“Like us on Facebook” … that familiar plea goes out far and wide from every conceivable business, and for good reason: According to Fast Company, everyone and his brother are social. 
- The fastest-growing demographic for Twitter is adults age 55-64;
- LinkedIn gains two new members every second; and (in case you’re stuck for a topic of interesting conversation at your next party …)
- Social media has overtaken porn as the biggest activity on the web.
But getting visitors to your social pages isn’t the same as delighting them, retaining them or turning them into leads. You have to give your target audience a reason to keep coming back and wanting to engage with your business.
That’s where a social media agency comes into play.
Just as you would contract with any other kind of marketing or advertising specialist, your affiliation with a social media agency delivers a host of benefits you otherwise wouldn’t realize.
Three things an agency has that you (probably) don’t:
- They have time. Social networking for business never happens in a vacuum. Designing pages, creating and publishing content, and measuring results all take time – and we don’t mean lunchtime. A dedicated agency, on the other hand, clocks in and out each day with one goal in mind – to make their clients look great online.
- They have talent. We’re not saying you don’t have talent – but face it, for every business owner who created his own killer blog, widely liked Facebook page or must-share video, thousands of others crashed and burned trying to reach their audience. Your core competency is tied to your business. Your agency’s core competency includes identifying accomplished writers, graphic artists, developers and videographers who can bring poise and polish to your content. Use their skills to enhance your credibility!
- They have technology. Unless you’re in the inbound marketing business yourself, it’s likely you don’t have or use the sophisticated analytic and metric software that measures response and determines ROI for each part of your inbound marketing process. Before you whip out your checkbook to purchase such tools and train in-house folks to use them, consider the ease and flexibility of using an agency that is already equipped to handle the techy details
Four things an agency knows that makes a difference:
- They know the neighborhood. What good is maintaining a Twitter page when your target audience is all over Pinterest? Guesswork seldom works in social networking; your ideal agency will work with you to develop the demographics, customer personas, industry trends and other data to determine where your presence works best.
- They know by the rules. Woe unto the marketer who crosses Google’s user guidelines or offends Facebook with a crappy meme! The Internet’s major players are always on the prowl for low-value content. If they find it, your site or social page could be penalized with low page rankings, which reduces your chances of ever being discovered. The inbound agency you want is one that never resorts to “black hat tactics,” the term for sneaky tricks like keyword-stuffing, hidden backlinks and phony-baloney SEO terms that don’t relate to your business.
- They know how to handle the unexpected. The unfettered exchange of information on social networks can work for you …or against you. An unfounded Tweet, objectionable Facebook comment or other reputation-damaging response can torpedo your social presence. A skilled inbound agency takes the heat off by addressing visitor issues correctly, whether it’s creating a crisis plan, crafting a useful response to a negative comment, or recruiting your site’s biggest fans as brand advocates.
- They’re know how to be social themselves. Any inbound agency worth its salt is one that has an active online presence itself. When screening for your agency, review their Facebook page, Twitter feed or LinkedIn profile, and see what the agency has done for its other customers. Look for sites that appear up-to-date, get lots of likes and post new, valuable content regularly; chances are, the agency can produce similar results for you.
And one more thing …
- They’re not your brother-in-law. (Note: this doesn’t apply if your brother-in-law is a creative, accomplished, data-driven inbound marketing genius.) Lots of would-be social gurus – from your brother-in-law to that guy in Facilities who says he likes designing websites – would love to try their hand at handling your all-important social messaging. When you go the amateur route, you’re often looking at content and templates that are cheap, in every sense of the word. Users are more sophisticated these days, and every impression counts.
