• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, December 28, 2014

Ssshhh, marketers. Don't tell your ad agency that they just might not be up to snuff when it comes to handling your social media efforts. Now, yes, some agencies are perfectly well equipped and should by all means be considered for the task at hand. But as we all know, if there's one thing an ad agency can do really well, it's promise the moon and then figure out how to deliver after the fact. And that’s really that last sort of thing you want when looking for a partner to craft and help you manage what can be a very challenging and volatile endeavor.

Over at Business 2 Community, Carly Cunningham has put together a 5-point tip sheet with questions you should ask when hiring an agency to help handle your social media needs. Tips and questions range from close consideration of the process the agency uses for content creation to measurement of progress and success to the agency's viewpoint on social platforms that are appropriate to your brand.

While the list is brief and far from complete, it will put you in the right mindset and send you in the right direction when you're deciding who to hire for your social media needs. Here's another resource to consider. And here's another. But if you ask me, it all boils down to one simple tenet: don't send stupid tweets.