When Bill Gates said in 1996 that Content is King, it wasn’t yet clear how the internet would revolutionize the way advertising, marketing, and brand awareness would shift. According to the Content Marketing Institute, “Eighty percent of marketers report success in achieving brand awareness, with 75% say it builds credibility/trust and 70% say their content marketing educates audiences.” That’s all well and good, but how do you actually find the right partner to make your content King? Psst, it’s by finding the right content marketing agency that can help you with optimizing your website, creating incredible blog content, utilizing your social channels for maximum exposure, and providing PR services to get your name and brand out there in the news.
Researching and Evaluating Potential Agencies
Whether new to the game or a seasoned player, having a well-defined list of needs and goals is the first step. Providing a clear list to potential partners and asking how they will meet these is key to that initial period. But first, how do you even know which companies are worth your time?
Whether it’s simply typing “how to find a content marketing Agency” into Google or exploring business listings, it’s not always obvious at the outset. Obviously, you’ll want to do the following:
- Look for agencies that specialize in your industry or have experience working with similar businesses
- Check their portfolio for examples of successful campaigns they’ve run in the past
- Read client testimonials to see how they’ve helped other businesses achieve their marketing goals.
Once you’ve actually started reaching out to companies, don’t forget to consider factors such as pricing, scalability, communication style, and the availability of the agency’s team.
Asking the Right Questions
When evaluating potential content marketing agencies, it’s important to ask the right questions to determine if they’re a good fit for your business. Because a bad fit doesn’t make anyone happy!
- Ask about their content creation process, quality control measures, and how they measure the success of their campaigns.
- Ask about their team’s experience and areas of expertise and how they will collaborate with your business.
- It’s also important to discuss the agency’s communication style and how often they will provide updates on your campaign’s progress.
- Find out if they have ways of pivoting a campaign if it’s not working, if funding changes, or for other reasons.
A good content marketing partner wants you to succeed as your growth allows them to increase the avenues of content to better build your marketing ecosystem. If they’re not excited to troubleshoot, provide you with lots of viable options, and strive to always take the next step, you might start to lose trust in them. Trust is the most important element when working with a Marketing Firm–otherwise, you’re basically just running an in-house marketing team with none of the benefits.
Making the Final Decision
Once you’ve narrowed it down to a couple of agencies, don’t be afraid to ask for a trial period or start with a smaller project to test the waters before committing to a long-term partnership. With a little bit of research and careful consideration, you can choose a content marketing agency that can help you achieve your business’s marketing goals. When 72% of marketers show increases in engagement and the number of leads from digital content marketing, why not start looking for that ideal partner?
Jonathan Bessette is the General Manager at Article Writing Co. He’s been a writer, editor, and outreach specialist, has worked with clients in dozens of different industries, and has created engaging content, consistent growth, and exciting outcomes.
