Five Signs You've Hired a Bad Social Media Marketing Agency

In the years I've spent working with some of the best and brightest minds in the business of executing social media marketing campaigns, I've learned that we generally have three classes of clients:

First is the business owner who acknowledges the need for building a presence online. He or she usually finds our website via Google. From there, our teams of community managers guide them through our services and help them choose the best solutions for their business.

One other type of client is the company that has tried to market their brand using the social media. Though they've poured massive amounts of their resources, success continues to elude them. Like the above, we do our level best to objectively assess what they do wrong and help them set their social media marketing strategy straight.

Finally, the third type of client we get is the business who's hired a social media marketing agency before. Their contractors have either run away with their deposits or have almost no idea what they're actually doing.
It's for this type of client that I've written this post. Today, I want to share five signs you've hired a bad social media marketing agency and what you can do about it.

Claims of Unique Content

Unique content is the first flag I usually pull on bad agencies. When a company or freelancer claims that all of his or her content is unique, you should run in the opposite direction.

This is a given in any social media marketing campaign. If you don't have the right to the material (whether it's a photo or an article); you've absolutely no right to put it up on a website.

Money-Back Guarantees

All of social media marketing is a careful study into the complex, living, breathing organism that is the social media. There are no guarantees in this business; only approximations of success.

While we do our best to manage expectations; those who offer money-back deals tend to use black hat methods that may put your business at serious risks.

Poor Website Design

We always tell our clients that websites aren't unlike brick-and-mortar stores. These should be well-kept, well-stocked and neatly organized. If you're looking to hire a social media marketing agency and his or her website looks like it's been put together from generic templates or the copy is poorly written; it isn't hard to imagine how much more effort they're likely to put on your project.

Remember, their sites should be their portfolios. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Unlisted Business Address

Part and parcel of marketing via the social media is the idea that brands and businesses ought to be present, whether that's on Google's first page or even in the brick and mortar world.

If a business operation doesn't list the specifics of its location, there's an equally good chance that they're hiding something. From what our clients have experienced, these agencies are actually fronts for scammers (who besmirch our industry's fine name) or fly-by-night operations that never seem to be able to deliver.

Unresponsive to Questions and Inquiries

Social media marketing is premised on the need for brands and businesses to connect to their target markets, whether that's via organic search, traffic referral or direct engagement in different social media networks.

If your marketing agency takes forever to process your requests or answer your queries, run away and never look back.From what our clients have been through, we've learned that agencies who tend to skirt questions for their own brands or business also tend to disappear when they're directly engaged by other users.

In fine, here are a few things you need to check to know if you've hired a bad social media marketing agency for your brand or business:

1. Before hiring a company to do your marketing via the social media, take a long hard look at their site. It's their portfolio and it's always a great gauge on exactly how they can help you build your presence online. When in doubt, you'll want to read these tips on how to find the best social media marketing companyfor your brand or business.
2. If you encounter one that isn't responsive, seems shady or generally feels wrong, walk away. How they treat you isn't going to be far from how they treat your customers when they take over marketing your brand.
3. If you think you've hired a bad agency, cancel your plan or subscription immediately. They can probably do your online reputation more harm than good. Remember, online damage control isn't so cheap these days.

Have you hired a bad social media marketing agency for your business before? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.

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About the Author: Between planning weddings and chasing pavement, Shandi Tan is a Community Manager for Pulyetos, the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.