Questions to ask an agency about organic and paid social

Key takeaways

Before hiring an agency for organic and paid social, ask how they decide what goes organic and what gets paid, who owns the ad account and content, how fees and ad spend are separated, how they report on each, and how organic and paid share one message. Clear answers show whether they will run both as one plan.

• Ask how they decide what to promote.
• Make sure you own the ad account and content.
• Separate management fees from ad spend.
• Ask for one report covering both.

What should you ask about strategy?

Ask how the agency decides between organic and paid for your goals.

• How will you decide what goes organic and what gets paid?
• How do you test content before promoting it?
• How will organic and paid share one message?
• What would make you recommend less ad spend?

• Organic social media vs paid advertising: which to choose?
• How organic and paid social work together

What should you ask about ownership?

You should own your ad account, pages, pixel and content. Ask the agency to work as a partner in your Business Manager rather than running ads from theirs. If they process customer data for you, the ICO's guidance on controller and processor contracts applies.

• Social media agency contract terms to check

What should you ask about fees?

Ask how fees are structured and how ad spend is billed. Meta's budget settings should be in your account so you control the cap. Typical UK flat fees for paid management run £300 to £1,000 a month, with organic retainers separate.

• Flat fee, percentage of spend or both?
• Is ad spend billed to my card or theirs?
• What is included and what is extra?
• What is the notice period?

• Paid social management fees in the UK explained
• Social media agency pricing in the UK

What should you ask about reporting?

Ask for one monthly report covering both, with enquiries by source at the top, organic and paid KPIs separately and clear decisions. Ask how they track enquiries that do not come through the website.

• An organic vs paid social report template for owners

What should you ask about compliance?

Ask how they check claims, label partnerships and handle sector rules. The ASA expects ads and paid partnerships to be identifiable; agencies should know the CAP Code for your sector.

• When does an organic post become an ad? UK rules

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a business hired separate agencies for organic and paid without asking how they would work together. Ads used different messages and nobody owned the results. Asking these questions at the next review led to one plan, one report and ads built from the best organic content.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Agency questions checklist

• Ask how they choose what to promote.
• Confirm you own accounts and content.
• Separate fees from ad spend.
• Agree one combined report.
• Check how they handle compliance.
• Agree notice period and handover.

• Organic and paid social terms explained in plain English
• When does an organic post become an ad? UK rules

Next step

Send these questions to any agency you are considering before your first meeting, and compare the written answers side by side.