Digital marketing, a catalyst in the marketing world. A game-changing strategy giving chances to every small business give their shot in a low or limited budget only but with a significant impact.
Digital marketing started in 1994 when Google was born and became rampant by 2004 when Facebook and LinkedIn were finally introduced. And with the rise of the online world, a lot of people or those with the ability to put up a digital marketing agency never let the opportunity passes.
In fact, there are around a hundred thousand digital marketing agencies in the world in the U.S. alone in 2016, according to Quora, while there are about 543,000 new businesses open every month, according to Yahoo.
Why hire a digital marketing agency?
- Increases productivity. By letting your digital marketing agency play their role, you can focus on other matters related to your business. You can put the intended time to different business needs. Maybe on planning, financials, etc. You don’t need to stress out yourself and put extra effort and time on your digital marketing needs. Let the experts work for you.
- Save money. You don’t need to hire new man heads to work on each of your digital marketing aspects and work physically to you. You can choose what specific service to focus, discuss with your digital marketing agency; then you can work for business success even if its remotely.
- Expertise and Advanced Technology. Most digital marketing agency comes with all knowledge and certifications. They take time to study and become pro on the services they offered. Digital marketing agency invests on tools like Page Optimizer and Buzzsumo for SEO-based content to ensure that they are up to date on the technology to easily reach the goal.
So if you are a small business owner who would like to hire a digital marketing agency, how are you going to gauge each and finally know that it is the real one that can truly help your small business? How are you going to see if they are capable of reaching your targets?
And what will be your role as a client? Check out below tips that you can consider in choosing the right digital marketing agency for your small business.
The Prerequisites!
Before you finally choose your digital marketing agency, there are two prerequisites that you need to comply with.
First, Understand your needs. Just like in our daily life, It is tough to search whatever we need if we, ourselves don’t know what it is, so the first thing and the most important you need to do is to of course understand what specific goal your small business needs.
List down the elements that your small business need. Whether you are a start-up or already in the industry, below are the elements that should always be in place or you can choose from:
- Branding. This is the soul of your business. Branding is the face that will leave marks on the mind of your prospects. Branding is the key driver of your business.
- Web Development. The website is the backbone of your digital presence. This is your home, your address where you can place all the details that your customer needs to know.
- SEO. If you want to rank every search engine, you need to understand how SEO works. You need SEO for your small business to be noticed and engage with your prospects. SEO will help you become searchable and easily seen in Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
- Content. You need content to convey what your business is, why it matters, and why they shall pull their string off to you. Let your prospects show how your business works through your viable and engaging content.
- Social Media. Since everyone is going into social media, your presence shall also be on the platforms where your audience is. Let your business provides content and engage on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and convert into leads.
Second, define your goal. Know your goal, may it be short or long term. Several examples are:
- Increase sales by 50% within three months
- Increase subscribers by 100% within two months
- Increase the number of clients by 50% within three months
The clearer your goals are, the clearer will be the results too. When you know what your goal is, it is easier for the digital marketing agency to know the specific steps on how to work and provide excellent results.
Ready to choose?
Now that you already know your part as a client, it’s now time to assess your future digital marketing agency. Check out below criteria that you must check:
1. Check trust and credibility.
Every digital marketing agency can claim that they can do their best and are experts. So it’s crucial that your digital marketing agency has proven track records. Consider a broad resume or portfolio of your prospect agency, growing small business brands before.
Check the statistics on how they help reach or outnumbered their client goals within a period of time. Check testimonials on their website, or their social media. If possible, tap their previous clients to hear how’s working or how’s their experience with the team.
2. Strong online presence.
Though this is something usual, you also need to check their online presence. As a digital marketing agency, you need to see how they act and how consistent they are on their digital platforms. Check their social media accounts and the content they are sharing. Check their website. How it looks, how it feels, the content or their blogs and the website structure as well. Check the frequency and consistency of their content postings.
How frequent they post on social media. How often they post a blog? This way is validating whether they are walking the talk. Seeing their consistency on their platforms is a positive signal showing that they are significant and serious in carrying their own business.
3. Expertise in the digital domain.
Every digital marketing agency must know the latest trends, tools, and other information related to their business. You can ask what tools they are currently using and what they can offer to you. A digital marketing agency shall keep on learning and improving their skills or know-how to serve clients at their maximum capabilities.
4. Check your compatibility.
As a client, you shall also check how you are going to suit each other for the success of the goal. Check specific clients they have catered before. Is it the same industry with your business or not? Choosing digital marketing agency catering the same as yours will be much easier and provides a sense of security. In this case, it will be much easier to convince them that they can surely win it. Digital marketing agency serving the same niche as yours also has higher chances of exceeding expected results.
5. Those with a holistic approach.
A digital marketing agency must know how to think as a whole, from start to end. They shall see the project from all perspectives. You can ask what proposal they can offer on the overall project. What are the key steps that they’ll be doing? What will be the services and who will be the accountable person.
And of course what are the possible obstacles along the way, and how will they manage it in case they fail or face difficulties? Because in reality, there is no perfect situation or even projects. So in the first place or at the beginning of the project, it’s always better to know that your digital marketing agency is thinking ahead or accepting possibilities.
6. How transparent will your projects be?
It’s always better to have a clean and open relationship. So you must check how transparent the projects will be. What is the frequency of your meetings, how many hours will the projects run every week or in a month? What will be the means of communication? Make sure that every aspect is clear enough so nothing will hinder the project.
Transparency is one of the essential aspects that shall be maintained. Remember that when you hire a digital marketing agency, you are building a relationship with them to create more humane and effective results. Also, being transparent helps in resolving issues ahead of time.
7. Compare the pricing
Of course, all the successes requires hard work and a fee. Know how much are you willing to pay or invest in your digital marketing agency. Know the percentage that will be allocated on your overall business budget.
On the digital marketing agency part, you can always check the average cost for these services so that you have at least an idea and you’ll know when the price is correct and not overpriced. You need to scrutinize if the price is a better bid and just fine for the results being offered. Remember, every cheap or a high price is not always the best, and vice versa.
Of course, knowing the guides or criteria alone is never enough; you need to create a simple comparison so that you will not be lost and see the overall assessment. Below is a simple template that you can use on the comparison itself.
List down all the details regarding your research or acquired proposals, then rank based on your priorities. In this case, your comparison will be logical enough and will create a more realistic approach.
YOU ARE PARTNERS
Remember that your digital marketing agency will not only be someone that you will pay and let them do the work. Always put in your mind that they will be your partner. Partners who are always ready to comply in all circumstances and all that has been agreed upon. A partner who has the full ability and integrity to help and let your business works and reach all the targets, whether it’s a good or a bad day.
So when it comes to your digital marketing needs, choose someone who is reliable enough and can have a long-lasting relationship.
We, at Red Five Digital, are always willing to serve and can be your one-stop-shop for your digital marketing needs. And if you are a small business targeting customers in your local area, our Google 3-pack guide can help you gain more visibility!
We hope that the tips here help you in choosing the right digital marketing agency for your small business. Remember, choosing is the initial yet the most important step.
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