Outreach in the context of social media marketing agencies (SMMAs) refers to the process of actively connecting with potential clients and building relationships with them. It is a key part of lead generation and acquiring new business for agencies. Effective outreach enables SMMAs to establish their authority, demonstrate expertise, and convey the value of their services to prospects.
Outreach can encompass a wide range of tactics and channels, but typically involves proactively contacting and engaging with prospects through social media, email, networking events, cold calls/emails, content distribution, referrals, and more. The goals are to increase awareness of the agency’s brand, showcase thought leadership, and ultimately convert leads into paying clients.
Why is outreach important for SMMAs?
Outreach is critical for SMMAs for several key reasons:
1. Starting conversations and connections
Outbound outreach puts the SMMA in control of initiating contact and opening up conversations with potential customers. This allows them to introduce themselves directly, rather than waiting for inbound leads. Proactive outreach is essential for getting the SMMA on prospects’ radars.
2. Building relationships and trust
Successfully converting prospects requires building rapport, authority, and trust. Outreach gives SMMAs the opportunity to demonstrate expertise, establish credibility, and forge lasting connections. This makes prospects more likely to move forward with the SMMA.
3. Qualifying and capturing leads
Outreach enables SMMAs to have discovery conversations where they can learn about prospects’ needs, challenges, and goals. This helps qualify and vet leads to determine fit and readiness to buy services. Outreach ultimately feeds the sales pipeline by capturing qualified leads.
4. Staying top-of-mind
Consistent and persistent outreach keeps reminding prospects about the SMMA so they are top-of-mind when needs arise. Outreach helps combat the “out of sight, out of mind” principle.
5. Standing out
In a crowded marketplace, outreach is a chance for SMMAs to differentiate themselves from competitors and showcase why prospects should choose them. Outreach done right can help them stand out.
Outreach tactics and channels for SMMAs
There are many potential outreach tactics and channels SMMAs can leverage to connect with prospects and drive new business, including:
Social media outreach
– Commenting on target companies’ and prospects’ social media content
– Engaging with their posts and profiles
– Sharing their content
– Tagging them in relevant posts
– Connecting on social platforms
Email outreach
– Personalized cold emails
– Reaching out when mentioned/referenced
– Following up on signups and inquiries
– Cross-promotional partner emails
– Guest post pitches
– Warm referral emails
Phone outreach
– Cold calling prospects
– Quick check-in calls
– Follow-up calls after meeting at events
– Calls to close leads and warm referrals
Networking and events
– Attending industry events, conferences, tradeshows
– Speaking and sponsoring events
– Hosting own branded events
– Joining networking and professional groups
Content distribution
– Guest posting on industry blogs
– Getting featured in online publications
– Promoting content via email and social
– Content syndication and partnerships
– Sponsored and organic posts
Referrals and word-of-mouth
– Asking clients for introductions and referrals
– Partnering with brands for co-marketing
– Referral programs and incentives
– Nurturing word-of-mouth buzz and reviews
Paid advertising
– Paid social ads targeted to ideal prospects
– Retargeting and nurturing ad campaigns
– Paid search/PPC ads to drive traffic
– Display and banner ads on niche sites
– Sponsoring newsletters or podcasts
Best practices for SMMA outreach
To maximize the effectiveness of outreach efforts, SMMAs should follow these best practices:
Personalize every message
Avoid copy-pasted, spammy outreach. Customize each email, message, comment to resonate with specific prospects and show you understand their brand.
Provide value
Focus on helping, not selling. Offer useful advice, insights, or resources to demonstrate you can provide value.
Do research beforehand
Learn about prospects’ company, brand, challenges, and goals so you can tailor your outreach accordingly.
Follow up consistently
Don’t just reach out once and move on. Follow up in a mix of channels until you get a response.
Humanize your brand
Let your personality and authenticity show. This builds trust and makes prospects more receptive.
Focus on quality over quantity
Prioritize highly targeted, one-to-one outreach over spray-and-pray tactics.
Track and optimize
Use tracking links and codes to monitor performance. Refine approaches over time.
Leverage thought leadership
Position yourself as an expert by sharing valuable content and insights.
Partner strategically
Collaborate with complementary brands to expand reach and credibility.
Challenges of outreach for SMMAs
While critical for success, outreach also comes with some common challenges for SMMAs:
Difficulty cutting through noise
Prospects receive tons of outreach daily. Your messages can easily get lost or ignored amongst the clutter.
Identifying and researching prospects
It takes work to build targeted prospect lists and research the right contacts at each company.
Crafting unique value props
Tailoring messages and conveying value for each prospect requires creativity and strategy.
Being labeled “salesy”
Prospects disengage if you come off as promotional or manipulative. Avoid this perception.
Measuring ROI
It’s hard to directly correlate outreach to won business. Tough to optimize spends.
Landing meetings and calls
Turning outreach into actual conversations with prospects can be challenging.
Following up persistently
You need thick skin to follow up amidst non-responses. Easy to give up too quickly.
Staying top of mind
Consistency is tough. Easy for prospects to forget you after the initial outreach.
3 types of SMMA outreach
SMMA outreach typically falls into three main categories:
1. Cold outreach
This targets completely new prospects who have no existing relationship with the SMMA. It often relies on less personal, scalable tactics like cold emails, social media comments, and cold calls/voicemails. High volume is key.
2. Warm outreach
This engages prospects who already have some awareness or existing relationship with the SMMA. Examples are inquiries, signups, referrals, past clients. Tone is more conversational and personalized.
3. Hot outreach
This connects with the hottest, sales-ready prospects who have explicitly expressed interest in the SMMA’s services. Tactics focus on closing deals ASAP.
Leveraging automation for SMMA outreach
To scale and streamline outreach, many SMMAs leverage automation tools and tactics:
– Auto direct messaging on social media
– Email sequences and drips
– AI copywriting to craft personalized messages
– Lead scoring and tagging for automated nurturing
– Programmatic ad targeting and retargeting
– Chatbots for qualifying leads and scheduling meetings
– Automated workflows, reminders, and follow-ups
However, balance is key. The most effective outreach combines automation with a human touch. Completely automated, spray-and-pray tactics are often easy to detect and may hurt your brand reputation. Use automation thoughtfully.
Tracking and measuring outreach
To gauge performance, SMMAs should track key outreach metrics like:
– Open rates on emails
– Click-through rates on links
– Engagement rates on social posts
– Referral source channels
– Conversions from outreach to sales
– Cost per lead
– Calls scheduled and completed
– Unsubscribe and complaint rates
– ROI
Tools like Google Analytics, call tracking, unique landing pages, and CRM tracking help monitor these KPIs. Continuously optimize efforts based on data.
Conclusion
Proactive outreach is make-or-break for SMMA success. It puts agencies in the driver’s seat for initiating conversations with high-value prospects and converting new business. SMMAs should leverage a mix of cold outreach at scale along with highly targeted, personalized warm outreach and customer follow up. Tracking KPIs and results is critical for optimizing approaches over time. With disciplined, value-focused outreach, SMMAs can build sustainable pipelines and client rosters.