There are lots of reasons why you might be unhappy with your current social media management company.
Perhaps they’re too expensive and you’re trying to make some savings in these highly-uncertain times.
Maybe the quality of the content they post is sub-par, leading customers to ignore your brand or worse still unfollow you.
Or perhaps they aren’t as responsive as you’d like, making you wait days for small changes to your strategy.
Whatever the reason, making the switch to another social media agency doesn’t have to be stressful.
Below, we’ve put together some things to consider when switching social media companies.
Check when your contract ends
First up, make sure you know when your current social media management contract ends.
Some affordable social media management companies like 99social don’t tie customers into contracts and customers are free to leave whenever want, whereas others will have you sign a contract and pay for so many months before renewing a retainer.
Understand when your current plan ends and be strategic.
If you’ve got six months left with them and you can’t leave without forfeiting any money, let them know you’re leaving closer to your exit date so they continue to stay motivated and deliver results.
If they know you’re going to leave in three months’ time, the chances are that they won’t put as much effort into your campaign.
Change passwords and revoke access
Once you’ve told your social media management company that you’re leaving and they finish up on their work, change your passwords as soon as possible, and revoke access to third-party scheduling apps they may have been using like HootSuite and Buffer.
You should also remove admin and editor access on Facebook and LinkedIn and perform a general clean-up.
We recommend deleting old direct messages, unfollowing people you’re not interested in, and unpinning anything that has been stuck to the top of your accounts for a long time so you can give your new social media management company a fresh start.
Hold onto important files and resources
Before you wave goodbye to your old social media management company, ask them about any files or resources that they have to hand.
They might have created an attractive border for your Instagram posts or used particular fonts and assets that you’ll need if you want your posts to remain consistent when you switch to a new provider.
Ask them for this information and content – preferably, before you tell them you are leaving. Some agents may refuse to hand over Photoshop and Illustrator files because they own the rights to them, whereas others may charge you for the privilege.
Weigh up the costs and consider moving to a new social media management company as an excuse to refresh your brand and experiment with a new look on Twitter and Facebook.
Align the end and start dates
Unless you’re planning to take over your social media management in-house in the short term, we recommend aligning the end and start dates between your old agency and new agency.
Have your old company wrap up their work on a Friday, and get a new agency to begin on a Monday morning, preferably at the start/end of the month to keep things simple.
Where this isn’t possible, you could ask your new social media agency to prepare a week’s worth of content for you to review and approve before they get started.
That way, as soon as you are ready to “hand over the keys,” so to speak, you can have confidence in the fact they understand your business and brief and will publish relevant, engaging social media content.
Lay out your expectations to the new agency
Finally, make sure your new social media agency understands what you’re looking for.
You left your old agency for a good reason, whether it was to save money or revamp your strategy, so make it clear what your objectives and expectations are and be sure they can meet those on your budget.
The more your new agency knows about what you’re looking for and what is and is not achievable, the happier you’ll be when you start working with them.
Switching social media agencies isn’t always easy, especially if you have worked with the old one for a long time, but with a little patience and the right timing, you can transition from one marketing team to another and ultimately increase your social media presence.
If you’re looking to make the switch, consider the team at 99social.