The Need for Content

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? 

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 the initial research. But first, how do you even know which companies are worth your time? 

Whether it’s simply typing “how to find a content marketing company” into Google or exploring business listings, it’s not always clear 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 methods, 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, or if funding changes, or for any other reason. 

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?

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