In today’s world, the lines between marketing, advertising, and sales are blurred. Gone are the days when marketing was limited to advertising your products in print media. Nowadays, marketing runs the whole digital spectrum, from online marketing to social media.
The key difference between traditional marketing and digital marketing is that the latter focuses more on promoting products and services online. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 84% of consumers look at online reviews before purchasing a product or service. Meanwhile, 70% of consumers have gone directly to websites to find information about a product or service.
So if you’re wondering what is an online marketing company, put aside any preconceived notions. An online marketing company is essentially any business that helps other businesses get more online customers.
Here are some of the key things to know about online marketing companies:
They Can Be Founded On Any Niche
If you’re looking to start an online marketing company, you can choose any niche you want. You don’t need to be limited to one industry. Think about what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing, and use those as guidelines for your business.
An example is Venngage, an online marketing company that helps businesses grow their Instagram following. Venngage founder Stephen Teal noted that his company started out of his frustration with Instagram’s lackluster tools for marketers. Being able to provide a free tool that can help any business grow their Instagram presence is something he takes great pride in.
Another example is LeadGeneration.com, an SEO agency that focuses on generating quality leads for their clients. According to the company, their team of specialists can take care of all the inbound marketing for your business, including:
- Lead Generation for clients
- Content Strategy
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
- Pay Per Click
- Content Creation
- Video Production
- Web Analytics
- Email Marketing
- And More
As you can see, they cover a lot of ground. But regardless of which niche you choose, you can be sure that there’s still a need for an online marketing company.
They Typically Specialize In One Area
Whether you’ve decided to start an online marketing company or want to invest in one, there’s no question that specialization is the key to success. If your business hands off any part of the digital marketing process to another company, you’re putting your business at risk. You can’t be everything to everyone.
If you want to be the go-to source for all your digital marketing needs, specializing in one area is the key to ensuring that all your clients are satisfied. This is especially important for large enterprises that want to save money and want each team member to only focus on one area. By hiring a specialist, you’re also ensuring that you get the best possible service.
Take Venngage, for example. As an online marketing company that specializes in lead generation for businesses, they can only generate leads for businesses that are interested in online marketing. However, this narrow focus enables them to become a one-stop-shop for all their clients. They can’t generate leads for those interested in pharmaceuticals, for example, because they don’t cover that area.
If you decide to start an online marketing company, make sure that you pick an area that you’re passionate about. If you don’t love what you’re doing, it will be hard to motivate yourself to perform at your best. This is why it’s important to specialize in one area and to ensure that you have the best possible team around you.
They Typically Have A Team Of Specialists
If you decide to start an online marketing company, make sure that you have the best team of specialists around you. This is especially important if you’re looking to specialize in one area. You don’t want to waste your time and energy trying to figure out how to do something that you’re not naturally good at. Instead, take advantage of the fact that you have a team of specialists and allow them to get the job done. Of course, if you’re looking for experts in a specific area, be sure to ask them about their experience before hiring them.
For instance, if you decide to start an SEO agency, be sure to hire someone with experience in SEO. However, if you decide to start an inbound marketing agency, be sure to hire someone with experience in digital marketing.
An SEO agency that isn’t experienced in inbound marketing can still provide value to your business. They can get you to the top of search engines and engage with customers, but they can’t help you develop a strategy for attracting, engaging, and delighting people who visit your website.
By having a team of specialists, you’re able to tap into their individual expertise and take advantage of their areas of strength. This saves you time and energy, as well as allows you to focus on what you do best.
They Typically Have Deep Knowledge Of One Area
If you decide to specialize in one area, make sure that you have deep knowledge of that area. If you don’t have extensive knowledge of the subject, it will be hard to provide effective service to your clients. If you want to become the go-to source for all your clients, you need to ensure that you have all the necessary knowledge to be able to help them.
Take LeadGeneration.com, for example. They specialize in SEO for businesses, so they have extensive knowledge of SEO techniques and strategies. However, having knowledge alone isn’t enough. It’s also important to ensure that you have the ability to apply that knowledge to specific situations. If you’re not good at generating leads for businesses, but would like to specialize in lead generation for social media accounts, make sure to ask the experts about that particular area.
If you want to start an online marketing company, there are plenty of opportunities in every area. Whether you decide to become the go-to source for all your clients’ internet marketing needs or want to focus on one area and become the best at it, there’s still a need for an online marketing company.