Beginning a social media agency can be easliy fulfilling. Trying to get information from experts can help you cross the hurdles more easily. Mr. Paritosh Sharma’s social media consulting agency which he started in 2009 is a good case study. This is his brief outline on how to start a successful agency. Here is a step by step guide based on his advices and outlining what you can do to start your own agency.
1. Build a Website or Blog.
Your first step should be to have some kind of online visibility. Mr. Paritosh began with a blog that acted as a one stop shop for all his services – “Until ROI Consulting.” An ideal designed blog or website serves not only as a business card but also a place where you can showcase your work, attract traffic, and build trust.
2. Getting The First Customer Is Always Tough
Getting your first customer can always be difficult. Mr. Paritosh, for instance, did extensive networking, went to industry specific events, and even did free work to get leads. He contacted NASSCOM Foundation and offered his live blogging services for free at their events. This got him his first paying client, Mr. Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip. Try using events, offering free services, or volunteering your time to get some initial exposure as well as references.
3. Promoting Your Agency Is Easy With Social Media
Promote your agency on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Mr. Paritosh actively promoted his blog on his LinkedIn profile and captured the attention of prospective clients. If done properly, posting useful information on social media can help you gain credibility and generate leads.
4. Focus On Highly Qualified Workers
With the growth of the business comes the need for a strong team you can count on. Mr. Paritosh, for instance, started with a team of 8 which included content writers and SEO freelancers. By outsourcing some work like SEO, you can scale without stretching your in-house team too thin.
5. Provide Specialized services
The first thing to do is to appeal to a particular demographic’s needs that are in demand. Mr. Paritosh’s Agency is different from his competition because he focuses on “Event Live Blogging”. This paid service helped him get clients and it helped his agency establish credibility which fostered trust. Once the business started growing, he moved into other niches in Social media marketing. You should also think of ways that could get your agency noticed and services that can help you gain profit immediately.
6. Emphasis On Providing Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction should be valued starting at day one. Mr. Paritosh’s agency focused on content driven value, event live blogging and B2B content marketing. You should constantly be in check to ensure your services actually help your clients because that will not only help you retain clients in the future but also ensure that they will recommend you.
7. Be Open to Investments, But Only At The Right Moment
It is true that funds will help speed everything up but Mr. Paritosh does not recommend seeking any sort of investment too early. Rather, focus on generating revenue and stabilizing your agency. His first investor came only after he established a strong foundation. He advises to only consider investments if you are sure you need them in order to scale your business, not to start it.
8. Attend to Global Opportunities
Venturing into international markets can provide a growth avenue. Mr. Paritosh’s agency started pursuing international clients and was now able to serve a range of services. After garnering a reliable local clientele, try exploring how to promote or sell your services internationally through partnerships, websites, or other niche services.
9. Start Advanced Social Media Institute.
To penetrate new markets and gain profits in other areas, consider building a social media platform. Mr. Paritosh also ran a social media learning institution on the side of his agency. By offering courses that cost between Rs. 30,000-50,000, he not only built a learner centric community but also bolstered his agency’s reputation. Create winning educational content for your target audience to position yourself better in the business world.
Action Plan:
To accomplish success in launching your own social media agency, follow these paramount strategies:
- Step one is to design a website and blog for your agency.
- Market yourself and offer free work to gain visibility.
- Post useful posts on social media channels such as LinkedIn to attract new clients.
- Hire workers or interns to help you scale your business.
- Offer unique services such as live blogging of events to outsmart competition.
- Focus first on providing value to the customers to create long lasting relationships.
- Only try to raise funds from investors after revenue is consistent, if at all.
- Expand your reach by catering to foreign clients.
- Create an alternative source of income by starting a social media educational institution or teaching.
Conclusion:
- Start a social media agency with a particular focus on customer strategy and value.
- Create an online persona with a website and social media profiles.
- Offer innovative, unique, and rare services to gain clients and make a name for yourself in the industry.
- Create a social media school to help foster a community that builds the reputation of your agency.
- Shift your focus to maintaining relationships with your clients, and learners over work.
Building a social media agency requires hard work, creativity, and good planning. You can build a successful business and mark your position in the social media marketing industry by observing these solutions and learning from the successful entrepreneurs such as Mr. Paritosh Sharma.
