Guide to Finding the Best Content Marketing Service Agency

Content marketing is vital to any successful marketing strategy. Finding a top content marketing service agency can be the difference between success and failure, with so many B2B marketers scrambling to cut through all the noise and clutter to grow their business through content. When the content marketing process is set up with the right team of creators and strategists behind it—it has the power to deliver real marketing ROI. The stats show, according to a recent study from Ahrefs, that

• 67% of marketers reported that content marketing generates leads
• 72% of marketers say that content marketing helps educate the audience
• 63% say it helps build loyalty with existing clients/customers

Even though we are a content marketing agency, we may only be a fit for some. Selecting an agency, you trust enough to hand off content from strategy development to creation to publishing can be daunting. You have options if you want content done because you don’t have the expertise, experience, or time, or you need to bridge the gaps in your existing content efforts. We created this guide to help you with your decision in hopes of making your selection less frustrating so you have more freedom to do what matters most. While there’s no such thing as the overall BEST—agencies offer different digital marketing strategies and skill sets—there’s a BEST agency for you.

What is a Content Marketing Service Agency

Content marketing is integral to inbound marketing designed to educate or inspire your target audience.  A content marketing agency helps businesses leverage the power of content to attract, engage, and convert potential customers, ultimately supporting their marketing and business goals. Simplified version—It helps a business grow through content. You may view content as simply blogging and writing or a full-service digital marketing agency encompassing blogging, SEO, website design, social media, email, video marketing, and even paid advertising (as you need a copywriter with some chops to nail the Ad messaging.) GROWING through content means more than just writing (keeping a journal.) It means content with a strategy behind it— content strategy, production, optimization, and analytics. Agencies with strategy have industry experience, an accumulation of knowledge between team members, tools of the trade, and a strong desire to drive results with quality content. However, agencies vary in size, service, and pricing. It boils down to your needs and budget. Some agencies are cheaper than others, and as the saying goes—” You get what you pay for.” That’s not to say smaller agencies don’t deliver on quality because you need to look at their experience, reputation, and what you need to hire them for. Small Content Marketing Service Agencies • However, smaller agencies attempt to help everyone, with no focus on specific industries or types of clients. • They have no specific strong marketing competencies (Jack of all trades, masters at none). • Low priced, to bottom feed upon early-stage companies (Typically $500-$2,500/mo) Most agencies fall within the medium size range, with average deals approximately under $10,000ish. Responsify falls in this range. You can hire our agency for B2B content strategy, production, promotion, and analytics. (and more, we do customize) Medium Content Marketing Service Agencies • Medium-sized agencies are equipped to provide professional services to SMB markets and have focused areas of expertise. • They can develop a level of customization of services to offer flexibility within reasonable budgets • Moderately priced (typically between $3,500/mo to $15,000/mo) Larger content marketing service providers are costly and geared toward Fortune 1000 companies. Large Content Marketing Service Agencies • Cater to Fortune 1000 companies • Develop extremely custom marketing solutions and develop execution plans and teams • Super highly-priced (typically $20,000 /mo and as much as $1,000,000/mo). Choosing your agency from small to large depends on your specific needs, business, and budget.

What Makes a Good Content Strategy

Creating consistent quality content (within budget) starts with a good content strategy. A successful content strategy is comprehensive and intentional. Meaning every piece you write is made for a specific reason and tied to a particular goal. In order to do that, you need to start with a lot of relevant market and persona research. Market research helps build persona profiles. The research will help form key insights into your customer’s needs and behaviors. The strongest buyer personas will be based on market research and insights gathered from your customers through surveys or interviews. Your existing customer base is the perfect starting point for your interviews because they’ve already experienced your product or service. Interviewing both customers that are happy with your product or not as pleased will show patterns as to who your perfect persona is. Understanding your audience through well-defined personas will improve customer engagement, tailor your messaging, and create more effective campaigns. In a study by Aberdeen Group, companies using personas in their content marketing strategies achieved 73% higher conversions from their website traffic. And to back that stat, Cintell’s research in partnership with MarketingProfs, Direct Marketing, and others showed . . . source: Cintell Understanding B2B Buyers  Organize topics and campaigns Your content strategy should keep customers informed with educational campaigns. This requires organized blog topics with their related keywords. Creating resources like blog posts allows you to educate and introduce your product or service throughout the content. Identify which topics are most important to each piece of strategy and how your new content will help achieve your goal. For example, we built a campaign for a client that offers ‘customizable chiropractic software.’  Through client feedback, we found subscription-based memberships gave patients financial flexibility and the chiropractor predictable payments. The campaign consisted of multiple blog posts (a dozen, to be precise) crafted to show how memberships positively impact a practice’s bottom line and how their software can manage it all. We introduced the solution subtly. You have to get your audience’s attention and explain a problem they face first—in this case, the need to create predictable monthly recurring income—then strategically weave product-led content into the narrative. With that comes specialization in SEO and keyword research. . . Specialization in SEO and keyword research You know the quote from Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Meaning if you put effort and belief in the success of a project, it’s more likely to succeed. People will start flocking to it. Unless your content is optimized with the best SEO practices, that’s not the case. We don’t subscribe to the publish and pray method. It takes a skill set in SEO, keyword research, optimization, and continuous monitoring for results. Many variables play a part. It is the constant tweaking of your content, tags, links, user experience, and Google’s algorithm, among other factors, to improve search visibility. Google+ tweaks its algorithm numerous times a year—some more significant than others. For that reason, SEO is a task that must be revisited so you don’t lose valuable traffic. For example, updating old blog posts is an effective SEO strategy. “Bloggers who update old posts are 3x more likely to get results.” You can make a few tweaks to a post or rewrite the entire article. We recently updated a post on digital marketing statistics and quickly saw new growth. Suppose you updated a handful of your posts every month. Small, consistent wins will go a long way in improving your traffic.   Next is the fun, creative part . . . Understanding the art of crafting engaging titles ‘You never get a second chance to make a first impression.’ The power of your headline can be the difference between someone reading your article or entirely skipping over it. If you fail to make it impactful and useful, every other marketing move you take will be a waste of time. A great headline lowers the bounce rate, increases engagement, and makes visitors stop dead in their tracks and pay attention. So, taking the time to master and understand the art of crafting engaging titles is key. A few key characteristics of engaging titles include:

1. Compelling action titles. It will create a hook to engage your audience.
2. Keep it concise, clear, and exceptionally specific.
3. Intriguing. Your readers should look at the title and find a need to read it.
4. Definitive.  Showcase that you’re an authority on the topic. Use strong and classic words your personas will value.
5. Keyword-conscious. Specific keywords bring SEO best practices into place. Incorporate the keyword your business is targeting in your title for more SEO benefits.
6. Use benefit-driven headlines. Your readers want to know the WIIFM factor, WIIFM= “What’s in it for me?” The value proposition makes them realize your offering is worth their money or time. The more specific the benefit, the more likely your visitor will click.  Make a specific promise and use power words when describing your benefit.

What Criteria Should You Use to Judge Content Agencies?

Finding the right agency that understands your business and goals can be challenging. And if you want your content marketing strategy to be profitable, hiring the right partner is even more vital. Here is a list to help you find the right agency for your marketing needs:

• The agency must align with your goals with an emphasis on strategy. They don’t just sell ‘word counts’ but deliver strategy behind the content.
• They have a proven track record and get results from content marketing efforts. Look at their case studies or customer testimonials.
• Cultural fit with solid values for ethical content marketing and ease of working with them
• Fits your budget (Look at costs and needs associated with working with a small, medium, or larger agency)
• Specializes in your industry or has experience working with similar businesses
• Display expert skills in the industry you require
• Consider how they communicate and collaborate. Their style should mesh with yours.
• Look for an agency that will build a relationship: Teamwork.
• The agency works hard at setting the right expectations, and what is expected from both teams is key. Both sides need to understand how the process will work. To achieve the best results, it’s imperative to have subject matter experts throughout the written process.

Narrow down your list to 2-5 agencies:

• Visit the websites of the shortlisted agencies to gather a sense of their expertise and services
• Read reviews—HubSpot and Clutch.io. See what their clients are saying. An excellent reputation will shine through.
• The agency should have a straightforward project management process.
• Make a list of pros and cons for each agency on your shortlist.

Why You Should Work with a Content Marketing Service Agency

Partnering with the right agency will provide you with access to expertise, save you time and resources, deliver high-quality content, assist in strategy development, optimize for SEO, offer measurement and analytics, and provide scalability and flexibility. These benefits can help you achieve your content marketing goals effectively and efficiently. Content marketing is one of the most powerful ways to connect with your consumers. It’s also painfully time-consuming if you don’t have the resources. And if your team members aren’t sure how to optimize your content and strategy—a lot of hard work and time will be sacrificed for second-rate results. For those reasons alone, many B2Bs hire agencies to handle the workload. The strategy piece is indispensable. In fact, one study recounts that 80% of marketers who are extremely successful in content marketing efforts had a documented strategy. Conversely, 52% of those that were unsuccessful did not have one. Source It might be tempting to skip hiring a content marketing service agency and do-it-yourself, but is that the right move for your business? In order to see the benefits of your content efforts, your B2B needs a stream of high-quality content tailored to attract your buying audience. Here’s the shortlist to consider why you should work with a Content Marketing Service Agency:

1. Resources at your fingertips (entire army of talent)
2. Cost-effective (especially when considering the cost between an in-house employee and an agency)
3. They understand the marketing trends of today
4. Experienced (do this day in and day out 24/7—live, eat, and breathe it) Marketing agencies can accelerate results.
5. Focused on content creation when you can’t be
6. Give you time back in your day
7. Publish frequent and consistent content
8. Gain access to new tools and technology
9. Leverage different content perspectives
10. Presents a clearly-defined delivery process.
11. Showcases a specific focus area. A red flag to avoid “A jack-of-all-trades.”
12. Teaches and trains your internal team. The best outcome is when everyone is on board and understands the reason ‘why’ and ‘how’.
13. Has strong project management skills.

We leave nothing to chance. Our project management focuses on stages from initiation and planning to execution and completion. It helps schedule resources and minimizes the risk of things falling through the cracks. It gives transparency to the work being done and keeps both agency and client accountable every step of the way. Our app is a visual aid with built-in outline reviews to get the essential feedback needed to create top-of-the-line content.

Wrap-Up: Find the Right Content Marketing Service Agency for Real B2B Growth

Let’s recap: An experienced Content Marketing Service Agency (like Responsify) should allow you to 1) Get “better” results. 2) Produce strategic content “faster” than you and your team can do on their own (or even with freelancers) 3) Get content produced more cost-effectively (“cheaper”). According to the Content Marketing Institute, more than 70% of businesses today outsource content—but only a tiny fraction outsource content strategy. If you’re a B2B owner or marketing leader, you and your team probably don’t have the time to spend hours every week contemplating content with all its intricacies. If this sounds like you, our team is here to deliver your content growth model. Schedule a quick assessment with a Growth Strategist to learn more about our content marketing service agency and start outwitting your competitors and build, grow, and scale your business.