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How We're Different

The Credo vetting process


Results

A company can be polished and professional and still not deliver great results, so we specifically ask each network applicant about their clients and results they have driven.

We ask every applicant for:

  • Two projects for each marketing channel they offer
  • Description of the work they did and results they achieved
  • Client contact information so Credo can contact the client and ask for a recommendation
  • Analytics or other corroborating evidence of work done well

Professionalism

Quality of work delivered is extremely important to us and extremely important to you.

Our professional vetting involves the following:

  • Review of two deliverables sent to clients
  • Review of applicant's website to see professional design, clarity of writing and thinking, and more
  • Review of other profiles, such as LinkedIn and social media

Culture

Every network applicant must also pass our culture screening to make sure they're aligned with our standards.

This involves a 30 minute call covering:

  • Their professionalism on the phone
  • Promptness to the call
  • Clarity of thinking and speech in delivery
  • How their agency delivers work

Best Paid Social Media Companies

All Paid Social Media companies on Credo have passed our initial three step and 28-point vetting process before joining, and are continuously vetted via client feedback. When you speak with Paid Social Media companies from our network, you can trust they're the best we can find.

Find your partner

The industry trusts Credo

"GetCredo.com is one of the few trustworthy places to find a good SEO."
Rand Fishkin

Rand Fishkin

"After working with a number of clients who had been burned by illicit consultants, industry veteran John Doherty was inspired to create [a company] that would help companies find reputable search marketing and SEO professionals."
Marketing Land logo
Marketing Land
"I don't know of anyone who puts as much care and attention into properly vetting and matching SEO projects with vendors than Credo."
Tom Critchlow
Tom Critchclow

How to hire Paid Social Media companies


Hire agency with channel experience

Find agencies who have experience with the channel and your type of business

Prioritize agencies who have experience with the channel or channels you need help with. If you have multiple needs, we recommend prioritizing a full service firm who can do all channels as opposed to hiring individual agencies or contractors for each channel. This will reduce the number of providers you have to contact as well as the management overhead once they are hired.

Note - at Credo we match you with providers from our network who both fit your marketing channel needs and have experience with your type of business (SaaS, Ecommerce, etc). Where possible, we also match you with providers who have experience in your industry.


Agency discovery calls

Conduct discovery calls with all and strategy calls with a few

We recommend speaking with multiple agencies to verify that they have the experience you require and that you like speaking with them. Culture fit between you and your agency is the unspoken factor we find that determines if an engagement will be successful. We then recommend that you conduct longer strategy sessions (about an hour) with 2-4 agencies to dive deeper on your needs with their team.

Note - Credo schedules the initial discovery calls for you with agencies from our network.


Agency project proposals

Receive proposals and negotiate

Once you’ve gone deeper with 2-4 agencies, ask for proposals that you can review that include scope, timeline, cost, and terms. We recommend that you use our Agency Reviewer resource to make it easier. Some agencies may have a separate contract with terms and conditions, which is fine.

Once you receive proposals, you can negotiate back with agencies. The most common things to negotiate back on are scope and timeline. If ideal budget is above your ability to pay, see if you can reduce the scope to get the project within budget while understanding the tradeoffs.


Work with digital agency

Commit to one for a period of time

Finally, make a decision about who to work with and commit for a period of time that is long enough to know if you’re able to get results but not so long that it traps you into something that isn’t working. We recommend that you agree to at minimum a 3 month contract, and ideally a 6 month contract with a three month out.

Make sure healthy expectations are set and your agency fully understands your objectives. The best results are created when you have alignment with your agency around your business goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who's in Credo's network?
Credo's network includes pre-vetted digital marketing agencies and consultants with digital marketing expertise specific to your business needs. From SEO to Amazon marketing services, SaaS to the healthcare industry, to any B2B, enterprise, or B2C business, we match you with the right marketing partner for your business. Since 2013, we have helped over 6,500 businesses streamline their hiring process and execute marketing strategies. We put in the work to help you get back to what matters most - your business.
How does Credo determine who the right Pro is for my project?
We've matched over $125,000,000 in projects to agencies and have over a decade of experience as marketers ourselves. We know how to identify the right match for your needs based on our proprietary matching algorithm as well as a review of your marketing channel needs, your industry, your business model, your budget, and more. The entire process is 100% free of charge.
What is the difference between Credo and Upwork/Fiverr/etc?
Credo is a fundamentally different type of marketing matchmaking company. Instead of listing any marketing company or consultant who wants to offer marketing services, we offer a strictly vetted network of agencies that we know can deliver industry-best results to clients like you.
Do I still have to interview firms within Credo?
Yes. After we match you with 2-3 digital agencies that match your needs, you are scheduled with them for initial calls. We believe that you should know and trust the marketing team doing your work. Ultimately, it is your decision who to hire.
How is Credo involved after I sign a project?
Once you decide on the firm to hire, you sign contracts with them directly and pay them directly for the work they do. We are not involved beyond this point, though we appreciate honest reviews on your firm's Credo profile if your marketing match is everything you have been looking for!

Start your search today!

Ready to finally find the right marketing partner to help your business grow?

Drive results for your marketing needs with the Credo network. Get started today (it's free and there is no obligation)!


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How to hire a paid social company

Finding the right social media advertising partner is impossible without a close understanding of the concept. Agencies love knowledgeable clients who can understand the context behind the tactics they run on an everyday basis. This history of social media advertising can help you get started in getting to that point.

First, of course, we have to understand exactly what social media ads actually means. From there, let’s take a deep dive into the history of paid social, and how it affects the campaigns you can run and partner on today.

Social Media Advertising, Explained

At first sight, it’s obvious. Anytime you pay money to show your content to your audience, you’re engaging in social media advertising. Dig deeper, and the nuances become more clear.

First, the targeting opportunities. Companies who advertise on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are able to focus their audience based on factors like interests, geographic locations, and demographics. Through third-party partnerships, potential targeting even includes recent locations visited and purchases made. Retargeting recent web visitors is another opportunity. Finally, tools like Facebook’s custom audiences allow advertisers to upload lists and have the channel match email addresses with social profiles.

Second, the differences to other digital advertising opportunities. Unlike search ads (commonly known as PPC), social media advertising is not keyword-based or text-reliant. Most social ads show up natively in newsfeeds, whether it be on LinkedIn or Instagram. You don’t have to know or research your audience’s search behavior, and can leverage powerful messages to make your point.

Within that larger context, social media ads consist of three major types to consider:

1) CPM (Cost per Impression)

Best for general brand awareness without a defined action step, CPM ads charge your budget anytime a member of your audience sees it. This is the oldest type of social media ad, and also the most difficult to measure. Because cost is not linked to performance, you can potentially get great runtime out of successful ads on a limited budget.

2) CPC (Cost per Click)

CPC is the most popular type of ad, and also the most similar to other digital opportunities. Your budget gets charged only when someone who sees your message is actually interested enough to click on it. This link to performance is crucial if you’re looking to drive website visitors or most other kinds of action. Bidding is automatic, making it best for companies new to Facebook marketing.

3) CPA (Cost per Conversion)

Finally, some networks (like Facebook) offer advertisers the opportunity to bid on ad space based on the action they want to get out of the ad, which is most commonly lead conversions. This is the most advanced, and also most recent type of payment mechanism on social media. Only advanced marketers should engage in it, as ads are complex to set up and manage.

A Brief History of Social Media Advertising

With a basic understanding of social media advertising out of the way, let’s take a closer look to how we got to where we are today. A number of major events have influenced what is set to become a $51 billion industry this year.

2005 – Facebook, founded two years prior, announces its first ads on the network. The ads are called ‘Facebook Fliers’, and allow companies to target users based on the specific school .edu email address with which they signed up for an account on the platform.

2006 – LinkedIn, a new professional network with just over 6 million users at this point, announces its first ads. The ads are text-based and live in the dead space on the side of the actual user interface.

2007 – Facebook launches social media’s first self-service ad platform. Although it has been revamped multiple times since, the Ads Manager has become a model for all social media networks in allowing marketers to set up and manage their own ads on a daily basis.

2010 – Twitter launches promoted tweets, the first truly native advertising experience on social media. Today, all social media networks allow advertisers to place their messaging within the newsfeed, maximizing exposure and integrating the ads into organic content that targeted users see every day.

2010 – Facebook surpasses $1 billion in advertising revenue, two years after the company first turned a profit in 2009. The network remains the most profitable social media channel around the world, with revenues surpassing $40 billion worldwide last year.

2011 – Facebook announces ‘sponsored stories’, native ads that function similarly to Twitter’s sponsored tweets. This trend is common throughout social media ad history: another company innovates, and Facebook (the largest player in the game) modifies the idea to even greater success.

2012 – Facebook launches mobile ads, acknowledging the inevitable: the modern social media user far prefers their phone over desktop computers for a smoother experience.

2012 – Facebook purchases Instagram, offering advertisers the opportunity to reach even more users on varied networks with a single setup in Ads Manager.

2013 – Instagram and Pinterest both launch sponsored newsfeed ads that rival those of Twitter and Facebook. The native ad experience today is a core part of social media experiences around the globe.

2014 – Video views on Facebook surpass 1 billion per day, and the network announces autoplay video ads the same year. Most experts expect video to become the dominant form of social media content in the near future.

2015 – LinkedIn and Facebook both announce native lead ads. Through these ads, marketers are no longer required to push audiences to their website for form conversions. Instead, users can fill out a sign up form directly from the platform, and links are delivered straight to participating CRMs.

2016 – Instagram and Snapchat announce promoted stories, taking advantage of a new instant content trend that is sweeping the various channels. Instagram surpasses Snapchat in total active users.

Turning History into Social Media Marketing Success

Through these and many other milestones, we have gotten where we are today: with social media as a major player in the digital advertising and marketing landscape. Any comprehensive marketing strategy in 2018 and beyond has to include this component on some level.

Of course, knowing the history of the medium is only the beginning. You also have to make sure that you can actually leverage the various features and opportunities to their fullest. Contact us to get started connecting with the right paid social media companies for your business

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