If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a) a business owner looking to expand your reach online, or b) an online marketer who currently works for someone else and is looking to move into business ownership one day.
If you’re wondering if it’s time to hire an online marketing agency, then the answeris a resounding yes!
With the world shifting toward an online focus and more companies shifting toward online marketing in 2019, digital marketing agencies are in high demand and in high demand price-wise. So if you’re looking to grow your business, it’s important to consider what type of agency you should partner with.
The Biggest Difference In-House Vs. Agency Marketing
In-house marketing is when you employ somebody from within your company to handle marketing-related functions, such as advertising, content creation, email marketing, etc. In-house marketing is often seen as a cheaper option than agency marketing because you’re already paying salaries, you don’t have to pay for outside services, and you can control the entire process from top to bottom. A few positives of in-house marketing are that you might already have a marketing team in-house, which means you can leverage existing knowledge and network of people, and you can train new employees as they arise.
Agency marketing is when you hire a separate company — often referred to as an agency — to help you market your business. An agency will have specialized knowledge and experience in marketing, and they will bring that expertise to bear on your behalf.
Agency marketing is generally more expensive than in-house marketing but has several advantages that make it worth the extra investment. First, you’re getting a team of experts who can provide additional value beyond what you can offer.
The Differences In-Demand Vs. In-Location Vs. In-Person Marketing
In-demand marketing is when your target audience is searching for your product or service online, but you’re not necessarily in the location where they are searching. For example, if you’re selling hair extensions, but you’re located in San Francisco, you might want to consider an in-demand marketing strategy. Alternatively, if you’re a luxury goods brand and you want to expand your customer base to Europe, you might want to consider an in-demand marketing strategy since many high-end brands don’t have a presence there yet.
In-location marketing is similar to in-demand marketing in that your target audience is searching for your product or service in the location that you’re located. The biggest difference is that with in-location marketing you’re physically in the same place where your audience is, so you have the opportunity to interact with them one-on-one — something that is not possible with online marketing.
In-person marketing is everything that in-location and in-demand marketing is plus the opportunity to connect with your audience in person. When someone is physically seeing your product or service in action, they get a better understanding of what it is and how it works, and this can lead to a higher conversion rate. For example, if you’re selling kitchen knives, you might want to consider an in-person marketing strategy since everyone in your target audience is going to be in the same place at the same time anyway, so you can have face-to-face interactions. Additionally, if you have a physical location, you can house exhibitions, hosting lectures, or even giving product demos.
Choosing The Right Agency
Just because some agencies are cheaper than others, that doesn’t mean that you should automatically rule out the more expensive ones. There are several important things that you need to consider when choosing a digital marketing agency, not the least of which is experience.
The older the agency the more experience they have, and the more experience they have, the more expensive they’ll be. If you’re looking to save money then you should consider an agency that’s less than two years old because they probably aren’t yet accomplished enough to provide you with good value for your money. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an agency with a lot of experience, you might end up spending a bit more money but you’ll get what you pay for.
Another important consideration is whether you want an agency that specializes in SEO (search engine optimization) or PPC (pay-per-click) marketing. If you’re not familiar, SEO is when you optimize your content, on-site activities, and backlinks (links from other sites) to increase your visibility in organic search results on search engines like Google and Bing. As the name suggests, PPC marketing is when you pay for ads on search engines that target specific keywords or phrases. For example, if you’re selling industrial trucks and you want to target the phrase “industrial trucks” within the context of PPC marketing, you’d go ahead and pay when a person clicks on those words.
If you have a clear idea of what you want and need from an agency, use our step-by-step guide to get started on the right foot.