Social Media (SM) agencies are usually hybrid companies whose strengths and capabilities range from social media strategy to online public relations.
Often, social media marketing crosses paths with search, media planning, customer service and business development.
With all of these cross-departmental functions, SM has clearly evolved into a necessary marketing and communications component for a modern business.
Like traditional agency models, a social media agency will work with clients on a retainer, hourly or project based fee.
And, just like when you hire any other agency, you should have a clear vision of what you will need executed.
So I thought I'd write a few thoughts down to help you determine what should be outsourced to a social media agency vs.
your traditional agency of record.

1. Strategy - This is something that should definitely reside with a social media agency.
   There are too many tools, tactics and new technology available for a traditional agency to stay on top of.
   Traditional agencies are great at providing direction with respect to brand voice and audience segmentation, etc, but when it comes to keeping a finger on the pulse of the SM heartbeat, traditional agencies tend to drop the ball.
   It's not always their fault either, and usually this is simply because they have so many client projects to fulfill, so they tend to be a little behind on the R&D side.
   Now, some agencies are great at this, but not all of them.
   So be sure to ask pointed questions from your traditional agency regarding  skill sets and especially resources.
   In my experience, traditional agencies don't have a large staff dedicated to SM.
   In fact, lots of times, they end up hiring a freelancer or social media agency in the end anyway.
   
2. Community Management - Engaging your community of friends and followers on a daily if not hourly basis is no small task.
   It requires full time resources to research relevant content, publish it and then monitor interaction.
   Hiring a SM agency to manage this component of your business is a wise move, simply because they will have far more resources and experience in community management than most "tactical" based traditional agencies.
   Community management requires patience and nurture, something that most traditional agencies tend to fail at due the fact that many are campaign driven.
   
3. Monitoring - Listening to the conversations taking place about your brand or business are essential in shaping the way it engages people.
   Using monitoring tools and good 'ol fashioned elbow grease a savvy SM agency can decipher the hashtags, likes and shares for the content you produce and translate to a usable resource for developing other marketing campaigns.
   Sentiment can be a great way to discover new keywords for your next PPC or direct marketing advertising headlines.
   

There is a challenge however and that is that there are a lot wanna-be social media agencies out there.
Usually consisting of laid-off former ad executives who are looking to cash-in on the hype of SMM.
Be sure to sniff these guys out before engaging into any kind of relationship.
Remember, you're trying to capitalize on a new communication model, and sometimes that requires new, fresh thinking from a partner that focuses purely on one thing and one thing only, social media.