There are plenty of social media agencies to choose from, and most of them can make good-looking posts. The real question is which one is the right fit for your brand and your goals.

Here’s the checklist we’d use if we were the ones hiring.

1. Know what you’re hiring for

“Social media marketing” covers a lot. Before you speak to anyone, decide which of these you actually need:

• Social media management: planning, posting, replying to comments and DMs, and monthly reporting.
• Content creation: Reels, carousels, graphic design, photography and captions.
• Paid ads: Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram, built for leads or sales.
• Branding: positioning, brand voice and visual direction.

Some brands need all four, and many start with one or two. Knowing this helps you find the right fit.

2. Ask how they’d approach your brand

The best way to judge an agency is to see how it thinks about your business. Ask what they’d change on your social media in the first month, and why. A good agency will have clear, specific ideas, and many will happily do a quick audit of your account before you commit.

3. Ask who will actually work on your account

The people in the pitch meeting aren’t always the people making your content. Ask who your day-to-day contact is, who writes, who designs, and who runs your ads. Knowing exactly who is on your team makes working together much easier.

4. Agree on how success is measured

Followers and likes are useful, but what matters more is what social media does for your business: saves, shares, profile visits, enquiries, leads and sales. Agree on two or three numbers that matter before you start, and ask how they’ll be reported.

5. Set realistic expectations together

Good results on social media come from consistent work, testing and learning. A good agency will talk you through what’s realistic in the first three months, and how you’ll build from there.

6. Check how they communicate

Ask to see a sample content calendar and a sample report. Find out how approvals work, how often you’ll hear from them, and how quickly they reply. Clear, regular communication makes everything else easier.

7. Read the contract properly

Understand whether you’re signing a monthly retainer or a one-off project, what the notice period is, and what’s included. Most importantly, make sure you own your social media accounts, ad accounts and content. The agency should be given access, not ownership.

Questions to ask in your first call

• What would you change about our social media in the first month?
• Who exactly will work on our account?
• How will we measure whether this is working?
• How do approvals and feedback work?
• What does a monthly report look like?
• What happens to our accounts and content if we stop working together?

Any good agency will be happy to answer all of these. We certainly are.