and business objectives. That’s what we’ve been focused on since 2007 and I think one of the reasons we’ve been named the Social Media Agency of the Year (worldwide), repeatedly honored as one of Chief Marketer’s 200 Top Marketing Agencies and literally dozens of other awards. 

These awards come from driving results for clients, not hoping that something goes viral. That’s not a replicable social media marketing strategy. 

In short, high-quality social media agencies have deep experience in social media marketing, are experienced working with brands like yours, have done so for years, have access to key social network staff, employ experts across the social media landscape, and focus on business results. 

If you can match those six secrets with your needs, you’ll likely have a social media agency that fits your needs nicely.

Ask our team how we align with the six items above by contacting us today. Alternatively, keep yourself in the know about the latest in social media marketing by subscribing to our newsletter below.

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