6 Steps on How to Start a Social Media Marketing Agency

Social media is a significant element of our lifestyle. It’s one of our means of communicating and collecting information from around the world. Because of how active people are on social media, it was only a matter of time before ads make their presence felt on the platform. And as we all know now, many businesses are posting their marketing materials on social media. Hence the term social media marketing.

6 Steps on How to Start a Social Media Marketing Agency

Because social media marketing is becoming more competitive, some companies are hiring social media marketing agencies to help them. So, if you’re thinking of building a social media marketing agency, we tell you that it’s an excellent plan. That said, we’ll help you with it. Here, we’ll discuss with you the six steps in starting a social media marketing agency.

Determine Your Niche

When you first launch your agency, it’ll still be a small one. Plus, it’s not practical and feasible to make its operations big right away. Keep in mind that starting small is a golden rule in establishing a new business. That’s why you must select a niche.

What is a niche, you ask? A niche is your primary area of focus. It’s an area where you’re at your best, or it could be an area that you consider as your comfort zone. Only you can determine what niche you want. Just make sure to use your current marketing skills and knowledge as a basis in choosing one.

For example, if you’re knowledgeable about Facebook’s marketing trends, you can focus your services on producing Facebook marketing strategies instead of Instagram or Twitter. Another example, if you know the ins and outs of the retail industry, your niche could be retail marketing services.

You might think that setting a niche limits your agency’s scope. At first, it’ll seem that way. But due to its niche, your agency can attract more clients within a specific demographic. When that happens, your agency will garner more attention. Thus, it’ll be capable of expanding and adopting other marketing niches. As mentioned earlier, starting small is a golden rule.

Devise Your Business Plan

Every kind of startup business requires a business plan. Your envisioned marketing agency isn’t an exception from that principle. A business plan outlines everything that you want or need for your marketing agency. It serves as your guide on how you’re going to structure your agency. In a sense, it also functions as a to-do checklist.

These are the contents that your business plan should have:

• Executive summary
• Company/Agency profile
• Products and services info
• Target market info
• Promotional strategies
• Financial or budget plan

Take note that the readers of your business plan are mainly prospective business partners and investors. That means it also serves as a proposal document. So, make sure to devise it thoroughly and carefully. To learn more, refer to our six steps in writing an advertising agency business plan.

Estimate Your Service Fees

Of course, generating decent revenue and profit is the ultimate goal. For that to happen, you need to estimate your service fees. In doing so, you need to put into account your startup costs, overheads, salaries, taxes, and other possible expenditures. It’s simple; you just have to set a markup percentage to profit out of servicing a client. However, don’t set a markup percentage that unreasonably high. That results in a hefty price quotation that’ll discourage clients to avail of your services.

Because your agency will still be new, it’s practical to keep your service fees at a minimal level. You can work on increasing them as your agency starts growing.

Create Social Media Pages or Accounts

You can’t call it a social media marketing agency if it doesn’t have any presence on social media. It’d be ironic to hear a social media marketing agency that doesn’t have a social media page or account, right? With that in mind, your agency should have a strong social media presence

Furthermore, you can make use of social media to market your agency. According to a report from Buffer, 73% of marketers say that marketing on social media is “very effective” or “somewhat effective” in promoting their business.

Most of your target clients will likely search for marketing agencies using social media platforms. So through social media, there’s a probable chance they’ll discover your agency. Clients have this impression that if an agency is prominent or merely present on social media, it has trustworthy online marketing services. Being on social media implies that your agency knows a lot about social media marketing.

Onboard Your First Batch of Clients

Once everything is all set and geared up, don’t waste any time. Start onboarding your first batch of clients immediately. You can do that by selling your services on social media. Give your target clients detailed information about the nature of your services, especially in terms of how you can assist their businesses’ promotion. You may also contact clients directly through email.

We do advise you to take it slow, though. Don’t onboard too many clients. Remember that your agency will still be small, and your workforce might not be to handle a large clientele yet. Focus more on showcasing a positive first impression instead of catering to many clients.

Track Progress Regularly

When your agency is officially up and running, make sure to track its progress regularly. Most importantly, you need to monitor the status of each project and ensure they’ll be complete on schedule. As your agency operates, see to it that your clients experience satisfaction with your services. And also maintain regular communication with your team. Send a memo to them each time significant updates arise concerning a marketing project. Tracking your agency’s progress is what you must do if you want it to grow.

Indeed, starting a social media marketing agency requires a lot of planning and management. Yes, it won’t be easy. But, if you adopt practical tactics, things will always turn to your favor. And ultimately, your agency won’t just be a prominent figure on social media, but in the industry as well.

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