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Part of Social media agency services: scope, team, data and exit
Social media agencies shortlist: nine to compare, with a scoring worksheet
Nine named social media agencies to shortlist, what each publishes about its services and base, a weighted scoring table to apply to your own brief, and the US and Canadian compliance checks to run before you sign.
What to take away
- A shortlist of nine named social media agencies, grouped by type of agency, not scored.
- Sculpt describes itself as B2B only, Sociallyin lists a broad service menu, and Viral Nation says it began in influencer talent management.
- No agency paid for placement, and no pricing, reference or capacity claim was verified.
- The weighted table below is yours to fill in; this article does not score the nine for you.
- Score the same brief, team, references and exit terms across every finalist before you sign.
- FTC endorsement disclosure and state privacy law sit with your lawyer, not the agency. For Canadian work, so do CASL consent, PIPEDA handling and Quebec's Bill 96.
Why this shortlist exists
Most "best agency" lists rank unlike providers and hide who paid. This one names nine agencies and describes what each publishes on its own site and in directory profiles. It does not claim hands-on testing: no client was called and no pricing, reference or capacity claim was verified.
The nine were chosen to show different models: B2B specialists, consumer and creator-led shops, paid-social performance teams, and US, Canadian and international bases. The list is not exhaustive, and larger US agencies belong on your list as finalists if your brief needs them.
The order is a grouping, not a score: B2B and influencer specialists first, then Canadian multi-channel shops, then larger consumer and international names. Position says nothing about quality. The six-factor table further down is a tool for scoring each finalist against your own brief, so the final ranking is yours.
The shortlist
The first three publish a list of services on their own sites. Numbers four and five are Canadian options with a broader digital offer. Numbers six to nine are larger US, UK and international names. Treat any pricing you find in directories as an estimate.
Ranked agencies at a glance
Sculpt
- Base
- Chicago
- Founded
- Not stated
- Focus
- B2B social
- Evidence
- Exclusions stated
- Rank
- 1
Sociallyin
- Base
- US
- Founded
- Not stated
- Focus
- Social ops
- Evidence
- Breadth, thin
- Rank
- 2
Viral Nation
- Base
- Toronto
- Founded
- 2013
- Focus
- Influencer, gaming
- Evidence
- Canadian base
- Rank
- 3
1. Sculpt. Its site calls it a B2B social media marketing agency focused on organic social, LinkedIn marketing, employee advocacy and demand generation, with paid campaigns alongside. Its listed address is Iowa City, Iowa, and it describes its team as remote-first. Ask for the retainer and the scope list.
2. Sociallyin. Its site gives an Atlanta, Georgia address and describes a global agency with an in-house studio, Sociallyin Studios. Listed services include strategy, content production, community management and listening, paid social, influencer marketing, social selling, analytics and Reddit marketing. It says it works with Fortune 500 companies and mid-sized firms above $10 million in annual revenue. Ask whether media spend is billed separately.
3. Viral Nation. Its site says founders Joe Gagliese and Mat Micheli created it in 2014 as an influencer talent agency, and it later grew into a full-service agency. Company profiles such as Crunchbase and LinkedIn place its headquarters in Toronto. Listed services include influencer marketing, paid media, a content studio, community management and TikTok marketing. For influencer work, one campaign record before outreach matters. Ask for creator fees and usage rights.
4. Jelly Digital Marketing and PR. Its listings place it in Fort Langley, British Columbia, and its profile on Yelp says it serves Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and wider Canada. Its site says it offers digital ads, social media, SEO and PR, so it suits a buyer who wants one team for several channels. Ask for the social retainer and its hours separately.
5. Konstruct Digital. Calgary, Alberta, according to its LinkedIn profile. Its site calls it a revenue-focused B2B growth agency and says it works only with B2B companies. Listed services are SEO, paid ads, content marketing (including B2B social media) and web design. Social is one service among several, so ask exactly what the retainer covers.
6. VaynerMedia. Its site calls it an integrated strategy, creative and media agency with social at the center of its work. It lists offices including New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and London, and services from creative and media to influencer and commerce. Ask how the account is billed.
7. Ignite Social Media. Its site lists offices in Cary, North Carolina, and Birmingham, Michigan. It calls itself the original social media agency and says it has nearly 20 years of experience. Listed services include strategy, community management, paid advertising, content, influencer marketing and analytics; see social media agency services for what to compare. Ask for a named team.
8. We Are Social. Trade press reports it was founded in London in 2008. Its site gives a London address, calls it a global socially-led creative agency and lists Canada among the markets in its contact form. It publishes research reports, including Digital 2026. Ask which office holds the contract.
9. The Social Shepherd. Its site describes a global social media agency with offices in London, Bath, New York and Miami. Listed services are social, creative, paid, influencer and TikTok Shop. Ask for the retainer and the creative testing cadence.
What each one actually shows
Each description above restates what the agency publishes about itself or what a named public profile lists. None of it is an assessment of quality, and none of the self-reported claims was independently checked. Directory listings may show minimum budgets, but treat any such figure as an estimate and ask for a written quote.
None of those pages tells you who will run your account. Ask for that in writing.
Score the brief before you score the agency
Weight these before you see a single proposal, or the best presenter wins by default.
What you check
- Published method
- Named services, delivery steps, exclusions, account team
- Platform fit
- Platforms, formats, organic and paid split for your category
- Evidence quality
- Client names, dated results, reference calls offered
- Brief fit
- Written scope, deliverables, timeline, named team
- Terms and exit
- Pricing basis, out of scope items, asset ownership, notice
- Compliance fit
- FTC disclosure and state privacy process; CASL and PIPEDA if you sell in Canada
Weight
- Published method
- 25
- Platform fit
- 20
- Evidence quality
- 20
- Brief fit
- 15
- Terms and exit
- 10
- Compliance fit
- 10
Score the brief first
- Specialty fitnamed work matching channel mix
- Market experienceCanadian audience, bilingual delivery
- Proposed teamdaily lead and named backup
- Evidencecases you can call about
- Commercial modelretainer scope, extras, rights
- Exit readinessaccount, data, asset handover
A technical B2B demand brief and a consumer community brief rarely produce the same winner. Social commerce briefs add tagging, catalogue and returns work that none of the pages above prices.
Make the comparison reproducible
Fill this worksheet once per finalist and compare the columns side by side.
| Check | Question to ask | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Platforms, formats and markets inside the retainer | Written proposal |
| Team | Who runs the account, and for how many hours | Named team list |
| Evidence | Which clients will take a reference call | Reference list |
| Measurement | Metrics, period and baseline | Reporting sample |
| Terms | Notice period, asset ownership, out of scope items | Contract draft |
Working tests during a pitch reveal more about agencies than any deck does, so give each finalist the same small task before they present.
Ask each finalist for a written pricing basis. Compare it with social media management agencies compared: retainer, deliverables, media spend handled separately, and what counts as out of scope. No fee range is quoted here because none of the nine was seen publishing a rate card, directory figures were not verified, and retainers vary widely by scope and market.
Compliance checks before you sign
Name the authority, not the rule. For US campaigns, the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides call for clear disclosure of paid or gifted relationships in influencer and sponsored posts, and the agency should show how it handles that. Read US social media contest rules: FTC disclosure and state filings if the work includes giveaways. State privacy laws, such as California's, apply to how customer data is collected and used. Confirm each with a qualified lawyer.
If you sell in Canada or hire a Canadian agency, consent for marketing messages sits under CASL, personal data under PIPEDA, and French-language advertising requirements in Quebec under Bill 96. Gifts and sponsored content may have CRA consequences. Confirm each with a qualified Canadian lawyer or accountant.
No agency can guarantee follower counts, engagement rates or revenue. The questions in what teams ask about social media analytics and your own analytics are the only honest baselines.
Common questions
Is this a paid ranking?
No. Inclusion is unpaid and the order is a grouping, not a score. No agency was told its position in advance.
Why this list and not a longer one?
Each description comes from the agency's own site or a named public profile, and no claim was independently verified. A short comparison beats a long list of lightly checked names. Add local finalists for your market, then apply the same table.
How does an agency request a correction?
Send the exact statement, its source, the effective date and the correction you want. Editorial and commercial decisions stay separate.
Can an agency promise follower growth?
No. Ask what it measures, over what period, and against which baseline. Then check that against your own analytics.
