Starting a Social Media Agency
In the early 2010s, starting a social media marketing agency would have been a dream. Adwords and Facebook ads let you target your clients’ prospects with ease, competition was lower, channels were fewer, and you didn’t have the backdrop of lockdowns, cancelled events, and perpetual Zoom calls.
In 2022, you need to up your game if you want to stand out and succeed with your social media marketing agency.
On the plus side, it’s no longer necessary to have a physical office space, providing you put in the work to facilitate online business. Zoom and Skype calls in place of physical meetings are the norm. Online seminars and events are widely accepted, and hybrid or work from home is no longer considered “amateur.”
Most importantly, more businesses are understanding the benefits of outsourcing, so great agencies are thriving.
2. The Stuff You Never Thought You’d Need to Know
As someone working in the fast-paced social media and content marketing space. I always kept myself up to date with the latest developments and trends.
But when you start a social media marketing agency, you need to learn about stuff that isn’t social media or even marketing related. This came as a steep learning curve to me as it threw me right out of my comfort zone. (Something I now realize was a positive.)
Here’s some of the stuff you will need to learn when you start.
Profit and Loss. If you’re a social media specialist, you’re probably not an accountant, too. But it’s essential that you get a grip on your P&L early on. That means understanding your costs, outgoings, income, turnover and profit. You need to know how much money you will make on each service you provide after costs. Failure to grasp this early on could leave you in a state of false confidence over your actual profit.
Accounting. On the same subject, you need to ensure you have a good accountant to audit the books and submit tax returns for your company. While you don’t need to be an expert, you should oversee the process and ask questions to improve your knowledge. There are plenty of examples of rogue accountants running wild with the money from naive and trusting business owners. Don’t be one. You can use a system like Quick Books for complete visibility of your accounts.
Human Resources. If you’re planning on hiring team members then you need to be familiar with employment laws in your region. If you plan to hire contractors or freelancers, you will still need contracts and clearly defined boundaries, expectations, and deliverables. Many agencies utilize freelancers and that’s no problem, but you need rules in place regarding their work. Otherwise, what could stop a freelancer approaching your client directly?
You also need to be aware about ongoing employment rules in your region like sick leave, maternity leave, bonuses, and disciplinary procedures.
Legal. Starting your social media marketing agency also means that you’ll need to register your company. Working with a registered agent is essential to have all your papers in order. Business entities like limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations must name a registered agent to receive legal communications and other documents on behalf of the business.
Technology. Not social media technology but technology that powers your social media agency. You need to be able to set up emails, CRM systems, a website, video calling and other communication tools. You can hire someone to undertake these tasks, but you should still know what’s going on.
You may feel overwhelmed at first because there is so much to take in. However, there are plenty of helpful YouTube tutorials you can watch. Every day is a learning lesson when you start a social media agency, and you will start to embrace that!
3. Know Your Value Proposition
A value proposition stands as a promise by a company to a customer or market segment. It should be an easy to understand reason why a customer should choose your marketing agency over another.
A value proposition can also translate into an elevator pitch. This is a fast and compelling way to describe your agency as though you only had an elevator journey to do so.
For example, ours is:
“We started a marketing agency to improve and transform the financial services sector. We took complex subjects like forex, banking, fintech and blockchain and turned them into engaging, fun, talking points. We designed hands-free content and social media solutions for busy corporations that deliver results without stressing managers.
Today, Contentworks Agency provides compliance friendly content to banks, forex brokers, fintechs, and many other sectors. Our content marketing services includes technical analysis, intelligence reports, press releases, whitepapers, video marketing and social media management.”
Writing an elevator pitch or value proposition is a great way to get your creative juices flowing and to focus on what you want to offer.
Remember the wording is not about you, it’s about how you will benefit the customer.
Once you’ve written your value proposition/elevator pitch, you should learn it. It should come naturally to speak about it at events, meetings, or in elevators!
4. Are You a Specialist or Generalist?
Thousands of agencies around the world provide marketing services. That means you need to differentiate yourself and choose your focus.
Are you going to be a specialist agency?. Or will you take any opportunity that comes in like health, beauty, finance brands? If you’re a specialist, what is your background knowledge in that space?
Additionally, will you focus on specific marketing areas like organic social media or cover everything like content, paid social media marketing, SEO, PPC, and the whole digital experience?
Read my tips on how to build your startup dream team.
What is your core expertise? If you are a designer, for example, this will help shape the direction your agency takes and the resources you will need to build it. If you are starting the agency with several partners, you may have the benefit of several areas of expertise to create an all-round digital agency.
My advice is to start with what you know and build out. That means beginning as a specialist and expanding your portfolio to include other sectors. Doing this means you will provide excellent services to your clients, and you can then hire team members who specialize in the areas you want to grow into. That doesn’t mean you will turn business away, especially not at the start. It means understanding your core values and expertise to position yourself accordingly.
Social media marketing tip
Most of our great clients come from word of mouth or our portfolio page. Showcasing your work is the most powerful way to win business. If you have a good background in the sector and can show off case studies, previous work, and client testimonials, you’re off to a good start. Always ask clients if it’s ok to share their work before you do it!
5. Work Out Your Agency Running Costs
This is a tough one, so expect to get through a ton of coffee while you grind those spreadsheets. You need to understand your basic running costs. This is your set-up costs (what you will need to launch) and the base costs of running an agency. We found it helpful to have our accountant with us for some of the meetings. He or she can put you back on the right road if you start to veer off with your finances!
Costs to Consider Include:
Aim to always leave two months running costs in your bank account. This will give you a cushion for quieter months or unexpected costs.
Now work out your service costs
You need to work out how much you will make from your social media and content marketing services. How much does Twitter management cost? What do you charge for a blog? What will you charge for a set of Facebook ad content?
There is no exact ideal profit margin so that is something you will decide for your own agency. As a rule of thumb though, 20% and above is a good margin to aim for. According to industry benchmarking data, marketing agencies average a net profit margin somewhere between 6.0% and 12.0%.
6. Know how you will charge for services
Typically there are three options open to you as a marketing agency:
Additionally, you should be clear on whether you are charging VAT or not.
Social media marketing agency tip
Set up consistent and professional invoicing through a site like Quick Books. Clients like to receive their invoices at the same time each month without any unexpected charges. Doing this will mean you don’t jeopardize a client by ruffling the feathers of their accounts team.
7. What Are Your Services?
Be clear on the services you offer and then decide how you will tackle enquires for the services you cannot provide. For the latter, you could team up with another agency, take on a contractor, or simply say no thanks to the work.
Services typically offered by social media agencies include …
Social media marketing tip
Create service agreements for new clients. Your template can include a description of each of your services, which you can then edit or amend, as necessary. It’s important to set client expectations correctly from the start.
8. Get That Research And Marketing Strategy Written
You wouldn’t start a client campaign without a strategy, would you? When Niki and I established Contentworks Agency, our strategy, style guide, competitor analysis, and costings took months. That’s because they are the cornerstone of everything you will do later. It can be difficult to pivot when you’re already set up.
The strategy
Your strategy should set out your KPIs (yes, you need them) and action points for each channel.
Your strategy needs to be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
Your TOV
Your tone of voice document is essential to keep you on brand. This governs how your brand will sound, what it will or won’t say and the personality it will exude. It also documents spelling and grammar rules and how your company name should be written.
This document should be formalized so it can be shared with new team members or external contractors.
Your brand style guide
Your designer needs to create a formal brand style guide for your agency. Unforgettable branding can come from a weak logo, inconsistent use of colors and fonts and sloppy or unprofessional graphics. Lay out clear guidelines that can be followed by anyone in your organization.
Competitor analysis
I recently wrote about competitor analysis.
It’s certainly essential when you start a social media marketing agency. Know your competitors, what they’re offering, and how much they charge. Make a point of following them on social media, so you can get a feel for how they operate.
Create a pitch deck
Growing your social media agency and winning more clients means you’re going to have to pitch your business to prospects. A lot! And often you will only have a few minutes to do it so work on your elevator pitch.
Having an awesome video or presentation to wow clients can be a great conversion tool. We created this fun video for new clients. No, we won’t make your VP go viral, but we will create great content that improves your brand.
Be memorable
When we launched Contentworks Agency, we budgeted to create gift boxes for potential clients. They contained business cards, pens, flyers, and—of course, chocolates and snacks—check it out!
Establish your roles
If you’re setting up a marketing agency with other people, what will your roles be? Will you be actively working on client projects or managing a team? What will your area of responsibility be? This is important to establish early on to avoid conflict later. As obvious as it may sound, don’t go into business with someone if you don’t have a good relationship. If you don’t want to draw up a contract, at least document your roles and responsibilities.
Social media marketing tip:
Treat your social media agency like it’s your best client. Constantly strategize, and produce great content and eye-popping social media posts. Create reports for yourselves using Agorapulse and analyse your engagement, best content and top acquisition posts.
9. Nail Your Launch
As a marketing agency, you need to have a successful launch. It doesn’t matter whether your business is physical or virtual, your launch needs to happen correctly.
Here are some factors to consider:
10. Use These Free and Paid Tools for Social
When you start a social media marketing agency, you need to be ready to invest in the tools you need for your agency and its clients.
Failing to use the right social media tools can slow you down, create miscommunication, make you look like an amateur, and worst of all, cause you to lose leads and customers.
Free social media tools for social media marketing agencies
My advice is always to start with the free tools then get the paid ones you really need. We utilize hundreds of tools at Contentworks Agency, but my favorite free ones include:
Paid social media tools for social media marketing agencies
My favorite paid tools include …
Social media marketing agency tip
When you interview potential staff for your social media marketing agency, set a practical test. Everyone thinks they are a social media expert, but it’s important to see their skills in action before you hire them. Also, ask to see past work samples.
11. Take Time to Properly Onboard Clients
Once you’ve signed a client up, you must properly onboard them. Failing to spend the time early on will likely result in miscommunication, complaints, or even lost clients later.
Onboarding can take place over Zoom or Skype, and should factor in the following:
Social media marketing agency tip
Create a “Get to know you” document for new clients to complete. This will include emergency contacts, their USPs, their landing page links, and any legal disclaimers to include in their work.
Managing time is a crucial skill for social media managers.
12. How to Find New Clients for Your Social Media Agency
As I mentioned before, you should always be acquiring clients. That doesn’t mean you don’t care about retaining your client base, but it means acknowledging there will be a natural drop-off rate.
Here are some of the activities you should be performing regularly:
13. What Posts Should Your Agency Share?
As a social media agency, your presence should be consistent and strong. Remember, each channel needs its own content and strategy so think about that before you open 20! Planning ahead you should always create a social media calendar to guide your activities.
Here are some ideas:
Social media marketing agency tip
It’s important not to lose the human touch. Ultimately, everything you do on social media has to connect with another human to be successful. This is true even for B2B companies where there is always a decision-maker.
Three Time-Saving Social Media Agency Hacks
Running your social media agency requires some savvy thinking and smart hacks.
Here are my top three tips for social media marketing agency owners and social media managers.
1. Allow flexible working hours
Hear me out on this one … By allowing some degree of flexibility in staff working hours, you may be able to serve clients better. For example, say you have two social media managers, and one is a night owl and one is an early bird. This will allow you to cover different time zones in real-time and therefore target a more diverse location range.
2. Plan your content in advance
Always do this for your agency and your clients. Allowing your agency time to work on videos, graphics, and content is key to getting great results. Search for days within your sector that could be incorporated into cool campaigns. Aim to work at least one month ahead but have an overview of the next six months.
3. Automate tasks
Use automated tools where you can. These may be scheduling tools, chatbots on social media, auto-response emails, RSS, and automatic media monitoring. At some point, you will need a human to step in, but automation can save a lot of time in the interim.