Dean Sinclair
JPG Garden Coach & Business Partner
Social media isn’t everyone’s forte. And maintaining a successful social media presence takes a real investment of time and effort. As you look toward 2021 with the goal of maximizing your marketing efforts, you may realize you don’t have the necessary time, resources, or capacity to handle your social media accounts in-house.
So how do you find the perfect balance between keeping consistency in your brand through in-house talent and utilizing outside help to amplify your social media efforts?
The JPG Garden team understands your concerns about handing over the social media reins to a third party. That’s why it’s all the more important to ask the right questions when considering a social media partnership with an outside firm or contractor.
Here are our top five questions to answer:
- Will they create a personalized strategy for you?
Does the agency or contractor create a social media strategy that is personalized to your company and/or brand that keeps your larger content marketing and sales goals in mind? Is it tailored to your unique value proposition (UVP), category and target audience(s)?
- Do they understand your brand and brand voice?
Does the marketing agency take the time to understand your brand, your target audience and your voice? Will they conduct social media research with the goal of understanding your industry and familiarizing themselves with current content and influencers in your field? Ask to see work they’ve done for other clients and examples of how they’ve approached learning the ins-and-outs of a brand and its leadership.
- Do they have a social media philosophy?
When you are first interviewing a potential marketing agency or contractors, ask them about their social media philosophy. The goal is to understand how they view social media and make sure that it aligns with your strategy, budget and needs.
- Do they have a content development process?
Managing social media is more than just posting pictures and sharing interesting articles. To make the most of your social media channels, you’ll need unique and relevant content to share with your audience. So make sure the agency you’re considering has the talent – and a clear process – for developing the kind of content AND content calendar you need. Ask them to articulate their process and platforms so you can see if it fits well with your needs and other digital platforms.
- How do they measure success?
Does the agency help you establish social media goals? How do they measure the success or failure of those goals and tie it back to sales? What is their reporting process back to you so you can clearly understand what is and isn’t working?
The ideal social media partner is one you can trust to create a clear strategy and voice based on measurable business and marketing goals and to provide a talented team for generating and sharing unique content that gets your business the attention it deserves. So as you look into 2021, keep these five questions in mind as you consider your social media marketing needs.
If you’d like more info about how social media can increase sales and expand your community of brand warriors, contact JPG Garden.
