Social Media and Content Briefs Return to Reign

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Major brands are still increasingly on the lookout for independent talent and agencies with Social Media and Content skills, a new report has revealed.

As an agency/client matchmaking platform, we monitor the actual briefs posted by chief marketing officers (CMOs) and brand owners on StudioSpace. This information gives us a unique perspective on what is hot and not that month, which is then distilled into our monthly Marketers Most Wanted report.

15% of briefs submitted to the StudioSpace marketplace this month were looking for assistance with social media and content-related projects, such as influencer marketing and TikTok creation.

This specialism has consistently made top 3 on the report in the last year, and this is expected to continue well into the future, especially as new platforms and updates are unveiled, and younger generations become increasingly involved in the digital landscape.

An increasing number of clients on the platform have been looking to partner with top specialist independent agencies to manage their social media on an ongoing basis as part of a retained relationship.

“Brands are looking to master their online tone, and partnering long-term with an agency can help them achieve this,” notes our CEO, Pete Sayburn.

“Establishing a unique but effective social media presence can be daunting, so it makes sense that brands are looking to outsource this specialist skill.”

Last month’s report saw UX and UI design-related briefs claim first place, whilst this month they drop to second. Despite this, the overall share of briefs in this category has increased from 12.2% in January to 14% in February. Indeed, this category is still performing exceptionally well on the StudioSpace platform, with an average project value of around £50k.

“It is common for brands to look for external help with UX and UI design skills to compliment internal teams. This support ranges from short sharp specialist projects to ongoing support for larger digital transformation programmes,” said Pete.

The final specialism to hold a spot on the top 3 in February is Software Development with 10% of the total briefs, which, having climbed up the Marketer’s Most Wanted table last month, proudly retains its position.

The type of projects falling under this specialism have been particularly varied, ranging from upfront discovery to ongoing maintenance.

Also retaining its January position are briefs looking for Creative and Production skills, although its share of the total has dropped from 12.2% to 9% this month.

A similar case occurred with the SEO and PPC category, which has held onto its fifth place position but has seen a decrease in its share, from 11.3% of briefs in January to 7% in January. It will be interesting to see if these categories continue to fluctuate or balance out as the year goes on.

In a comfortable 6th place position this month is Research and Insight, having risen from 8th place last month.

According to Pete, “Brands often look for specialist agencies to help them understand both B2B and B2C customers, so it’s expected that this category will hold a top 10 spot for the foreseeable future.”

Continued strong performances have also been seen from Brand Strategy (5%), Proposition Design (4%), and PR and Communications (4%) respectively, all of which have held firmly onto their January positions.

February saw a re-entry from Copywriting, which took the 10th spot on the list. This category narrowly missed the top 10 last month, but has stolen the final spot from Digital Marketing. This is seemingly driven less by a fresh demand for copywriting skills, but more by a slight decline in Digital Marketing briefs, which has dropped from 3.5% in January to 3% in February.