You should always have a digital marketing agency pitch its social media marketing proposal before you buy it. This guide has what you should look for.
You already know you need a solid social media marketing strategy. The benefits are clear.
From the high return on investment to the incredible brand loyalty it builds, it’s hard to beat social media as a marketing tool. It’s everywhere, and everyone is using it.
But unless you have the time or resources to build your own social media campaigns, finding an expert to put a strategy together can be tough.
There are plenty of social media “experts” out there, just waiting to sell you a strategy. So how do you sift through the mountain of ideas you’re likely to get if you ask for help?
What should you look for in a social media marketing proposal?
There are a few key components that you’ll want to look for in a social media campaign.
Let’s take a closer look at a few items vital to a social media marketing proposal.
We’re here to discuss one of the essentials of video marketing- choosing an ideal video marketing services provider. You need to know what to know and what to ask. So, let’s take a look and see what you should be looking for in a service before listing the services that are available today.
A solid grasp of what your organization needs to achieve
A good proposal should start with a firm grasp of where your organization is now and where they need to go.
Whether you’re currently nowhere in the social space or everywhere–but accomplishing little–an effective social media marketing proposal should account for that.
The marketer or agency you’re working with needs to take stock of your current situation and tailor your plan accordingly.
Clearly stated goals and objectives
Once a prospective digital marketing agency has clearly defined your problem and needs, clear, actionable goals need to be established.
It’s not enough for an agency to say they’ll make you the pithiest voice on Twitter or that they’ll get you lots of Facebook followers. You need a clear plan and a way to accomplish your goals.
If your agency does not establish a clear set of goals, you won’t have a way to track your return on investment (ROI).
And if you don’t track your ROI, you’ll have no way of knowing if the campaign was successful.
While likes, shares, and retweets are all important in social media, you’ll want to ensure the agency you’re working with focuses on the truly important stuff like conversion rate and lead generation.
Take a look at your overall business goals and your existing marketing strategy. Does the social media marketing proposal you’re considering fit into your current approach?
Ability to capture your tone and voice
If you’re an established organization, you’ve probably worked hard–whether you realize it or not–to establish your voice in the marketplace.
The digital marketing agency you work with needs to understand your voice. If they’re speaking for you, they’ll need to be able to talk like you and present your ideas or products in a way that fits your brand.
If you understand your customers well and know how to talk to them, great. Just make sure the social media marketing proposal you are reviewing understands your voice and can convey your tone effectively.
Identifies your ideal customer
Stop for a moment …
Close your eyes, and imagine your organization’s ideal customer.
Are they old or young? Male or female? Do they have a higher income or fall somewhere more in the middle?
A clear picture of your ideal customer is vital to any marketing effort.
So before you dive into social media marketing, ensure the proposals you’re looking at understand your market and your organization’s ideal customer.
Understands your industry–the key players and, of course, the competition
Another important area your marketing agency’s social media proposal needs to possess is a solid understanding of your industry.
If the agency you’re working with hasn’t worked with your industry before, make sure they do their research and have a good understanding of the world you work in.
A plan
Hopefully, the idea that a plan needs to be integral to any marketing proposal you consider is clear.
Having great content to share is all good, but if you have no plan or structure for sharing the material, your results will not likely be positive.
A social media marketing campaign should include methods for creating and curating content, as well as a schedule for releasing that content into the wide world of social media.
An editorial calendar should be a key component of your plan.
An editorial calendar is a schedule of all the posts and shares that comprise your social media marketing campaign and when they will be released.
While a good social media marketing proposal does not need to contain an entire editorial calendar, it should address the need for a calendar and how the agency will create one.
A means to test, evaluate, and pivot
What fun would marketing be without testing?
Your marketing efforts will likely be wasted unless you test everything constantly.
Any marketer worth their salt knows the importance of testing.
So if a social media marketing proposal doesn’t include a provision for in-depth testing, you may want to look elsewhere.
An effective social media campaign will include testing for every action.
Google Analytics and UTM codes are a common, simple way to track clicks. URL shortening services are another good option to track link clicks.
The ability to pivot and quickly change tactics should also be a key component of any effective social media campaign.
Given the rapidly changing nature of social media, your marketers will need to be able to react quickly to test results and make necessary changes.
Final thoughts on setting a social media marketing proposal
It doesn’t matter how big your organization is or who your customer base is. If you’re in business today, odds are, you need a social media marketing strategy.
Social media is one of the lowest cost and highest ROI marketing strategies you can implement.
While you definitely can implement your own marketing strategy, social media is one area where an expert in the field can aid in the effectiveness of your campaign.
Do you need help with your social media marketing strategy? Contact us today.
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