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Key takeaways:

  • Before considering agencies, it’s important to educate your social media and marketing teams about the limitations of external support. This helps set realistic expectations and prevents potential issues caused by agencies lacking knowledge of brand guidelines.
  • When selecting an agency, it is crucial to have a standardized vetting process in place. This process should evaluate agencies based on criteria such as subject matter expertise, in-person chemistry, market knowledge, collaboration skills, and innovation.
  • Partnering with multiple agencies simultaneously can enhance the creative process and drive innovative campaign strategies. By soliciting feedback from different agencies and involving them in collaborative discussions, you can tap into diverse perspectives and select the strongest campaign ideas.

Leveraging agency support can be a crucial resource for many social media teams looking to streamline their workflows and advance their strategies, particularly for those without as many dedicated in-house roles to address evolving trends and technologies.

In SocialMedia.org’s panel discussion on future-proofing team structures, heads of social media at the world’s largest brands shared insights on how they leverage external support and the steps they take when deciding to use agencies. 

We take a closer look at how our members educate social media and marketing teams on the limitations of agencies, optimize team strengths, and leverage external support for niche campaigns.

Before You Look to Agencies, Educate Your Teams on the Limitations of External Support

Brandy Mann, Global Social Media Governance and Alignment Manager at Lenovo, discussed how her team provides guidance to other marketing teams throughout the company on hiring agencies for social media content, as many agencies tend to miss the mark or overpromise due to a lack of knowledge of brand guidelines.

“We’re trying to build some documentation around how to praise questions to get the answers that you need for agencies, even if you aren’t a social expert,” Brandy said.

If You Choose to Use an Agency, Be Aware of Which Services Your Team Will Actually Use

Brandy explained how creating a process to screen agencies helps prevent issues like overpromising on results and stretching the limitations of in-house social media efforts.

She noted how creating awareness of what agencies can and cannot accomplish is key in choosing the right one.

“We’ve had people come to our team and say the agency had in the contract that we would be able to publish to the global handles multiple times, and I’ve explained that it’s not in their scope,” Brandy said. “So trying to get some of that awareness and education has been a big for me.”

She added how Lenovo has found success by hiring individual contractors to handle various tasks in-house, such as paid media, animations, and influencer activations.

We’ve had people come to our team and say the agency had in the contract that we would be able to publish to the global handles multiple times, and I’ve explained that it’s not in their scope. So trying to get some of that awareness and education has been a big for me.

Brandy Mann, Global Social Media Governance and Alignment Manager at Lenovo

Creating a standard vetting process can help you choose the best agency for your efforts

In a members-only leadership discussion on evaluating agencies to ensure your social media team’s success, SocialMedia.org members gave insights on how they make sure they choose the correct agency for their strategies.

Several members shared how they have a standard practice in place for vetting agencies during the RFP process. Members discussed how you should measure agencies based on criteria like subject matter expertise, in-person chemistry, market knowledge, collaboration skills, and innovation to help make the correct decisions.

Establishing a Good Relationship with Your Agency is Crucial for Long Lasting Strategies

When it comes to having a strong relationship with your agency partners, SocialMedia.org members also emphasized the importance of treating your agency as an extension of your team.

According to members, it’s crucial to acknowledge and celebrate victories not only internally but also with your agency partners. Recognizing shared accomplishments strengthens the partnership.

Likewise, if challenges arise in your partnership with an agency, members advised to communicate your expectations and requirements clearly before deciding to sever ties. By openly expressing your needs and engaging in constructive dialogue, you may find viable solutions and prevent premature agency replacements.

Optimizing Team Strengths and Identifying Agency Support

During the panel discussion, Vanguard Head of Social Media Temeka Easter Rice talked about how she optimizes her team’s resources by determining the best use of their abilities before reaching out to agencies for support. 

In the past, Vanguard utilized agencies for paid social, community management, and influencer marketing. But Temeka said she questioned if she wanted her team to own the process of using agencies for some of these initiatives, particularly because her team had to perform background checks when using influencers.

“It was like, where are we going to store copies of people’s driver’s licenses?” Temeka asked. “And, do I actually want to own that process? Is that the best use of my team’s time to review background checks?”

She explained how she took a step back to analyze the best use of her team’s time based on the strengths of their skills. It was ultimately decided they should allocate their efforts toward areas where they can excel while leveraging agency support for niche tasks.

It was like, where are we going to store copies of people’s driver’s licenses? And, do I actually want to own that process? Is that the best use of my team’s time to review background checks?

Temeka Easter Rice, Head of Social Media at Vanguard

Agency Support Can Elevate Niche Social Media Campaigns and Specific Business Needs 

April Virhuez, Director of Social Media Strategy at Prudential Financial, explained that while her team doesn’t heavily rely on agencies, they do use them depending on the size of campaigns. 

She discussed how Prudential has an exceptional in-house creative team, but for niche needs within specific business units, they lean on diversified agency support.

“I think it’s about just knowing and understanding your brand, and then figuring out if this agency is going to suit the needs for this campaign and our work,” April said. “That has been very effective. And just knowing that the same agency can’t work on every single thing.”

Partner with Multiple Agencies to Bring Stronger Ideas and Campaigns to Your Team

Other SocialMedia.org members shared the sentiment of using a diversity of agencies for campaigns. 

During the private leadership discussion on evaluating agencies to ensure your social media team’s success, our members shared that they work with multiple agencies at once, which enhances the sourcing of creative ideas and innovative campaign strategies.

One social media leader explained how they set aside time for weekly or monthly meetings with all of their agencies to discuss upcoming priorities and collaborate on those initiatives.

Another member said they share their project ideas with their agencies and solicit each of them for feedback before selecting the strongest agency campaign idea to move forward with.

I think it’s about just knowing and understanding your brand, and then figuring out if this agency is going to suit the needs for this campaign and our work. That has been very effective. And just knowing that the same agency can’t work on every single thing.

April Virhuez, Director of Social Media Strategy at Prudential Financial

Choose the best agencies with insights from your peers leading social media at the world’s largest brands

During the SocialMedia.org panel discussion, Brandy, Temeka, and April emphasized how agency support can drive efficiency and fill support gaps within your social media efforts.

While they acknowledged the time-consuming process of onboarding agencies and aligning them with brand values and priorities as a potential drawback, they emphasized the advantage of having experienced professionals to boost your team’s efforts, enabling you to stay ahead of emerging trends.

All three provided additional insights on adapting teams to embrace evolving technologies, establishing a Center of Excellence, and more during the panel discussion.

If you lead social media at a large organization, you can apply to learn more on how SocialMedia.org members gain unbiased peer insights into harnessing the power of agencies and staying ahead in the ever-changing landscape of social media.

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