If you google something like “best digital marketing tips for small businesses,” you will see that there are thousands of articles telling you that doing digital marketing is simple. They will all try to convince you that you can learn how to implement it fast and drive instant results.
Unfortunately, that is not true.
Digital marketing is complicated and, to do it on your own, you need to take it seriously.
Today, running your business online is not about SEO or social media or blogging or email marketing. It is about the holistic approach to merging all these practices to get better results. Moreover, if you do not know what tools to invest in, what marketing techniques to use, and what KPIs to track, you are most likely to fail.
In this case, you should consider leaving your digital marketing strategy to the pros.
You can focus on Other Aspects of your Business
When you start reading the guides I have mentioned above, you will see that most of them are beating around the bush. They tell you to build your social media presence, have an excellent website, optimize for search engines, and write quality content.
Yeah, each of these practices is immensely important, but do you know how much time he or she requires you to invest?
To be a good marketer, you need to make your moves strategically. No matter if it is about blogging or email marketing, you need to keep track of the latest industry trends and stay relevant to your target audience. You should also know how to separate the wheat from the chaff and stick to these practices that work for your business. Most importantly, you need to measure your online performance for each of your campaigns continually.
These practices would eat up a lot of your time and prevent you from focusing on some other aspects of your business. This is where hiring an agency comes to shine. Since all these activities are handled internally, by the agency’s team of experts, you will be able to spend more time on other activities vital for growing your business.
Hiring an In-House Team is Expensive
If you have just launched your company, you probably believe that you can do your online promotion on your own. However, once the tasks start piling up, you will realize that you need to hire a team of marketers. Now, this could be a great option, but you probably cannot afford it.
Building an in-house digital marketing team means hiring content developers, PPC specialists, social media experts, link builders, web developers, graphic designers, etc. Most importantly, it means providing them with proper training, which may cost you a pretty penny.
Working with an agency might be a weight off your shoulders. Quality digital marketing companies hire top talent and are fully armed to handle the needs of your business. Those are people who have already worked on similar projects, and that can bring some bold and fresh ideas to the table. Of course, such agencies charge more for their services, but it is still nothing compared to hiring an in-house team.
After all, you do not have to hire the first agency you bump into. You can use review platforms like 2Easy to get a list of relevant agencies, narrow your search using different filters, compare their prices and services, and see their rating score and client reviews.
Consider the Cost of Digital Marketing Tools
In online marketing, everything you do can be made simpler. You can use different tools to monitor your brand mentions, schedule your social media posts, analyze your competitors, do keyword research, or find trending topics for your content. Most importantly, numerous platforms will allow you to monitor your online performance in real-time and track all KPIs relevant to you.
However, this all seems more straightforward than it is. First, you need to know how to choose the tools that make sense for you. Second, you have to use a bunch of tools simultaneously and, if you do not know how to do that, you will not know where to start. Finally, the price of these tools can be pretty hefty. Even though most of these tools have freemium plans, to get the most of them, you will have to invest in their premium versions.
On the other hand, digital marketing agencies already have the tools that help them achieve the maximum functionality. For you, this means not only saving time and money but also getting the results you could not make on your own.
They Give Measurable Results
In digital marketing, everything you do can be measured. However, you need to know what metrics to stick to. Moreover, this is where pros can help you. They will help you tell vanity metrics from those that are valuable to your business. Most importantly, they will help you determine the ROI of your campaigns.
Almost all digital marketing agencies also send monthly or quarterly client reports. They will measure your online performance for you and give you invaluable insights into how effective their strategies are. This way, you will be able to see if hiring them pays off or not. Remember, transparency is the key to successful collaboration.
Back to You
Digital marketing is a master of disguise. It may seem simple, but to do it correctly, you need to have a solid plan, know where to allocate your resources, hire the right people, and invest in a proper set of tools. This means continuously perfecting your digital marketing skills, keeping pace with the latest trends, and spending a lot of time and effort.
By outsourcing your online marketing campaigns, you can save both your time and money and get started with your projects immediately. You need to find the agency that meets your needs and assess their results regularly.
Author Bio
Claudia Paisley Propp graduated journalist, digital marketing lover, based in Sydney. Copywriting, Online Marketing… Let's say – Communication in all shapes and sizes is her passion and what she does best. She is that lucky girl who gets to live her dream. Here to share her knowledge and write about latest trends in (social) media that can help small businesses grow big. Writes for Bizzmark blog.