So, How Is your Social Media Marketing Being Undertaken?
Visualize what the Social Media Marketing Agency you’ve signed on is doing for your brand right this minute. Quick, what comes to mind? A cluster of overpaid creative execs with a whiteboard? Snappy dressers with ideas? A little time passing and bam, one tagline is born. You’ve just coughed up R60,000 ($4090)1 for one minuscule tagline?
Or have you delegated your social media marketing as that irksome task that can be easily undertaken once a week to your bookkeeper/receptionist/admin person?
Perhaps you are still feverishly looking through a list of 70,000+ agencies on Clutch to find the ideal Digital Agency to serve your company’s needs? Maybe you don’t even have a website yet.
You’re not alone.
Social Media Marketing Has Evolved
If you have foraged Clutch, you’ll note the Social Media Marketing Agency archetype. Yes, both pros and cons are evaluated, but you’ll also find several boasts which are not too dissimilar. Advertising against the backdrop of a dynamic social media landscape requires a discipline that has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. We used to have three or four channels at our disposal; now, there are over 20 (see chart below). And each may or may not suit your brand marketing objectives or marketing budget. Millions of users access many of these channels daily. Channels bristle with vibrant exchanges, and a couple could fit your organization like a hand in a glove.
Your agency must be tuned into the platforms and know-how to leverage tones and timing to match your marketing objectives. Your project manager should be familiar with the behaviours of the persona groups you’re targeting. The hope is that the digital designers and writers will create relatable, appropriate, and eye-catching content that promotes your brand.
Figure 1 1 Design by DAS® Stats by Statista,com3 (link below)
How this Evolution Affects Your Business
Now, we don’t know much about your business. Yet, we realize that Social Media Marketing is pretty much the last item on any business owner’s to-do list. It could revolve around client-centric service, or perhaps you’re engaged in turnkey operations, logistics or you are even committed to online retail. The reality is that if you’re serious about your brand’s online presence, the agency you’ve enlisted should be staffed by specialized portfolio managers, developers, designers, and writers who will get the job done in a hassle-free, direct, and transparent manner.
By the same token, your agency should meet deadlines and account for a decent return on the allowance you’ve made for this type of marketing. There is little more satisfying than Social Marketing efforts which result in a tangible ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).
Do you feel that the talent you’ve got is achieving all the above? Go through the checklist below.
A Professional Social MEDIA Marketing Agency:
- Commits to a weekly media plan for your business.
- Measures the efficacy and reach of this plan, and translates this into numbers you can report on to your senior (with confidence).
- Can adapt to the ebbs and flows of trends and the economy.
- Writes and designs content that pleases your audience and creates an emotional connection.
- Accounts for time spent in their billing, validates budgets allocated and attributes conversions.
- Is hands on and has one point of contact (not several departments – in other words you should never feel that you’re dealing with Home Affairs.
- Is personable and approachable, yet professional (the days of overpaid execs are very last year).
- Only promises what they can deliver.
- Optimizes what works and dispenses with what doesn’t.
If you feel that the agency you’ve employed falls short on any of the criteria above, perhaps it is time for a change. Partner with talent who can inject that inertia you need to keep your business relevant and on the radar. After all, it is what marketing is about, digitally speaking.
And Does Social Media Marketing Have a Future?
Well, we cannot predict the future. Not even WhatsApp foresaw a horizontal acquisition by Facebook and nor did WhatsApp users. No one realized that what would ensue was a temporary yet notable rapid exodus to Telegram and similar. Things soon settled, and users are faithfully tuning into their WhatsApp again. But the evaluation of who owns whom goes beyond the ambit of this article.
But we can assure you that the larger Channels are here to stay, as the growth charts clearly demonstrate user loyalty. And now with the POPI Act2 in play, users feel a little more at ease about how these social channels store and utilise their data (if at all).
For now, we would suggest that you have a good plan in place, that you don’t miss out on key opportunities on social media and that you correctly position your brand to do so. If it sounds a bit daunting, engage an agency and ensure that they work as hard as you do to grow your business. And, if you have found the right agency, this partnership will go from strength to strength.
This is the future we can predict and the future you can bank on!
1. Actual retainer cost for one creative for a mid to high-rate social Media company https://themanifest.com/za/social-media/agencies
2. We are 100% POPI compliant
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/