Does Your Social Media Agency Eat Their Own Dog Food?
Lately we have come across a slew of internet marketing agencies and social media marketing "specialists" that really lack a strong social media presence for their own business. What is even more concerning, some of these agencies have actual clients that pay them good money each month to do this for them.
If they are practicing the same techniques for their clients as they do for their own business, then they are doing their clients a serious disservice. We don't know why a corporation or business would hire or work with a company that personally doesn't execute similar strategies for themselves as they are for their clients. Doesn't is just seem fishy?
Think of it in different terms. Would you really want to hire a personal trainer that is overweight and out of shape? Would you take financial advice from a financial planner that was up to their eyeballs in debt? Would you have someone perform a surgery on you that didn't go to medical school? We didn't think so. So why do companies hire agencies and consultants to assist them with digital marketing and social media services who kind of suck at it with their own business?
Make sure you are working with a company that practices what they preach. Here are three simple steps to take when shopping online marketing agencies and consultants:
- Investigate - Do some simple searches on their own personal social media presence. Check out their company's Facebook page, Twitter profile, YouTube page, etc. If they don't have much for a fan base, ask them why. Odds are if they don't have a presence, they are learning on the job with your business and your money. Ask them their philosophy on managing each of the popular social networks and see if it's consistent with what you observe on their company's social networks. If it's not, they probably are just selling you a bunch of fluff.
- Ask For Examples - Ask them to provide current examples of clients that they work for where they perform the exact same services you are hiring them to do for you. Go a step further and compare what they are doing to their clients competitors. Are they truly providing their clients with a superior presence?
- Compare - Take one of your competitors social media campaigns and ask the agency or consultant you are looking to hire to tell you what they would copy or do differently. If they tell you "contests," run! Be sure to hire an agency or consultant that is thinking forward and providing fresh and new ideas. FYI...contests are so 1980s and 1990s.
Of course there are a slew of other steps you can take, but these three should definitely be part of the process for you to consider when hiring your next digital marketing / social media consultant for your company.