How to choose the right creative agency
Quite simply put, a content studio or creative agency can make or break your brand. Even if I were to put it less dramatically, it can at least significantly impact your growth over the period of time you’ve hired them (both positively and negatively depending on whom you’ve hired and the rapport you share). On a base level, perhaps your creative agency is a consultant for the redesign of your e-commerce website. On a macro level, your entire business can be at stake. When hiring a content studio or creative agency, the competition is rough which means choices are dime a dozen. Hiring the right and reliable choice for your business is key in how the growth of your business compares to its competitors. You want to look for a passionate team with whom you can share a rapport that supersedes simply delivering creative briefs and assets. Usually, from stage one itself, you can gauge the communication skills of agencies which can be a green or red flag for you before taking the next step. You want a team that’s clear and transparent about their offerings. While many creative consultants and businesses alike can claim to offer you the stars and moon, this is highly unrealistic. It is best to understand the parameters of your own budget, and have someone who understands the creative side of things from your end – this plays a big part in establishing a successful partnership with a creative agency.
In terms of services, you may be looking for a website rehaul, ad management, content creation, social media management, influencer management, email marketing – you name it. It’s important to understand that not all agencies do all of the above, and nor should they. Digital marketing is different from purely social media management, which is different from influencer marketing. Similarly if you are purely looking for a content studio to create great briefs and deliver standout assets, you should not always expect them to specialize in other domains (this is what makes them great at what they do!). Businesses need domain-specific experience from experts to help you do what you can’t do in-house – this is key.
Content creation is one of the most outsourced services. It requires deep domain-specific expertise such as knowledge of platforms, channels, data analytical tools, etc. A successful content partnership will amplify your brand with clutter-breaking content lapped in strategy and operational tact in order to meet your targets, be it; sales or brand awareness, etc.
Clutter-breaking content can be a one-off hit from time to time, what you ultimately desire as a business is building admiration and advocacy via uniquely personal and humanized content. A brief impression or a second longer of a hover on your post is not the end goal. This matched with consistency gives you an engaged and even organically growing audience.
About the author:
Aaliya Amrin, Co-Founder and Lead Content strategist, By The Gram