Today, I will be talking about the most in-demand SMMA services in 2024 and what services you can sell in your agency to feed off this demand.
I’ll go through each service one by one, give my opinion as we go, and highlight the ones that are the best for starting with the SMMA agency.
Let’s get into this list.
Table of Contents
1. Paid Advertising
Paid advertising is one of the absolute best services an agency can offer clients across the board. It’s the art and science of taking a business’s products and services and getting them in front of targeted audiences on platforms like:
- TikTok
- Snapchat
- YouTube
The best thing about paid ads is that you can track the precise return on investment and quantify exactly how much revenue you’re driving for each client. Any dollar amount spent, any dollar amount returned – it’s all crystal clear, which clients love.
While it may seem intimidating at first, honestly anyone can pick up the skills with a little training. When I first started out, I didn’t have a clue how to run Facebook ads. But I landed a local restaurant client for $500 a month and needed to figure it out fast. I immersed myself in courses and within a week found an effective strategy. The results were killer.
By the way, if you’re learning from a particular influencer or a particular course, you need to check when that Facebook ad module was filmed.
Having a 2024 ad strategy is all about manipulating, growing, and putting that content in front of your targeting options and less on the targeting aspects of the ad campaigns.
2 or 3 years ago, before iOS 14, it was all about stacking targeting options and how to find these hidden pockets of targeting options, which was super crucial.
However, now, the actual targeting and the algorithm behind the ad campaigns is fairly simple. It’s more about the ad creatives, design, copy, etc. The good news is that there all of these AI tools like AdCreative.ai that make creating ad creatives super simple.
So, having a strategy that works in 2024 to generate sales, bring in high-quality leads, or use paid ads to grow a brand is essential.
And that’s a high-paying, in-demand service because so many different agencies offer paid ads but don’t have a paid ad strategy that actually works long-term for their clients.
2. Sales Funnel Building
Next is a long-standing service we’ve always vouched for: sales funnel creation. If you work with a client, any lead gen business, whether that be a law firm, a mortgage company, a hair transplant clinic, or a med spa, the ability to create a high-converting sales funnel that converts the traffic you’re producing through your ad strategy is going to be so essential.
If you’ve communicated with any client, whether you’ve signed them or not, most clients’ websites are shocking. They’re not designed to convert. They don’t have the particular elements that are needed on that web page to convert the traffic at scale, let alone the after-process of what happens once they submit their lead.
- Are they getting text messages?
- Are they getting emails?
- How are they getting follow-ups?
So building a sales funnel and sales process around that campaign is a highly high-paying skill that once you understand how to do it, clients will be queuing up to work with you, especially if you’re good at it.
3. Lead Conversion
So as the SMMA world progresses and as more and more people are getting on social media, even if they’re not running paid ad campaigns, even if they’re getting their leads through social content or emails to their website, how do they convert those leads into paying customers, which is a problem that so many businesses have.
They’ll be generating loads of leads, whether that be through an agency, whether that be through ads, whether that be through organic content, or emails, but they don’t know how to convert those leads into paying customers.
So if you can do that through your sales sequences, through good sales processes and strategies, whether you have a sales team that does that conversion for them, that is an incredibly high-paying skill you can implement for your business.
We do it at our agency by having a sales team and an appointment setter that we implement for every single one of our clients. So we’ll have someone that calls up the leads. We will ring all of the clients’ leads for them.
We have GoHighLevel sequences that, when a lead comes through, we nurture that all the way to a booking.
Our sales team works with every single one of our clients so that their sales process is on point, they’re contacting them in the correct way, in the right time period, and they know how to convert them in consultations for particular clients.
So having that after-care support of how to convert leads into paying customers is essential.
Now, if you’re a beginner agency and you’ve been listening to these gurus on social media that say sign a client, get a media buyer to run your Facebook ads for you, and that’s all you need to do, this is where your business is really, really going to fail. It’s not okay just to run paid ads to a lead form on Facebook and expect Facebook to convert it for them.
You need the whole point of what a social media marketing agency is an overall marketing team for that business. And the business and that lead isn’t closed just by bringing in a lead that then they contact and can’t get hold of. You need to build the infrastructure and the support to convert every single one of those leads into a paying customer over time.
4. Short-Form Content Editing
Many have taken the plunge into long-form content land – launching podcasts, getting on other shows, creating YouTube tutorials. Noble efforts for sure.
But we live in the age of short-form snackable content. TikTok has us all fiending for quick hits of information right here, right now. We want it fast, concise and captivating.
This is where you come in as the short-form sensei. Take existing long-form content from brands and transform it into bite-sized posts for platforms like Instagram and TikTok. You can easily do that with tools like Repurpose.io.
Short-form edits are the perfect top-of-funnel play – exposing brands to expansive new audiences in an algorithm-approved format. Plus, you get to maximize content businesses have already invested in creating – a true win-win.
Rates range from $30 to $100 per video edit based on your skills. And most importantly, any brand creating long-form YouTube content is a potential client.
5. User Generated Content
User-generated content or UGC is all the rage in influencer marketing these days. I’m sure you’ve seen brands running ads on TikTok and Facebook featuring authentic, selfie-style videos from real people. These candid customer testimonials and product demos make for some of the most effective and engaging ad creative out there.
UGC delivers the highest return on investment, making it a must-have for any e-commerce brand or business looking to boost their marketing results. Even local mom and pop shops are getting hip to UGC for spreading brand love.
Now you may be thinking – how do I get the ball rolling on UGC if I don’t have influencer connections? The good news is, for most brands, your best assets are right under your nose: your existing customers!
You can launch a simple campaign inviting customers to create UGC on your behalf, maybe offering an incentive for their time. Suddenly, your loyal customers become your digital sales force and micro-influencer squad. Pretty cool how that works! UGC takes word-of-mouth marketing to the next level.
6. Email Marketing
Email marketing – it may seem old school, but don’t be fooled. This OG strategy is back and better than ever. 59% of marketers say email is their most effective channel for raking in new revenue. Things have come full circle.
I credit a lot of email’s resurgence to AI tools and algorithms that weren’t around 5-10 years ago. These innovations allow us to set up incredibly targeted email automations to squeeze every last drop out of existing customers and re-engage past visitors who didn’t initially buy.
Whether you use GHL, ActiveCampaign, or even free platforms like Systeme.io, implementing effective flows is plug-and-play. Segment your lists, trigger personalized campaigns, and watch those profits pile up. When I ran my own agency, email marketing generated hundreds of thousands in sales for clients. Cha-ching!
In today’s crowded digital space, a solid email strategy cuts through the noise. There’s just something more personal and trustworthy about an email versus an Instagram ad or Facebook clip. Leverage that to your advantage. Don’t sleep on email marketing. Do it right, and it’ll pay off in spades.
7. Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization is the art of turning website visitors into customers. It’s all about taking existing company sites and pages and sprucing them up to boost that all-important conversion rate. This can involve adding persuasive reviews, installing conversion-friendly apps, improving website design, and enhancing the overall user experience.
Let’s break out some quick math to show the power of CRO. Say an e-commerce site has a ho-hum 2% conversion rate, and their average order value is $100. They get 100,000 visits per month. At 2% conversion, that’s 2,000 customers spending $100 each, so $200k in revenue monthly.
But boost their conversion rate by just 1% to 3%, and boom – suddenly they have an extra 1,000 customers per month. That’s an additional $100k in revenue monthly or $1.2 million extra yearly, all from a small 1% CRO bump! See how valuable optimization can be? The numbers don’t lie.
So if you or a client have a website that’s leaving money on the table, CRO is your new best friend. With some tweaks and tuning, you can turn more of those site visitors into delighted customers.
8. Copywriting
Copywriting – not just stringing words together, but crafting sentences that sell. Sure, lots of people can write something coherent, but compelling copy that converts readers into buyers? That’s a true art form.
Effective copywriting goes way beyond website text and landing pages. We’re talking words that persuade and influence across ads, emails, sales scripts, explainer videos, you name it. When done right, copy catalyzes sales like no other.
Here’s the kicker – literally every business needs copywriting. But that doesn’t mean you should go spraying and praying your services everywhere.
Instead, pick 1-3 SMMA niches you genuinely interest you. Become a copy master for those specific audiences. Learn their pain points, goals and dreams. Then work your literary magic, crafting copy that really speaks to them. Once you perfect your copywriting superpowers in a niche, you can always expand your reach.
Remember – the jack of all trades is a master of none. For now, focus on dominating copywriting in just a small corner of the market. You’ll stand out from the sea of generalists. When it comes to compelling copy, think niche, not broad. Targeted words sell.
9. Landing Pages
Landing pages really are the new website. I think gone are the days where you needed this large index website with multiple pages and all these layers of complexion.
Nowadays, the average and modern website is just a young pager with short, concise information, good copywriting on it, and great content as well.
Someone needs to create those landing pages, and there are a plethora of companies out there with outdated, overcomplicated websites that are crying out for somebody to come and modernize and most importantly, simplify them.
10. Content Marketing
Content marketing encompasses 3 things
- Graphic design
- Photography
- Videography
We’re in the digital age, but many business owners out there were not born into this modern world. They do not understand how to create high-quality content, and therefore, they cannot keep up with their more content-aware competitors.
They seek that innovation and that skill in agencies and in freelancers. I’m talking social media post-design, product photos, promotional videos, and obviously ads. I know content agencies that charge upwards of $10,000 for one single video shoot.
It’s a precious service and it’s also very creative. I’ve always almost envied content agencies out there because they get to be very expressive and creative with their service. They’re essentially getting paid to create art all day. If you’re content-minded, this is a very good option.
11. Social Media Management
Social media management – the art of crafting compelling organic posts for brands on platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. It’s taking existing content and breathing new life into it through smart scheduling, strategic captions, and an innate understanding of what makes audiences tick.
While on the surface it may seem simple – just posting content, right? – effective social management is far more nuanced. You’ve got to become a master curator for each unique brand. Build an editorial calendar that seamlessly blends entertainment, value, reviews, and sales-focused posts. Lean into what resonates most with their community.
The great part about social management, especially when starting out, is the value is crystal clear for clients. You’re handling a task they don’t have bandwidth for – keeping their feeds fresh and engaging daily. It’s tangible time saved. However, most local biz owners only cough up around $500 per month for the service.
The real money is with bigger brands pulling 100k+ in monthly revenue. Their budgets can easily justify $2-3k per month for rockstar social management. But breaking into that echelon typically requires a more robust service, like coupling social with in-house content creation.
Overall though, social remains a solid basic offering if you want to get your feet wet with clients. Just be ready to really dive into each brand’s audience and voice. Successful social management goes way beyond just scheduling posts.
12. Business Consultancy
As an SMMA agency owner, you need to have the know-how to consult a business on their marketing and really on their business in general. We’re talking about their:
- Storytelling
- Content
- Email marketing
- Social media
- Branding
All of that comes into play regarding how profitable a business can be from your marketing campaigns. We’ve worked with two practically mirror-image businesses in the same industry, except one had a really nice brand. They had loads of content. They had 9,000 followers. Compared to a starter business that didn’t have all of that, the results were dramatically different.
We made the first, the existing brand that had it all together, about 25 grand in profit in the first month. Whereas this one, we didn’t make them any money for the first three months because they needed so much consultancy on their brand, how it was positioned, and their story. And that does take time.
But suppose you’re a social media marketing agency owner and you’re just going to run ads to the brand that you’re just given. In that case, you’re going to struggle because for most brands that we work with, a lot of consultancy goes into that first month to get them to a place where we even want to run ads.
Most businesses aren’t at a point to run ads. They need help with content, branding, message, and all the stuff. And that’s an incredibly important service that you need to have under your belt in order to get your clients results, because that’s the only way you’re going to get them long term is by giving them consultancy on everything that comes under the marketing umbrella.
Best SMMA Niches in 2024 Final Words
So these are the best SMMA niches you can sell. And before we wrap up, I must warn you that even though all of these services can be used to build a profitable digital marketing agency from scratch, I strongly advise against using more than one service until you’re making decent money.
Otherwise, you’ll be running around trying to juggle everything instead of just nailing one thing and doing it well. When you’re first starting out, the key is to sign up as many clients as possible with just one service instead of having multiple services and just a handful of clients.
All the services we’ve covered can build a lucrative agency if you fully dedicate to one. Just don’t make my mistake and get lured in by offering a little email marketing, a little copywriting, and a bit of content creation. All that did for my agency was add stress and chaos.
