“Digital marketing agency” and “digital marketing strategy” are some of the most popular search queries related to the field according to Google – but what even is an agency? Why should you part with your hard earned money for some social media posts, I hear you say?! Not to worry, I’m here to answer your questions. 

A marketing agency can act as a one-stop shop for your digital marketing needs. Whether you lack the time or the expertise to be able to carry out effective marketing efforts for your own business, they will have you covered. However, a quick search will bring up thousands of them. So how will you know who to choose, or if it’s even right for your business? Stick around and I’ll take you through the top 5 reasons you should employ a digital marketing agency. 

1. Expertise

The biggest selling point by far when it comes to hiring a professional – they know what they are doing. A digital marketing agency, like mmunic, have years of experience when it comes to executing successful digital marketing campaigns or building successful websites for clients. They have seen it all before – or if they haven’t, they’re in the right position to help you navigate through brave new territory. Good agencies will stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new tools, trends in media and updates relevant to your business so you don’t have to. There are plenty of knowledgeable freelance digital marketers out there as well – the benefit of usingan agency in comparison is the old saying “2 heads are better than 1”. Having access to a team full of experts means access to more diverse ideas and solutions.

This also means that your back is covered for more practical considerations – such as having a thought-out plan behind your efforts designed to get you the best results, and the tricky legal aspects of digital marketing. It’s the same as visiting the doctor for your illnesses instead of using WebMD – the professionals have the know-how!.

2. Time

One of the biggest reasons you might consider hiring a digital marketing professional, where previously you were able to manage your own marketing efforts, is time. As your business grows, you will naturally have less time to create meaningful content on your social media, reply to potential customers’ comments, or write impactful email newsletters. 

But bolstering your digital marketing efforts as your business grows will help you to take it from strength to strengths: improving brand awareness with social media and converting traffic with a killer website. Email marketing alone returns around £35 for every £1 spent on it – telling us that the money you spend should have a good return so consider it an investment. Bringing in a digital marketing agency to help with your marketing also frees up your time, so that you can focus more on the daily running or growth of your business.

3. Resources

Agencies deal with multiple clients, which means they need access to professional tools you might not have – photo and video editing software, and social media management systems that will ultimately produce more polished and professional products. When your potential customers are searching for your services online, image is everything and can make or break their decision to purchase. This alone is reason enough to hand your internet marketing over to experts.

Resources aren’t just material though. Having somebody you can consult who understands your business and marketing goals is valuable in itself. All those little technical issues that can turn out to be big headaches – “why doesn’t my email newsletter show up correctly?!”, for example  – are much more easily solved when there is an actual, knowledgeable person for you to call. We are usually a friendly bunch! 

It would be extremely costly for a small or medium sized business to employ a digital marketing professional on a permanent full or part time basis to deal with these issues personally – employing an agency can actually be the more cost effective solution. Digital marketing agencies can often be employed on a “flexi-contract”, meaning you don’t have to pay them a fixed monthly retainer fee. 

4. Results 

Results come firstly when you see your digital or social media marketing strategy being delivered. Creative emails, consistent content creation, or a new higher spot on the search results page. I’ve touched a little bit on the actual results an agency can deliver for you, and this comes from them understanding the data. 

When you post on your social media, for example, a load of statistics (or “social media analytics”) are churned out by the platform: engagement, reach, likes, views, comments.  The same can be said for every page on your website or your email marketing campaigns. Your digital marketing agency knows how to make sense of these and what they actually mean for your business. They can interpret these numbers to know what is going well and what needs to change – something that is time consuming and difficult to do yourself without real effort or expertise. If problems do arise (and of course, they do – even if you’re with a digital marketing agency) you will have someone available who is both reliable and accountable for such problems, and can think objectively about what is best for your business. 

5. Do It Yourself Disasters

There is always the serious stuff to consider when it comes to your business – making sure your marketing activities adhere to expected legal guidelines should always be a priority. However, these can be difficult for you to be sure of if you aren’t well versed. Luckily, a digital marketing agency will be clued up on all of it for you and can take the task off your hands. 

If you are less well informed with digital marketing, sometimes your DIY efforts can hinder rather than help you: think, trying to respond in a timely manner to the reviews you receive daily on TripAdvisor, or making a joke that turns out to be less than appropriate. You might be saving some money by managing your digital marketing yourself, but costing yourself in the long run when you make a blunder.

How to choose a digital marketing agency

If you are looking to grow or expand your business to the next level, your competitors likely already employ digital marketing services! This means that they are already benefiting from the advantages discussed – professional and well thought out digital marketing efforts. To be able to compete in the same ball-park, but might consider doing the same.

So you’ve decided that using a digital marketing agency is worth the investment for you – but what now? It helps if you have a rough idea of what kind of help you might need. The experts can dive deeper into this for you, but different agencies have different expertise. For example, not every agency can build you a website, but they might be able to help you with your paid advertising instead. 

Now you have that in mind, a quick search for your agency of choice – “web design agency near me”, for example – should give you a list of to sift through. Think about what will make the digital marketing agency the best fit for you. I would recommend going with an agency that is local to you – this not only supports your local businesses, but offers the chance for in-person interaction if you need it. 

Many agencies will offer free consultations, so I’d suggest your next step is to get in touch with one that feels right for you and is happy to discuss your needs on a no-obligation basis. Remember, you’re looking to build a  partnership between yourself and the agency that you choose to work with. It’s important you feel able to entrust your business to them!
Get in touch with us today at mmunic to discuss your next digital marketing moves.