How to choose the right content marketing agency

Whether you’re an established company looking to expand your market share or a startup looking to establish your presence online, content marketing is the key to success. But how do you choose the right content marketing agency? Choosing the right agency can mean the difference between success and failure, because not all agencies are the same.

In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into the topic and give you some helpful tips and tricks for choosing the best content marketing agency for your business. We’ll show you what factors to look for, what questions to ask, and how to evaluate the results to make sure you’re making the right decision.

Content marketing is an incredibly powerful tool when used correctly. Companies that blog regularly generate 67% more leads than those that do not. You also get 55% more website visitors and 434% more pages indexed by search engines.

So if you are looking for a
content marketing agency
you should keep these numbers in mind. Look for agencies that blog regularly, creatively, and whose work actually inspires you. Because with the right people on your side, content marketing can really work incredibly well.

The only problem is, how do you put these pieces in motion that are necessary for results? Content marketing strategy is notoriously complex for the uninitiated. It can appear like a giant machine with countless cogs, wheels and gyroscopes connected in various ways.

If the thought of a content marketing strategy gives you a headache, you’re not alone. In a survey by HubSpot, 71% of respondents said that developing a strategy was their biggest obstacle to content marketing. But there is hope!

We sat down with our content marketing pros and compiled the best strategies and most valuable tips and tricks to help you get started with strategic planning – so you, too, can get started right with content marketing.

43% of companies do not have a documented content strategy – and they perform worse than brands that do.

A content strategy is essential for the success of a company. It gives direction and target and helps to reach the right target group.

Without a content strategy, it’s very difficult to create and distribute the right content. The result is usually that the company is less successful than those that have a content strategy.

What if you could hand off your content – from planning to creation to publication – to someone who already knows how it all fits together? Who demonstrably knows how it works?

That’s exactly what a content marketing agency is for.

Most agencies are full-service agencies, meaning they take all the content marketing off your hands and take care of everything. This includes planning your strategy, creating your content, and distributing it across your content channels.

So a good content marketing agency covers a wide range of skills. This makes hiring a content agency an all-in-one solution for setting up a content plan or jump-starting a stagnant content marketing effort.

Nowadays, there are a lot of content marketing agencies. So how do you choose the right agency? Keep these criteria in mind.

You hire a content marketing agency because you want them to have the expertise your team lacks. This means that you should make doubly sure that it is actually there.

Look for past examples of the agency’s work. Look for references and case studies on the agency’s website. Look for a list of past clients and partnerships.

In particular, look for examples of past work that match what you need. Does the agency typically operate in your industry? This is important for brands in specific niches such as healthcare, finance or legal, where certain content standards must be met.

Most agencies list the industries they serve on their websites, but examples of their work can more accurately demonstrate that they can cover your niche.

If the agency doesn’t have samples on their website, maybe they haven’t had any clients yet. This is nothing to worry about if you have a small budget – perhaps the agency has already gained experience that proves their expertise.

In that case, check the agency’s “About” page to see if there are staff biographies and information about what made them experts.

Have you seen/heard other people rave about this agency? Have you read many good reviews? Or does the agency seem to exist in a vacuum of silence?

The information you can find online about the agency should speak volumes about its reputation. You can usually find proof of a content marketing agency’s reputation in these places:

On the website of the agency:

• Reviews
• Testimonials
• Lists with previous customers or partners

On social media:

• Mentions, tags or comments from customers
• On review sites such as Expertise, Agency Match and Clutch.co

Via a Google search for the brand name or “[Markenname] reviews”.

Weigh good, neutral, and bad reviews carefully, and consider them in light of the services you need.

Strategy is the be-all and end-all of content marketing. Without an action plan, your content will go nowhere.

This includes setting goals, how you track and measure those goals, and the type of ROI you’re seeking for your content.

78% of marketers who said their content marketing was highly successful reported having a documented content strategy in a Semrush survey. Most focused their planning on content quality, SEO, and visual content.

A formal process and documentation of content marketing essentially gives you a map to follow.

If the potential agency you’re looking at doesn’t value a strategy as the foundation for a content marketing plan that works, they don’t have a plan to follow to be successful. Go on.

Most brands want qualified writers for their content. After all, content quality is an important factor in Google rankings and a key reason why your audience will stay with you.

When judging an author’s skills, think about their expertise and storytelling ability.

In many niches, it’s impossible to create great content without expertise – make sure the agency you’re considering has writers with the right expertise or background.

Also, think about the specific skills you need for your content. For example, let’s say you need video content creation. If the content marketing agency doesn’t employ videographers, that’s a reason to look elsewhere-.

Content marketing agencies typically juggle many clients, projects in various stages, and all the moving parts that come with it. This means that they must have good project management skills.

You need to know if the agency you choose is capable of delivering results on time and on budget. Therefore, pay attention to the following criteria to ensure that the agency meets the requirements:

• Project management is included as a service in the agency’s other offerings.
• They give an overview of their process, which goes from idea to result and what happens in between.
• They provide an overview of which team member will be involved with your project at which stage.

Remember, if you don’t find this information on the website, you can always ask for it when you contact the agency.

Good communication is a cornerstone of any business relationship. You know it, we all know it – but putting it into practice is a whole other story.

When choosing your content marketing agencies, pay close attention to how they communicate with you.

• How quickly did the agency respond to your initial inquiry?
• Have you been passed from person to person since then, or have you always talked to the same person?
• Were e-mails and calls answered promptly and comprehensibly?
• Did you feel that your questions were answered to your satisfaction?

Think of this initial communication as the first step in building a relationship with your agency.

It gives you a first impression of what working with the agency is like – whether it is fun and exciting, or difficult and tedious. If your gut tells you that the agency is not a good fit for you, you are probably right.

Last but not least, consider the price and value that the agency offers. An expensive agency is not always the best, and a cheap agency is not always the worst. It’s all about finding the best value for your money. Make sure the agency delivers the results you expect for the price.

What are you willing to spend on content marketing? You may need to adjust your plans depending on how well you know the costs associated with the content. (If you have no idea how much content marketing may cost, research what content marketing typically costs for brands your size.)

Principles are important in content marketing and you can expect your content marketing agency to adhere to them.

Look for the values that guide their business on the agency’s website. What did they emphasize in particular? What is important for them? Are these things also important for your brand?

A good agency will also have a zero-tolerance policy for issues such as plagiarism, low-quality content, manipulative content, content created just for search engines, or content that violates Google’s spam guidelines.

The right content marketing agency should be completely transparent about their business practices, past clients, employees or contract staff, and pricing.

For example, if the agency promises all sorts of things for a ridiculously low price, this is a warning sign. Another warning sign is if it appears that the agency is trying to hide something.

Check the agency’s website carefully, ask lots of questions and expect clear answers. The right agency will be completely transparent and happy to provide you with these answers.

To give your business the best chance of succeeding with content marketing, there are a few important aspects to consider before working with a content marketing agency.

Before you hire a content marketing agency, you should learn the basics of how content works. This will help you keep your expectations realistic and better understand what’s going on behind the scenes.

• Get an overview of the process of planning and creating a content strategy, including all the necessary components.
• Research what high-quality content looks like and what it takes to create it (from planning to publishing).
• Understand that content marketing is a long-term game and is not for you if you want quick wins.

Before you hire a content marketing agency, you should know what your needs are. For example, maybe you don’t have a blog on your website yet and you want to set up a content marketing system and strategy for blogging.

You should also set clear, reasonable goals with a time frame for the desired results. What do you want this blog to do for your brand over the next six months? Next year?

The clearer you are about these two things, the more productive your conversations with an agency will be.

If content marketing is built intelligently and the right writers and strategists are behind it, you’ll be surprised by the ROI you’ll eventually see.

The right content marketing agency can fill in the marketing gaps of any business and provide more reach, visibility, brand awareness, leads and results.

Check the agency you hire carefully, because they will take a lot of responsibility for you. But they can also help your brand grow unimagined.

Choosing the right content marketing agency is critical to the success of your business. Take time to review your options and consider the factors above to make the best decision for your business.