You are in the process of setting up a small business that you aim to grow into a sizeable venture. You hire a new digital marketing agency to get you off to a flying start.
So far so good.
But before you rest all your hopes on the agency for a smooth lift off, there are a few things you should know that your digital agency may not tell you.
- Much of the information is already available online
The internet can teach you almost everything- from general guidelines on how to elevate your rankings to the specifics of how to increase your twitter followers and so on so forth. Spend some time getting acquainted with the tricks of the trade. There will be loads of information specific to your business that your digital agency will process for you. But if you already know the terms and some basic rules of the game, your relationship with your digital agency will be more productive and collaborative. Your agency will be motivated to stay on top of its game and you will feel more in control. Who wouldn’t like that?
- Content is king but don’t stop there
Yes, you need content- and loads of it. Smart Insights polled 600 readers and discovered that about 30 percent of them considered content to be their most effective marketing tool this year. Frequently updated relevant content on your site raises your ranking. However this doesn’t diminish the importance of many other things including your site’s loading speed, its SEO links; mobile marketing and of course your overall social media presence.
- Social media is only one piece of the puzzle
Social Media is the norm. Everyone out there uses the term because it has become inseparable from digital marketing. But not all agencies will be very clear on exactly how they plan on raising your ranking through it. Once size doesn’t fit all in the world of social media and your agency should be clear about a strategy it will adopt for your company. Don’t let your digital agency sell social media as a magical remedy that could fix everything in your flawed marketing plan and get you those impossible KPIs because it is just not going to happen.
- SEO and content marketing go hand in hand
Why not make the most of your digital agency’s expertise and let it handle both at the same time? Many clients make the mistake of outsourcing content marketing and SEO implementation to different agencies but better results can be achieved if the same agency manages both. What you write, where you publish it and how the target market finds and perceives the information is all linked and continuously evolving. Successful content marketing depends on how closely you follow the emerging SEO and content marketing trends.
- You need data analysis and ongoing feedback
You won’t be able to truly appreciate the role of your digital marketing agency if you are not receiving any data on its performance. Your agency should be offering you analytics and suggesting next moves based on the results. At no point should you assume everything is fine. Encourage your agency to share with you any difficulty it might be having along the way. A good agency will work as your partner and not risk wavering your trust by hiding information from you.
What are some of the things you wish you knew before signing up with your digital agency?
