Being a marketing manager has it challenges. Striking the right balance in finding the right way to promote your company whilst trying to best manage budgets and resources can be testing for even the most experienced of managers. For those managers who decide to commission an agency to carry out work they will probably say they want a partner to provide the following things:
Knowledge and Expertise
Specialist agencies are usually where you find the right knowledge to help improve your marketing outcomes. Social media in particular is continually evolving and keeping track of all these changes can be difficult. Commissioning a specialist agency that focuses purely on social marketing to manage this can be a great idea. Some agencies will also provide a range of additional services such as design and software, which can all support in building a brand.
All of this social media knowledge and expertise will be redundant if the agency does not understand your business and is not âEUR~in syncâEUR(TM) with your business plans. Good agencies will always find the time to research your business!
The Right Engagement Levels
Some marketing managers may relate to the underwhelming experience that they have been promised fantastic engagement results, but have been delivered much less. So what do you need to look out for?
The number of fans and followers on an account can be a decent indicator of how popular a community is. However size isnâEUR(TM)t everything. You have got to ask yourself, who do I want to engage with? There is little benefit in promoting a brand to an audience that has no residual benefit.
An agency needs to prove they can generate actual engagement among their communities. A good thing to look out for, say on Facebook, is the âEUR~talking about thisâEUR(TM) metric. It is not hard to come across a page with what appears to be a large community but has a very low âEUR~talking about thisâEUR(TM) score. Always make sure you find those agencies who can demonstrate a record of success in building thriving communities. Check out their social media pages to see if they practice what they preach.
Work Outside Company Hours
Good agencies will take responsibility for your social media during times outside of company hours and this is very important as social media doesnâEUR(TM)t stop. Many marketing managers want to use social media as a customer service channel. Companies such as Walmart, Next Online, Xbox and Ferrari maintain a constant social media presence and have an impressive Facebook average response time of less than 50 minutes to a customer enquiry.
Social media users are rarely just active between the hours of 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. Evenings and especially weekends, can be fruitful for reaching your audience. A recent study suggests that many industries experience higher interaction at weekends.
Accountability
This is such an important factor in working with an agency. An agency can be held to account for work that is not completed or for targets that are not reached.
Reporting
Reporting is vital. With social media sometimes not being fully understood, it is important that all campaigns are tracked and reported. A good thing about a social media campaign is that it can be measured. You can find out how much you spent and what you got in return, so you know where the campaign went right and where it can be improved. So make sure your agency gives you regular reports.
Deciding on whether you need an agency and what agency to choose can be challenging. The above tips should help provide you with some suggestions on what sort of things you need to consider.
Peadar is a project manager @ Dokoo
Dokoo is a digital marketing agency in Belfast. Our award-winning services have helped many businesses optimise their digital advertising in Northern Ireland.