4 Top Tips For Picking A Digital Marketing Agency
Know Your Goal
It is easy to decide to use digital marketing. It is much harder to choose the right digital marketing agency for you.
Digital marketing does not have a one-size-fits-all formula. Every business is different and so are their digital marketing needs. While digital marketing agencies are experts in the field of digital marketing, you are an expert in your own business. Harnessing both of your expertise, you can achieve an optimal digital marketing campaign for your businesses.
Consider where your business is going and what you aim to achieve with digital marketing. Make sure you understand your needs. Which areas need the most attention? Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), social media, graphic design, website development, advertising or something else?
Understanding your goal does not only mean understanding what you hope to achieve. It also includes an idea of how much you can spend on achieving your goal. So, have a clear idea of what you are hoping to achieve with a certain budget. Then, when you approach digital marketing agencies, it will be easier to determine whether they can assist you.
Do Lots of Research
Setting up a website and promising a service is incredibly easy. Because of this, there are few barriers to entry into the world of digital marketing. Anyone with a laptop and a basic understanding of how to create a website can offer digital marketing services online. Therefore, it is incredibly important to do your research on reputable digital marketing agencies.
Luckily, digital marketing agencies, like almost all modern-day businesses, market themselves digitally. This provides an easy way to start your research. Look at how well they have marketed themselves. What is their website like? Are they one of the first results the search engine shows?
But, your research must not end here. Make sure you look into how well they have provided a service to other customers. You should ask for samples of work they have completed previously and what results they achieve.
It is also easy to see how satisfied other customers have been with their service. Look on Google and social media platforms for reviews.
Plan For a Long-term Relationship
Digital marketing is not a once-off service. It is a continuous process and involves employing many different ways to promote your business. These include ad campaigns, social media sites, website design and more. These will work together over time to give you the results you want.
So, be aware that it can take some time before you start seeing a significant change. To achieve the results you want, you will likely have to work with one agency for a while. Therefore, when choosing an agency, make sure you choose one you can see yourself working with long-term.
Check Their Range of Services
Digital marketing involves the use of many different services and many digital marketing agencies will offer one or two different types of services. However, good digital marketing agencies will offer many to help you cover all aspects of your digital presence.
If you approach an agency that only offers one type of digital marketing service, then you may have to hire other agencies to cover the rest. You might embark on your digital marketing campaign thinking you will only use one or two types of digital marketing. However, this will likely change throughout your campaign, given the nature of digital marketing.
So, it’s best to choose an agency that offers a host of digital marketing services. The more the better - as long as they are not compromising on the quality of these services.
6 Characteristics Of A Great Digital Marketing Agency
Now that you know how you should go about looking for a digital marketing agency, what should you take note of when looking at specific vendors?
1) Large Portfolio or Client List
Good digital marketing agencies will have worked with many companies before you. They will provide examples of successes they have had for other clients.
If they are not providing examples of past work and lists of previous clients, this looks bad for the agency. It could mean that they do not have any previous clients, or that they did not provide a good service for previous clients.
Bear in mind, however, that it can be difficult to showcase examples of certain digital marketing services. For instance, it is not easy to display SEO services and content marketing. So, if they do not show examples of such work, it shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.
But, if they do not showcase examples of services that are easier to showcase, such as web development or graphic design, then it is best to opt for another vendor whose previous work you can see and evaluate yourself.
2) Experienced Team
Make sure that the agency has employees that are experienced in the digital marketing services you are seeking. For example, make sure that they have a graphic designer on their team if you are needing a new logo.
Many agency websites will show you who their employees are and will tell you a bit about each employee on their “About” page. This is a great way to see all the different job titles and roles of their team members.
You can also ask the agency any questions regarding their team’s experience when you ask them the 5 questions we recommend in this blog post.
3) Good Reputation
The internet makes looking into a company’s reputation easier than ever. Look on Google and social media platforms to see what people have said about the company. You can also search for testimonials and reviews people have left online.
Good digital marketing agencies, who understand the business, understand the importance of a good reputation. Therefore, most good digital marketing agencies will display good reviews or testimonials on their websites. Alternatively, they may have a feature on their website allowing you to leave a review.
4) Well Designed Website
Almost all good businesses, regardless of their industry, understand the importance of a great-looking website. You rarely find a successful business with a poorly designed site.
This is especially the case with digital marketing. You cannot expect an agency to provide you with good digital marketing if they do not provide themselves with good digital marketing. An easy indication of how well they are digitally marketing themselves is how well their website functions and how professional it looks.
What is their website like? Is it one of the first results the search engine provides when you search for digital marketing agencies? This shows that they have a good understanding of search engine optimisation. Is the website easy to use? Does it load fast? Does it provide useful and valuable information about digital marketing in blog posts?
These all point to an agency that values good design and understands how to deliver a quality user experience (UX).
5) Easy to Contact
You should not struggle to contact the agency or be unsure of what your first step should be. The best agencies will make it incredibly easy to contact them. Their contact information will be easily accessible on their website, regardless of what page of their website you are on.
It should also be obvious to you what your first step would be if you wanted to use their services. Some agencies might want you to fill out a form. Others might want you to schedule a consultation. There are many ways you can reach out to an agency if you want to use their services. Whatever method the agency uses, you should not have to struggle to find out what your first step should be as this indicates a lack of understanding of UX.
6) Realistic Promises
It can take a while for the results of a digital marketing campaign to start showing. Therefore, trust is essential between you and your digital marketing agency. You have to hand things over to them and trust that they are acting in your best interests.
The best digital marketing agencies will understand the industry and won’t promise what they cannot deliver. Realistic promises are a sign that you can trust your agency. Agencies that make outlandish promises likely don’t understand the industry. As such, they will not be able to provide the quality service that your business needs.
Final Thoughts
Digital marketing is incredibly complex and can be very rewarding. Many businesses may understand the basics. However, digital marketing is a continuous process with many different aspects that require time and effort. This is why it’s best to hire an experienced digital marketing agency to help take the load off your shoulders.
By asking the right questions and following the tips above, you’ll be well-equipped to choose the right agency for your business.