The most common mistake in choosing a marketing agency is picking the one with the best-looking portfolio before deciding what the agency should achieve. Good-looking work is easy to show. Whether it fits your goal is the real question.
To choose well, write down the one result you are buying, ask two or three agencies to price the same scope, check who will own the ad accounts and files, look for proof you can verify yourself, meet the people who will do the work, and agree on a report and a review date before you sign.
We are an agency, so read this knowing that, and use the same checks on us.
Mistake 1: buying a portfolio instead of a result
A portfolio shows taste. It does not show whether the agency can deliver what your business needs this year: more booked jobs, a fuller calendar in the slow months, a new location people know about. Before any meeting, finish one sentence: “In six months we want ___, and we will count it by ___.”
The goal also tells you what kind of agency to look for. A specialist (only ads, only video) fits a single, narrow goal; a full-service agency fits when content, ads and reporting have to work together. For a local business, an agency that can be on site for shoots and knows the area’s seasons is worth weighing too.
An agency that asks about that sentence before opening its case studies is starting in the right place. If you are still weighing whether to hire outside help at all, our comparison of agency or in-house covers that decision first.
Mistake 2: comparing proposals that cover different work
Two proposals can look far apart simply because they describe different work. One may include filming days and ad management; another may cover posting only, with ad spend billed on top. Ask every agency to price the same list: platforms, posts and videos per month, shoot days, ad management, reporting and meetings.
The price itself then depends on that scope, on whether ad spend is included or paid straight to Meta or Google, and on the length of the contract. Our guide to the marketing budget for small business shows how to read a proposal layer by layer.
Mistake 3: not checking who owns the ad accounts and files
The accounts where your ads run, your business pages, and the photos and videos made for you should belong to your business, with the agency given access to work in them. This matters most on the day you switch agencies.
Google Ads lets you check it yourself. Agencies work through manager accounts linked to their clients’ accounts, and Google’s help center notes that a manager account can also be given ownership of a client account.
In your own Google Ads account, open Admin, then Access and security, then Managers, to see which manager accounts are linked and whether one of them is listed as the owner.
Ask for the same arrangement on Facebook and Instagram: the page and the ad account sit in your business’s own Meta account, and the agency is added with access. Put it in writing, together with who keeps the original photo and video files.
Mistake 4: trusting a guarantee
Be wary of any agency that guarantees a ranking, a number of followers or a number of leads. Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a first-place ranking in Google, and it tells readers to be careful with anyone who claims a special relationship with Google.
The same logic applies to ads and social media, where results depend on the offer, the season, the budget and competitors nobody controls. What an agency can promise is the work: what will be produced, how often, how it will be measured and what happens if it falls behind.
Mistake 5: accepting proof you cannot check
Case studies with large percentages are easy to write. Proof you can check is harder to fake: client accounts you can open, a business you can call or visit, reviews on the agency’s own Google profile.
Ask for two or three clients in a business like yours, then scroll back through their posts to the months before and after the agency started.
Mistake 6: never meeting the people who will do the work
The person who sells the contract is often not the person who writes your captions or runs your ads. Ask who will be on your account, what each person does and whether any of the work goes to subcontractors.
For a local business, a few practical checks matter as well: whether someone can come to film at your location, which languages the team works in, and how quickly messages get answered.
The full list of tasks an agency usually takes on is in our article on what an agency takes off your plate.
Mistake 7: no agreed report or review date
Without an agreed report, every month turns into a conversation about impressions and feelings. Before signing, settle three things in writing: what the monthly report shows, when you will meet to review it, and the point at which either side can change course or end the contract, with the notice period.
A first review at about 90 days is a sensible checkpoint for most local campaigns: long enough for content and ads to run, short enough that a poor fit does not drag on.
The agency scorecard
Print one copy per agency. Score each line from 1 to 5, and write down the evidence you actually saw, not what you were told.
| What to check | Evidence you saw | Score (1–5) |
|---|---|---|
| Asked about your goal and how you will count it before showing work | ||
| Priced the same scope as the others: platforms, volume, shoot days, ads, report | ||
| Shows the agency fee and the ad spend separately | ||
| Your business owns the ad accounts, pages and files; the agency gets access | ||
| No guarantee of rankings, followers or leads | ||
| Two or three clients whose accounts you could check yourself | ||
| You met the people who will work on your account | ||
| A sample report and a first review date, in writing | ||
| Contract length, the first 30 days of onboarding and any minimum term spelled out | ||
| Notice period and handover of files when the contract ends, in writing |
Add up the scores, but read the evidence column first: a blank line on ownership or exit terms outweighs a high total.
If you are comparing agencies around the Lowcountry, run us through the same sheet.
Our home page lists three Charleston clients, Sky Restaurant & Bakery, Viva Cleaning Services and VMS Home Painting, with links to their profiles; our team films at the client’s business and works in English and Portuguese; and both of our plans include a monthly performance report with reach, engagement and conversion data for every campaign.
Ask FB Digital Agency, a Charleston marketing agency, for a proposal, and fill in every line before you decide.