Social media marketing in the UK: 16 agencies whose clients describe social work, and how to brief one

The leaders matrix gives a summary view of the strongest social media agencies in this ranking. Each of the 16 agencies is placed on two axes and falls into one of four quadrants: Leaders, Proven, Specialists or Emerging. The size of each dot reflects the size of the agency’s team.

Horizontal axis – track record: the number of verified client reviews, on a logarithmic scale. Vertical axis – focus on social media: the share of the agency’s reviews that describe social media work. The dashed lines mark the median of the agencies shown.

1. The sample

Sortlist lists 2,175 social media providers on this page. We evaluated the 220 agencies on the first three pages of the listing, in its relevance order. 75 of them have at least 3 verified client reviews – our threshold for a rating to be meaningful. 2 of those also pay for a sponsored placement and were set aside, leaving 73. Of these, 16 agencies with a UK office and at least 3 client reviews that describe social media work (social campaigns, community management, paid social, influencer marketing) were ranked, with 215 verified reviews between them and an average rating of 4.97; the 57 others are listed separately.

2. The score

3. Independence

• Sortlist is a marketplace, not an agency: it does not appear in its own ranking.
• Agencies cannot pay to enter the ranking or to move up. Agencies with a sponsored placement on this listing are excluded from scoring and shown separately.
• The order of the listing page, subscriptions and badges play no part in the score – only the three criteria above.

4. Limits

Reviews reflect each agency’s work across all its services, and agencies with few reviews may be excellent but are not yet scored. That is why every entry says what it is best for – and when another agency would suit you better. The ranking is updated regularly.

The same agency can do all three, but its reviews usually describe one more than the others. Ask for two examples of the job you are buying, with the numbers the client used to judge it.

We read the 79 reviews of the ranked agencies that describe social media work and counted which platforms and formats they name. A review can name several, so the columns do not add up.

Match the agency to the platform where your customers are. A team whose reviews talk about LinkedIn B2B work is a different hire from one whose clients praise TikTok creative.

1. 1

   Who writes and posts, and who approves?

   Ask for the approval flow: how many hours you get to review a post, and what happens if you do not reply.

2. 2

   Who owns the accounts and the passwords?

   Your company should be the owner of every social profile and ad account. The agency is a user.

3. 3

   How many posts a week, in which formats?

   Ask for a sample calendar for one month for your sector, with the formats (short video, carousel, static) and the ratio of each.

4. 4

   Who replies to comments and messages?

   Community management is often priced separately. Ask the response time and the hours covered.

5. 5

   How do you pick the creators?

   Ask how creators are found, vetted and paid, and who signs the contract. UK influencer ads must be clearly labelled under the ASA’s rules, so ask who checks the disclosure.

6. 6

   Which result do we judge you on?

   Followers are a weak target. Ask for the metrics tied to your goal: leads, bookings, sales or cost per purchase.

7. 7

   How much creative will be tested?

   On paid social, ask for the number of new ad variants a month and how the winners are chosen.

8. 8

   Do you own the content you produce?

   Check who owns the files and the usage rights for creator content, and for how long.

9. 9

   What do reports contain?

   Ask for a sample. One client of a ranked agency found the reports too granular until a one-page summary was added; ask for both.

10. 10

    What is the minimum term and the exit?

    Ask the notice period and what you keep (accounts, audiences, content) if you stop.

Tip: ask each shortlisted agency to review your last 20 posts and tell you what they would change first. The answer shows whether they have a view on your category or a template.

Of the 200 UK profiles we evaluated, 179 state a minimum project budget: 96 start at €1,000, 20 below that, 9 between €1,001 and €2,999, 27 between €3,000 and €4,999 and 27 at €5,000 or more. The ranked agencies range from €250 (Digitilizeweb) to €30,000 (Pulse Advertising). These are entry points for a first project and do not include ad spend or creator fees.