When you decide to invest in social media marketing, you will be faced with a decision: Should you hire a social media agency or a creative agency? Whether you’re an online store, freelancer, or small business owner, comparing a creative vs. social media agency will help you make the right decision. In digital marketing, you would need different deliverables at different times. Maybe you need to increase organic social traction for your social media pages. Or what you want is a new logo for your latest product line. Knowing the differences between social media and a creative agency will help you approach the right professionals for your needs. In this article, we define a social media agency and a creative agency to explain their proficiencies and make it easy for you to choose the right team, then finally define: Creative vs. Social Media Agencies.
What’s a Social Media Agency?
A social media agency handles marketing across social media channels for its clients. They help strategize, conceive, execute, measure, and manage paid advertising, organic content creation, and numerous other functions.
A social media agency would have professionals with expertise in multiple domains, such as brand planning, media planning, digital marketing, analytics, content creation, website development, mobile campaigns, etc.
What Does a Social Media Agency Do?
A full-fledged social media agency such as Scholastics would provide the following services:
SEM
A social media agency will help you develop and execute a viable search engine marketing strategy through paid advertising. This increases your visibility among people searching for your category and product benefits.
Apps
Social media agencies will build apps to help businesses directly engage with customers. This requires the services of domain experts who can quickly build customized applications.
SEO
A social media agency will establish your authority by creating content that delivers value to your audience. These and other search engine optimization strategies help you become more discoverable in organic searches.
Social Media Marketing
With the help of a social media agency, you can build a unique brand identity on social media platforms, attract your target audience, and generate leads and sales.
Content Creation
Social media marketing is about adding value to the lives of your customers. A social media agency will create articles, videos, images, and other content to build a compelling brand for your business on your social media channels.
Social Media Analytics
To be successful on social media, you need to analyze your performance constantly. Social media agencies have the resources to track the performance of your content and make the necessary iterations to your strategy.
Social Media Engagement
Creating content is only part of a successful social media strategy. You must also interact with your audience by answering their queries and providing information. This is easier when you have a social media agency.
Website Design and Development
Your website is the anchor for all your digital marketing activities. Social media agencies can create a unique, easy-to-use, content-rich website to meet your requirements.
Tech Stack
As a small business, you may not have the tech tools to plan, execute, and measure social media strategies. Agencies, on the other hand, would have not just the tools but also professionals with domain experience.
What’s a Creative Agency?
Every brand requires a set of creative assets. From the packaging of your product to your office stationery, these design elements help carve a unique appeal for your brand. A creative agency has skilled professionals and resources to create these assets.
A creative agency develops creative content for your brand across all marketing channels. Whether it’s a logo, banner, business card, video, or any other marketing collateral, a creative agency would have designers, writers, and graphic artists who can help build a distinct visual identity for your brand.
What Does a Creative Agency Do?
A creative agency specializes in the creation and delivery of the following outputs:
Logos
You can get an imaginative, distinct, and memorable logo for your brand from a creative agency. They will also optimize your logo for the specific requirements of various marketing channels.
Design Identity
All successful brands have a unique visual identity. A creative agency will develop a distinct set of design elements and color schemes to help your brand achieve that.
Copywriting
Your copy will decide if your brand comes across as aspirational and inspiring. Creative agencies have copywriters who can write compelling copy for multiple marketing platforms to help you generate and convert leads.
Packaging
Want your product to stand out from the competition? A creative agency team can increase the value of your product through interesting packaging with category insights.
Marketing Collateral
You would need digital banners and other online and offline collateral for your brand. Graphic designers and copywriters from a creative agency can create imaginative collateral to attract potential customers.
Email Newsletter Design
Creative agencies can create unique designs with a compelling copy to encourage subscribers to read your emails.
Infographics
Need to share data in an interesting and easy-to-read form? Creative teams can generate persuasive infographics for your digital marketing channels.
Videos
Videos are the leading form of content, and creative agencies would have specialists to write, shoot, and edit videos to help you connect with your audience.
TV Commercials
TV ads require a specific set of skills. If your marketing campaign requires TV commercials, it’s best to approach a creative agency with experienced professionals.
Radio Ads
If you want to increase your brand recall in a local market, a creative agency can help create memorable radio spots to persuade local listeners.
Should You Choose a Social Media Agency or a Creative Agency?
Now that we’ve defined Creative vs. Social Media Agencies, you should choose a creative agency if you want a specific set of creative assets, such as copy and design elements. However, a social media agency should be your partner if you want to build or improve your social media presence.
If you’ve decided that a social media agency is right for you, let’s take the next step together! Get in touch with us today, and let’s start crafting something amazing.
