40-Question Social Media Agency Evaluation Checklist
Weighted scoring system that prioritizes revenue attribution over follower growth. Avoid agencies that optimize for vanity metrics.
Scoring Framework
Score each question 1–5 (5 being strongest). Agencies scoring below 3.5 overall or below 4.0 on Revenue Attribution likely optimize for vanity metrics rather than business results. Weight heavily toward attribution and team quality.
Evaluation Criteria
Revenue Attribution and Business Impact
30% weightEvaluate ability to connect social media activity to closed deals, lead generation, and measurable business outcomes. Agencies weak here optimize for vanity metrics and won't move revenue needle.
Sample Questions
- Can they demonstrate UTM tracking setup and Google Analytics 4 ecommerce integration for social media attribution?
- Do they provide specific cost-per-acquisition data from 3+ clients in your industry with similar business models?
- Can they show conversion funnel reports that track social media traffic through to closed deals in CRM systems like HubSpot or Salesforce?
- Do they focus on business metrics (leads, revenue, CAC) rather than engagement metrics (likes, followers, reach) in case studies?
- Can they explain how they'll measure and improve your social ROI beyond brand awareness and engagement rates?
Team Structure and Operational Capabilities
25% weightAssess whether work gets done by experienced in-house teams or outsourced to contractors. Poor team structure leads to inconsistent quality and hidden costs for premium creative work.
Sample Questions
- Can they provide names and roles of specific team members who will work on your account?
- What percentage of their team are full-time employees vs. contractors (look for 80%+ full-time)?
- Do they have written protocols for 2-hour response times during business hours with clear escalation trees?
- Can they demonstrate scalable content production processes if you need to double volume in month 6?
- Do they have crisis management procedures with specific timelines and real examples of managing client reputation issues?
- What project management tools do they use (Monday.com, Asana) and how do they ensure accountability?
- Can they handle content compliance for regulated industries like healthcare (HIPAA) or finance (SOX)?
Platform Expertise and Content Strategy
20% weightEvaluate platform-specific knowledge and ability to create native content rather than repurposing the same post across all channels. Generic approaches perform poorly everywhere.
Sample Questions
- Do they create platform-specific content strategies rather than repurposing identical posts across channels?
- Can they explain specific algorithm changes in the last 6 months and how they adapted client strategies?
- Do they show client work examples rather than using their own social accounts in demos?
- Can they demonstrate A/B testing frameworks and provide examples of optimization based on performance data?
- Do they understand your industry's platform preferences (LinkedIn for B2B, TikTok for Gen Z consumer brands)?
- What content approval process do they use and how many revision rounds are included in base pricing?
- Can they show examples of content that performed well for clients vs. content that failed and why?
Analytics and Performance Monitoring
15% weightAssess their analytics capabilities beyond basic platform metrics. Agencies with weak analytics optimize for vanity metrics and can't prove business impact or identify improvement opportunities.
Sample Questions
- What analytics tools do they use beyond basic platform insights (Sprout Social Professional, Hootsuite Analytics, Brandwatch)?
- Can they demonstrate social listening capabilities and how they use sentiment analysis for strategy adjustments?
- Do they provide competitor analysis and benchmarking against industry performance standards?
- How do they track and report on customer lifetime value of social media-acquired customers vs. other channels?
- Can they set up proper attribution tracking that accounts for multi-touch customer journeys across platforms?
- Do they have experience with advanced analytics like cohort analysis or incrementality testing for social campaigns?
Pricing Transparency and Contract Terms
10% weightEvaluate pricing structure transparency and contract terms. Hidden costs for revisions, platform setup, and premium creative work typically blow budgets by 40–60% beyond quoted fees.
Sample Questions
- Do they provide transparent pricing for platform setup fees, rush delivery, and content revisions beyond included limits?
- What fees do they charge on paid media management (10% is reasonable, 20%+ is excessive)?
- Do you retain ownership of social media accounts, content, and advertising data if you terminate the contract?
- Are analytics tool costs (Sprout Social, Hootsuite licenses) included in monthly fees or charged separately?
- Do they have clear data export and account transfer procedures if you switch agencies?
- What are their content revision limits and costs for additional rounds beyond what's included?
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