Most businesses judge their social media agency by the wrong numbers. They see a spike in followers or a viral post and assume they’re getting value. But here’s the problem: vanity metrics rarely translate into actual business results.
The typical evaluation goes something like this. Your agency shows you a monthly report filled with engagement rates, reach statistics, and follower growth charts. Everything looks impressive on paper. You nod along, feeling good about the investment.
Then you check your bank account. Revenue hasn’t budged. New customer acquisition is flat. You’re left wondering where the disconnect happened.
This gap between social activity and revenue exists because most businesses don’t connect their social media agency’s work to bottom-line outcomes. They accept surface-level metrics as proof of success. A company might gain 5,000 new Instagram followers in a quarter, see hundreds of likes per post, and generate thousands of impressions. Yet when they analyze actual sales data, they discover that social media contributed exactly zero new customers.
The real issue isn’t always the agency’s fault. Many businesses never establish clear tracking systems before hiring help. They can’t measure ROI because they never set up the infrastructure to track it. Without proper attribution, conversion tracking, or baseline data, you’re essentially flying blind.
Another common mistake is treating all engagement equally. A like from someone in a different country who’ll never buy your product counts the same as a comment from a local prospect ready to purchase. Your social media agency might be optimizing for the wrong audience entirely, and you’d never know without digging deeper than standard analytics dashboards.
The truth is that measuring agency performance requires more than glancing at monthly reports. It demands a systematic approach to tracking how social efforts connect to revenue, customer acquisition costs, and lifetime value. Without this foundation, you’re just guessing whether your investment is working.
Setting Up Your 90-Day Testing Environment
Before you can evaluate your social media agency’s performance, you need a proper testing framework. The 90-day period gives you enough data to spot trends without waiting so long that you waste money on ineffective strategies.
Start by collecting baseline data before your agency begins work. Document your current conversion rates, average order values, and traffic sources. You’ll need this comparison point later. If you don’t know where you started, you can’t measure progress.
Set up tracking tools immediately. Google Analytics 4 is free and essential for monitoring website conversions from social channels. Connect it to your social platforms and configure conversion goals that match your business objectives. For e-commerce, track purchases. For service businesses, track form submissions, phone calls, or appointment bookings.
UTM parameters are non-negotiable. These tracking codes tell you exactly which social posts, campaigns, or platforms drive traffic and conversions. Create a naming convention document and share it with your social media agency. Every link they share should include proper UTM tags. Without them, you’re losing attribution data.
Consider adding paid tools if your budget allows. Platforms like HubSpot, Hootsuite Analytics, or Sprout Social offer deeper insights than native platform analytics. They can track customer journeys across multiple touchpoints and calculate ROI automatically. For local businesses working on foot traffic, tools that measure how social media drives store visits become especially valuable.
Create a simple documentation system. Use a spreadsheet to record weekly metrics: traffic from social, conversion rates, cost per acquisition, and revenue attributed to social channels. Take screenshots of key reports. This historical record becomes invaluable when evaluating performance trends.
Don’t forget to audit your website’s conversion capability. If your site isn’t optimized to convert traffic, even the best social media agency can’t deliver results. Make sure you have essential website features in place before driving paid traffic.
The 5 Core Metrics That Actually Matter
Forget follower counts. The metrics that matter are the ones tied directly to your business goals. Here are the five numbers you should track religiously when evaluating your social media agency.
First, calculate your true cost per acquisition (CPA) from social channels. Take your total social media spend, including agency fees and ad costs, then divide by the number of customers acquired through social. If you’re spending $3,000 monthly and acquiring 15 customers, your CPA is $200. Compare this to other channels. Is social competitive with search ads, email, or referrals?
Customer lifetime value (CLV) matters more than single purchases. A social media agency might drive customers with a higher upfront acquisition cost but better retention rates. Track how long social-acquired customers stay with you and their total spending over time. Sometimes a $200 CPA is brilliant if those customers spend $2,000 over two years.
Attribution modeling gets complicated fast. Last-click attribution gives all credit to the final touchpoint before conversion. But most customer journeys involve multiple interactions. Someone might discover you on Instagram, research on Facebook, then convert via Google search. Multi-touch attribution distributes credit across these touchpoints, giving you a more accurate picture of social’s contribution.
Social customer service efficiency is often overlooked. If your agency handles comments, messages, and complaints on social platforms, measure response times and resolution rates. Fast, helpful responses build trust and can prevent negative reviews. Track how many support interactions turn into sales opportunities.
Branded search volume serves as a proxy for awareness. When your social media agency creates compelling content, more people should search for your business name directly. Monitor branded search trends in Google Search Console. Increasing branded searches suggest your social presence is building recognition, even if direct conversions take time.
Industry benchmarks vary wildly. E-commerce typically sees social CPAs between $10 and $100. B2B service companies might see $200 to $500. Local service businesses often fall somewhere in between. Your social media agency should provide context for your numbers based on your specific industry and market.
Week-by-Week Testing Protocol
The first 30 days with your social media agency set the foundation for everything that follows. Schedule weekly check-ins during this critical period, then shift to bi-weekly meetings once you’ve established a rhythm. These aren’t just status updates—they’re strategic alignment sessions.
Start each phase by asking specific questions that reveal your agency’s depth of thinking. “What business objective does this campaign serve?” should get a clearer answer than “we’re building brand awareness.” Ask them to explain how they’re tracking the customer journey from social platforms to conversion points. If they can’t connect their content strategy to your sales funnel, that’s a problem.
Green flags appear when your social media agency proactively brings you insights about your audience behavior. They should notice patterns in what content drives website visits versus what generates engagement. They’ll suggest adjustments based on performance data, not just creative hunches.
Red flags include reports that look identical month after month, or agencies that blame algorithms when numbers decline. Watch for resistance when you ask about business metrics beyond engagement rates. Another warning sign: they’re posting content without understanding how it connects to your customer acquisition strategy.
Mid-course corrections should happen quarterly at minimum, but don’t wait if you’re seeing consistent underperformance. Document everything—campaign briefs, approval workflows, performance benchmarks, and strategic pivots. This creates accountability and helps you identify what’s working.
Your weekly reporting template should include platform-specific metrics, yes, but also website traffic from social sources, lead generation numbers, and revenue attribution. The template matters less than the insights your agency extracts from the data. They should tell you what the numbers mean for your business, not just what happened on Instagram.
Revenue Attribution: Connecting Social Activity to Sales
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and social media’s impact on revenue often hides in plain sight. Setting up Google Analytics 4 properly is non-negotiable—it’s the bridge between social activity and actual sales data. Your social media agency should help configure UTM parameters for every campaign, tracking each platform and post type separately.
CRM integration transforms social media from a marketing expense into a revenue channel you can actually quantify. When someone fills out a contact form after clicking a Facebook ad, that information should flow directly into your customer database with full attribution. Platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and even simpler tools can connect social touchpoints to closed deals.
For service businesses, phone calls represent a significant conversion path that often goes unmeasured. Call tracking numbers specific to social campaigns reveal which platforms and content types drive actual inquiries. You’ll discover that a LinkedIn post might generate fewer clicks than Instagram, but the calls it produces convert at three times the rate.
In-store visit attribution works differently but matters enormously for local businesses. Facebook and Google offer location-based conversion tracking that connects ad exposure to physical store visits. Local businesses can leverage social media strategically to drive measurable foot traffic when they implement proper tracking.
Promo codes provide the most direct attribution method available. Create unique codes for each social platform and campaign. When customers redeem “INSTA20” versus “FACEBOOK20,” you know exactly which channel drove that sale. It’s simple, effective, and removes all ambiguity from ROI calculations.
Assisted conversions tell the complete story that last-click attribution misses. A customer might discover you on Instagram, research on your website, and finally convert through a Google search. Your social media agency should help you understand these multi-touch journeys, because social often plays a crucial awareness role even when it doesn’t get credit for the final sale.
Red Flags: When Your Social Marketing Agency Isn’t Working
Some warning signs appear immediately, while others emerge gradually as the relationship develops. The most obvious red flag? Reports that prioritize pretty graphics over actionable insights. If your social media agency is spending more time making their reports look good than analyzing what the data means for your business, you’ve got a problem.
Lack of business-focused strategy reveals itself in conversations about tactics without objectives. They’ll talk about posting schedules, hashtag strategies, and content calendars—but struggle to explain how any of it connects to your revenue goals. When you ask about ROI, they deflect to engagement metrics or “brand building” without concrete definitions.
Cookie-cutter content stands out like a sore thumb to your audience, even if it looks professional. Your agency should understand your industry’s nuances, your competitors’ positioning, and your customers’ specific pain points. Generic motivational quotes and stock photos signal they’re treating you like every other client on their roster.
Watch the quality of engagement, not just the quantity. A thousand comments from bots and spam accounts mean nothing. Your social media agency should cultivate genuine conversations with real potential customers. If they can’t distinguish between meaningful engagement and empty metrics, they’re not adding value.
Poor understanding of your business model becomes apparent when their content misses the mark consistently. They’re promoting products you’re trying to phase out, or targeting audiences that never convert. This happens when agencies don’t invest time learning how you actually make money and who your best customers are.
Resistance to measurement and accountability is perhaps the biggest red flag of all. Agencies that push back on tracking, avoid discussing conversion metrics, or can’t integrate with your existing analytics systems are hiding behind complexity. The best agencies welcome accountability because they know their work drives results. Just like effective website design focuses on features that drive business outcomes, effective social media management should demonstrate clear impact on your bottom line.
Green Flags: Signs Your Agency Partnership Is Working
When you’ve found the right social media agency, the signs are unmistakable. Instead of recycled content strategies, they’re bringing fresh ideas that directly connect to your specific business objectives. They understand what you’re trying to achieve and propose tactics that make sense for your industry.
Your reporting sessions become genuinely valuable conversations. The agency doesn’t just show you numbers—they explain what those numbers mean for your bottom line. They provide context around every metric, connecting social media performance to broader marketing goals and business outcomes.
A quality agency partnership means accountability becomes standard practice. Your social media agency willingly ties their performance to ROI metrics and doesn’t shy away from difficult conversations about what’s working and what isn’t. They propose clear benchmarks and accept responsibility for meeting them.
You’ll notice they truly grasp your customer journey. They can articulate how someone discovers your brand on social media, what content moves them closer to a purchase decision, and how social fits with other marketing channels. This understanding shows up in their content strategy and campaign planning.
The best agencies adapt quickly based on performance data. When something isn’t delivering results, they pivot without waiting for you to demand changes. They’re constantly testing, measuring, and refining their approach. Their cross-channel thinking means they consider how social media integrates with your website, email marketing, and even offline efforts like driving foot traffic to your physical location.
These green flags indicate you’ve moved beyond a transactional vendor relationship into a true partnership. When these elements are present, you’re getting the strategic value that justifies your investment.
The 90-Day Decision Matrix
At the 90-day mark, you need a structured approach to evaluate your social media agency objectively. A weighted scoring system removes emotion from the decision-making process. Assign point values to key performance areas: lead generation, engagement quality, strategic thinking, communication responsiveness, and ROI delivery.
Create a decision tree that maps specific score ranges to concrete next steps. If your agency scores above 80%, you’re likely in good hands and should consider expanding the relationship. Scores between 60-80% suggest potential that needs addressing through clearer expectations or strategy adjustments.
When performance falls short but shows promise, use your data to renegotiate contract terms. Present specific metrics that aren’t meeting expectations and propose revised deliverables or pricing structures. Many agencies will work with you rather than lose a client who communicates clearly about their needs.
Sometimes agencies deserve more time, especially if they’re implementing long-term strategies. If you see consistent improvement trends, strategic thinking is solid, and communication is excellent, extending the evaluation period by 30-60 days makes sense. Document what specific improvements you expect to see during this extension.
However, if fundamental issues persist—poor communication, lack of strategic thinking, or declining results—it’s time for a clean exit. Review your contract’s termination clause and prepare a transition plan. Request all login credentials, content calendars, and performance data you’ll need to hand off to a new partner.
When transitioning to a new social media agency, apply everything you’ve learned. Share your evaluation framework from day one, be explicit about what didn’t work previously, and establish the measurement systems that will prevent repeating the same mistakes. Your 90-day test becomes even more effective the second time around.
Beyond the Test: Building Long-Term Agency Accountability
The 90-day evaluation shouldn’t be a one-time event—it’s the foundation for ongoing accountability. Establish measurement frameworks that continue beyond the initial test period. Monthly check-ins with consistent metrics create a rhythm of performance review that keeps both parties focused on results.
Your business evolves, and so should your expectations. What matters in month three might be completely different by month twelve. Adjust your metrics and goals quarterly to reflect changing business priorities, market conditions, and growth stages. A social media agency worth keeping will welcome these conversations.
The most successful agency relationships involve collaborative goal-setting. Rather than dictating what you want or accepting what they propose, work together to establish realistic, ambitious targets. This partnership approach ensures buy-in from both sides and creates shared ownership of outcomes.
Annual contract renewals provide natural checkpoints for comprehensive evaluation. Review the entire year’s performance, not just recent months. Assess whether the agency has grown with your business and whether their strategic value has increased over time. Consider how they’ve integrated with other marketing efforts, including elements like your website design and user experience.
The difference between a vendor and a partner comes down to mutual investment. Vendors deliver what’s in the contract and nothing more. Partners challenge your thinking, bring unsolicited ideas, and care about your business success beyond their retainer. They’ll tell you when your expectations are unrealistic or when you’re missing opportunities.
Building this partnership requires transparency from both sides. Share your business challenges openly, even when they’re not directly related to social media. The more context your agency has, the more strategic value they can provide. When accountability becomes a two-way street, you’ve created the foundation for long-term success that extends far beyond any 90-day test period.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you measure social media agency performance in 90 days?
Measure social media agency performance by tracking 5 core metrics: engagement rate, reach growth, lead generation, conversion rate, and revenue attribution. Set up a structured 90-day testing environment with weekly check-ins to monitor progress against baseline metrics established in week one. Focus on connecting social activity directly to sales through UTM parameters and CRM integration rather than vanity metrics like follower counts.
What are red flags that a social media agency isn’t working?
Major red flags include consistently missing reporting deadlines, refusing to provide access to ad accounts or analytics, focusing only on vanity metrics without revenue attribution, and inability to explain their strategy in clear terms. If your agency avoids discussing ROI, makes excuses for declining performance after 60+ days, or resists implementing tracking systems, these are signs the partnership isn’t working.
What metrics should I track to measure social media marketing ROI?
Track engagement rate (likes, comments, shares per post), qualified lead generation, conversion rate from social to customer, customer acquisition cost from social channels, and direct revenue attribution. Avoid relying solely on follower growth or impressions, as these vanity metrics don’t correlate with business results. Use UTM tracking and CRM integration to connect social media activity directly to sales revenue.
How long should you test a social media agency before deciding to keep them?
A 90-day testing period is ideal for evaluating a social media agency’s true performance and fit with your business. This timeframe allows enough data collection to see meaningful trends, complete multiple campaign cycles, and assess the agency’s communication, strategy execution, and ability to drive measurable results. Make your final decision using a combination of quantitative metrics and qualitative factors like responsiveness and strategic thinking.
What are signs that your social media agency partnership is successful?
Green flags include consistent, transparent reporting with clear ROI metrics, proactive communication about strategy adjustments, steady improvement in lead quality and conversion rates, and willingness to be held accountable to revenue goals. A successful agency provides regular access to analytics, explains their decision-making process clearly, and shows month-over-month improvement in the metrics that matter most to your business objectives.