So this Blog post has been a long time coming for me….
Over the last year I have been approached by countless agencies trying to sell me social media services and promising that they will be able to ‘revolutionise’ the way I do my digital marketing and online communications. I thought I would share some of my experiences with you, and hopefully offer other client side digital marketing types advice on what to look out for when selecting a social media agency.
So here we go – my 5 top tips and advice for selecting a social media agency:
1. How did they contact you?
Sounds obvious but think about it… did you get a random boring email from some digital agency who bought your details from a list? (Not very social that is it) Did you get cold called from a ‘social media guru’ (or worse a telemarketing agency) promising to blow you away with their amazing use of Twitter? Perhaps not as bad if the person on the call has done some research and actually got your name and job title correct.
I would say that there are lots of social media ‘snake oil’ sellers out there and if you weren’t actively looking for an agency beware these two opportunist tactics. Social Media is one of many great marketing channels, but just because everyone is doing it I would urge you to stop and pause on what it can deliver for your business.
2. Check out their online profile – seriously!
This is probably my biggest ‘must do’ on the list. I am constantly baffled, dismayed and sometimes amused as the lack of thought, care and attention a so called ‘social media’ or digital marketing agency pays to their own marketing. Before I commission any digital work, particularly a social media project, I always look at the following:
- Company Website – do they have one? (a landing page with a Jpeg and a phone number doesn’t count) Is it well designed? Does it have a point of difference?
- Social Media Proposition – is it clear? Do they have one? If the agency or individual isn’t able to adequately articulate what social media is to me, both effectively and clearly, how exactly are they going to get my brand message across to my customers/audience?
- Do they have a blog – as an agency or an individual? How long ago was their company or individual blog updated? I think this is important because it shows the agency keep abreast of the latest developments in digital and are actively contributing to the social media or online marketing debate
- Are they on any social media channels themselves? Company profile on Linkedin? Twitter? Facebook? What do these profiles look like, how much do they contribute?
- Do they speak at any industry conferences or events? Obviously I’m not looking to appoint an agency/individual who won’t be there half the time, but what I do find important is that they have credibility amongst industry peers and are actively contributing to the debate/industry of social media and digital marketing
- Peer Index Place – this is something relatively new (and I wouldn’t say it isn’t a 100% answer to agency selection), but Revolution magazine recently produced a list of the top social media agencies in the UK based on their Peer Index score. Peer Index is a good way of measuring most of the points I’ve said to look out for above. There are also tools such as Klout which can do this. The CIPR have recently run this story, and I would say that from a credibility perspective as a buyer of social media services I find this kind of ranking list a pretty important part of a decision making process. Obviously the top 20 on this list won’t come cheap so it is important to consider that. The article and the list can be found here on the Brand Republic Website. I would say to caveat this list that the agencies added to the list depend on the curator of that list – I would say that most of the notable and well known names in the digital marketing industry are on there though and it gives a good spread.
3. Don’t buy the suits
It’s not that I don’t like sales people (well I don’t like them that much) but I am always wary of the ‘big pitch’ where a suited and booted sales person attempts to glamour me with a wiz bang presentation and big idea, which usually, whilst impressive, has no hope in hell of being implemented.
I would much rather hear from the people within an agency who are actually going to work on my account. Put a creative or your actual social media manager in-front of me – I won’t bite! Having a good creative who understands my brand and hearing from an account manager who will take the time to work professionally with me and add value, are far more important than some sales person just telling me what I want to hear.
4. Case Studies and Clients
What case studies demonstrating effectiveness and ROI (whether tangible revenue or online brand engagement) can an agency show me? Do these case studies give them experience in my market/sector or can learning’s be transferred? In my opinion what social media tactics you employ in one market do not necessarily translate well into another – I’m always suspicious of a ‘one size fits all’ model.
I want to speak to at least two of the clients from your portfolio – and I will pick them at random. I don’t want you suggesting the one that is your best friend because you take them out for dinner/golf/who the hell knows what all the time. If they are clients that you have done good work for, and you are proud to have their logo on your website, brochure e.t.c there won’t be a problem…. will there?
5. Does the agency put marketing and your message before the technology?
I’ll explain this – technology is cool, I love digital and like nothing more than a good old geek out but….. just because geeks may find the latest app or widget cool does not a marketing campaign make for most traditional brands. I want a social media agency to understand my brand, audience and most importantly my message first and then propose the best technology and channels available to meet my objectives.
If you want to pioneer and try something experimental with the latest technology STOP! Think first – how does that benefit me as a client and my objectives, or are you just glory chasing for an award/case study?
I hope there are some useful pointers in my post for other digital marketing buyers. Anything to add? Any other helpful tips for buyers?….
Fascinating read to learn about life on the client side of the fence. I’ve tried not to take offense at your comments about sales people
I think great agency/client relationships are developed in this (the courtship) stage. It’s all about partnership as well. Client’s have to put as much work in as the agency to get the best results (my thoughts on this are in this blog post http://blog.quba.co.uk/2010/08/three-steps-on-putting-together-a-good-website-brief/).
As I’m leaving agency life at the end of May I’ve got a blog post planned to talk about what it’s like to work for an agency.
Thanks for sharing
David
Cheers David
don’t take offence it’s not all sales people! Best of luck on your move in May I look forward to reading your post.
You dont mention ideas at all in this list, i wonder if this is more about the shortlisting process rather than winning the contract? the factors you list seem to refer mainly to 3rd party validation of their expertise and many actually about their own ability to self promote. Many of the best agencies out there are great at promoting their client but not particularly great at promoting themselves (the best plumbers have leaky taps becuase they are too busy syndrome). Surely their ideas about how they would promote your brand are more important than their own self promotion?
Hi anon
I think creative ideas are kind of implicit in any marketing campaign/pitch or brief so just thought it would be obvious that would be required.
In terms of your plumber analogy, I use the same logic as to why I get my hair done at Nicky Clarke. It’s immaculate in there, the staff all have good hair, so I associate them with a quality product and service
I think it’s very lazy, potentially a little arrogant, when an agency doesn’t spend anytime on their own marketing or social media profile. The question I think clients ask themselves is about the agencies credibility, can I trust this agency with my brand? If an agency doesn’t even look after their own or they don’t actively participate in social media it does raise questions of credibility for me.
Conversely I’m not a fan of fur coats and no knickers either, in my experience though Ive rarely had that from an agency who effectively markets themselves.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it’s good to debate
Hi Kirstal.
After reading this blog, I could not stop myself from writing comment. Really nice post. It reflect the practical experience you have in digital space.
Congratulations on starting your own blog. I look forward to read more interesting posts from you
R
Thanks so much Ratnesh, I really appreciate the positive feedback
Nicely put.
I could add to the list:
- Is the agency able to give you realistic targets based on your budgets, or are we just talking about the WAW effect of social media and how it is viral
- Is the agency talking long term or short term? (Strategy or Campaign)
- Does the agency have enough resources to support, monitor and report? Are they using the tools that are convenient to you?
- Does the agency have local knowledge of the populace? (Every country, or region has its own cultural behavior, is the agency capable of understanding that?)
On another note, I would give agencies a little break about their own social media account and focus more on their case studies (Agency activation on social media is direct cost and heavy resource consumption).
Cheers and looking for more posts soon.
Thanks.
Riad.
Thanks for the thoughts. As I will start to market my portal via social media, I got some important points.
Being a “Salesman” or better, teaching people to become good salesman, I understand your worries. But please, don’t blame salespeople. They do what the company asks them to do. So you can see the quality of an agency via the performance of the salespeople. Do they focus on you or themselves.
A salesman from a good agency will not give you nothing but his business card on your first meeting unless you ask for more. His main job is to listen to you, to uncover your needs in order to bring you the right solution for your problem. A bad agency will ask them to do what you described.
I find it a little embarrassing if it is people from agencies who are saying it is irrelevant how good an agencies own social media capabilities are. I am agency side and there could be no greater criticism than one aimed at my own firms social media output. If I felt my firms own social media output and presentation was weak I would immediately re-assign resource with urgency until the situation was remedied. As for the analogy about a plumber having leaky taps, I would never employ a plumber with leaky taps. PRs have a bad enough rap in terms of style before substance and if you are asking a client to pay you to do social media strategy or management for them, if you can’t even do your own firms that is ludicrous. In social media firms the shop window isn’t just the shop window, it is the shop as well.
Interesting point about checking their Peer Index. While it isn’t perfect it seems the best tool out there at the moment (take that Sunday Times). However, I think it’s worth noting that they should look for the personal accounts rather than the company ones. People buy from people (cheesy, I know) and I see firms getting much greater engagement from their director or senior staff accounts than those for the company. If I was to sell Twitter to a client I’d advise on using both methods but attribute greater importance to the personal account.
Jono – I agree in part with your answer but would suggest it can be a case by case thing. At Dubit we have busy Twitter accounts but don’t use Facebook as it isn’t suitable for us. I think and I’m sure you agree, that you shouldn’t use all social media just because it’s there.
Great post! There are so many businesses that are drawn in by the buzz words and the excitement around SM that they don’t even think to check over potential suitors. Hopefully this will go some way in making some of them stop, think and research before writing a cheque.
Only thing I disagree with is using Klout. I’ve found it to be completely wrong with most of it’s assumptions and relying on it (if only slightly) may provide a warped view of whoever you’re looking at.
Keep up the good work and good luck in your new job!
Hi Jordan
I think your right about Klout, since writing the post a couple of months ago it seems to have gone a bit tits up to be honest :/ let’s keep an eye on it to see if it gets any better.
Cheers for the well wishes, appreciate that