For companies struggling to find that perfect balance of serving business goals, tending to customer needs and managing a social media presence at the same time, a relationship with an agency can help. Here are four steps to building a strong agency-client relationship for long-term growth in the social space.
- Define – Understand your audience, what they seek and how you can serve them. Take the time up front to define your brand’s social voice and personality, and your team will flourish. Provide the guidelines you need to avoid costly missteps.
- Collaborate – Using an agency to help manage your social media presence gives you the opportunity to remain dedicated to executing your strategies and maintaining activity. But collaboration is key. Work together to serve the needs and wants of your audience. Lean on your agency for social listening opportunities and the creativity to produce the great content you need to make an impact.
- Produce – It’s easy to fall into a trap of self-expression. Remember to produce content that builds value. Why do they care? What can they do with the information? Ask critical questions to audit your message delivery. Content produced for social media is unique; it can be participatory and impression building. Focus on providing valuable content that motivates the audience to act.
- Report – Expect a mountain of data. Expect it deciphered. Use it to develop insights. Every action you take will deliver metrics to help you understand performance and what drives the interests of your audience. Use your agency to report on that data and learn how to improve the content to better serve and build your audience. As you do, they’ll be ready when you need to achieve a specific business goal.
-Colin Deval is public relations and social media strategist at Milwaukee-based Core Creative Inc.
