10 Oct Three Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs a Digital Marketing Agency
It’s time once again to tell you what most other digital marketing agency blogs won’t! As we’ve pointed out in previous blog posts, small business owners who search online for helpful advice that’s relevant to their needs and questions about digital marketing are typically met by two types of blog posts: those published by major marketing platforms and agencies, and those published by mid-sized agencies that mostly parrot the big agencies.
The result: frustration over getting advice geared toward major brands and/or large businesses that have the resources for an in-house marketing department – or, at the very least, one or two employees whose sole job is digital marketing. Is it really helpful to you to read about how some global brand launched a successful social media campaign that generated millions of responses and increased sales for its new product? Most likely, no.
As you’ve perhaps already learned, the awful truth is that businesses with 50 or fewer employees don’t have the bandwidth to do digital marketing effectively in-house. Does your mom-and-pop shop have the budget to hire a web developer, SEO specialist, etc.? We didn’t think so. While we usually save our take-home message and blatant self-promotion pitch for the conclusion of our humble blog posts, we’re putting them up front this week. Digital marketing is not a DIY project. Here are three reasons why you need an agency specializing in this field.
Each Element of Digital Marketing is a Specialty Requiring Pros with Specialized Skills
As we often say, you’re too busy running your business to learn every aspect of digital marketing, which includes the following:
Website development – Where do we begin? A website with up-to-date features and functionality is a complex entity – even more so if you plan to use it for e-commerce. You can’t just learn a little here and a little there and expect to have a site that’s able to deliver good search engine optimization (SEO), have the fast loading speed visitors demand, etc. And don’t fall into the trap of thinking a “free” website is the solution. Our blog post – “Why A Free Website Isn’t Worth It” – covers this pitfall in detail.
SEO – This is an entire art and science unto itself. The era of keyword stuffing is long past, and will, in fact, cause Google to penalize your site. Our blog post – “How Can SEO Help Your Business Grow?” – offers a detailed overview of the function and importance of SEO – and why a specialist is necessary to provide it, as well as to keep up with Google’s frequent core updates, which affect search engine page rankings.
Content marketing – Content Marketing Institute (CMI) defines this field as follows: “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” Our blog post – “Why Your Business Needs Content Marketing” – covers this topic in greater detail so you can determine which types are relevant to your particular marketing goals. Doing so will help you have a better-informed consultation with the digital marketing agencies you’ll be meeting with during the selection process.
Social media – We are also long past the era in which small businesses delegated their social media postings to the intern. Successfully doing social media involves deep knowledge about your business’s target market and how to craft relevant messaging that resonates with its members. It also requires knowing which social media platforms are popular with particular demographic groups. For example, Facebook is popular among people ages 50-plus, while TikTok is favored by members of Generation Z. Then, you need to know what days of the week and times of day to post in order to get optimum engagement.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising – This is a form of paid digital marketing where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. The term PPC can apply to paid ads on Google, as well as social media platforms – such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. There is much to be said, but the basic advantages are that Google Ads put your business high in the search engine results pages (SERPs) – allowing it to leapfrog over organic results – and Facebook ads let you precisely target your market demographic. Conducting such campaigns takes time, effort, involvement and commitment – meaning they need to be in the hands of someone dedicated to the job.
All of Your Digital Marketing Will be Managed Under One Roof
Even if you don’t try to go it alone, hiring freelancers and independent contractors piecemeal won’t provide the same results as having all elements coordinated by a single agency. The web developer, SEO specialist and social media specialist may all report to you, but they’ll be working individually – not as a unified team working for the same objective. When the key people on your account meet to discuss results, analytics and strategy, they ensure that each component performs in unison to achieve your marketing goals.
A good agency will also be proactive, making recommendations for improvements and updates in your website, SEO and campaigns. They take digital marketing off of your plate so you can focus attention on running your business and planning for its future.
You’ll Have a Bigger Presence in Your Target Market
With one agency working every day on your behalf, your business will have maximum reach into its target market. While a small business owner may get sidetracked by disruptions or emergencies, your digital marketing agency stays steadily on your account – and perhaps may even be able to help you navigate through the rough patches. An experienced agency can truly be your partner in success!
Our team at Virtual Stacks Systems welcomes the opportunity to help you create a plan targeted to meet your marketing objectives. Every small business is unique, and so are our solutions! We offer experienced website design and redesign, SEO marketing, social media marketing, PPC advertising, review management services and much more!
Contact us today to get started!