Digital marketing is a vital tool for any business, helping them to get their message in front of the people who matter and achieve wider business goals.
Digital marketing encompasses lots of different techniques including SEO, PPC, social media and digital PR – just to name a few – so it’s something that takes time and expertise to get right.
If you’re struggling with the capacity or knowledge within your business to implement digital marketing tactics, then fear not – you can employ a digital marketing agency to help with this.
What does a digital marketing agency do?
A digital marketing agency will deliver a tailored digital marketing strategy with objectives and KPIs that provide the results you’re looking for. A good, integrated strategy will pull together all the key digital marketing tactics and make them work together to achieve goals.
To do this, an agency will start by working alongside you and your existing marketing team to understand your objectives, target audiences, challenges, opportunities and key messages.
Once they know the ins and outs of your business, they can then use this knowledge to recommend the best digital marketing tactics for your business and how to implement them.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Digital marketing agencies use SEO to grow organic traffic to your website by applying technical changes and optimisation techniques. In return, this helps to increase your website visibility on search engines, leading to more engaged sessions and increased awareness and sales. The better the search visibility, the more eyes on your website.
To deliver content that performs well in search engine rankings, successful SEO strategies will include:
- Keyword research and analysis
- Content gap analysis
- Content planning and calendars
- Content creation and optimisation
- Content distribution and promotion
- Performance tracking and optimisation
With most businesses depending on having a website that generates leads and sales, SEO will ultimately help you get spotted by people searching the web.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Digital marketing agencies also offer PPC as part of their wider strategy, which involves creating targeted ads that you pay for each time a user clicks on them. This can be done through search engines, websites and social media, and is a great way to reach new customers and drive growth.
PPC strategies often include:
Agencies can select target keywords, demographics or placements in which they wish to ‘bid’ to show their ads to relevant users. These ads can directly drive traffic to websites, producing leads or purchases.
Social media
Social media is one of the most influential digital marketing tactics available and all businesses should capitalise on this, whether through organic or paid activity.
Digital marketing agencies ensure you’re posting engaging and informative content across your social media channels, which in turn can increase your reach, engagement and leads, as well as drive business growth.
Social media strategies should include:
- Eye-catching content in a variety of formats
- Audience research
- Community management
- Optimisation
Like any digital marketing tactic, social media shouldn’t be used just for the sake of it, so agencies will also help to identify which platforms are the most relevant for your business and focus efforts on these, to ensure you’re getting the best results.
Digital PR
Although PR is often seen as a more traditional marketing tactic, there is certainly a place for digital PR in your business’ digital marketing strategy.
Digital marketing agencies use digital PR to increase awareness of your business, manage your reputation and drive sales to support business growth. This can be done by:
- Securing coverage in online publications
- Backlinks through PR coverage (press releases and thought leadership)
- Blog writing
- Podcasts
Digital PR is a great tool to use alongside SEO, PPC and social marketing, helping to enhance visibility, build a stronger reputation and drive relevant traffic to your website.
Why hire a digital marketing agency?
Hiring a digital marketing agency can help with two key issues you may be encountering – a lack of capacity or lack of knowledge in your team.
If it’s the former, a digital marketing agency can help to free up your existing marketing team’s time and share the workload. Digital marketing has so many elements to it and it’s not uncommon for agencies to work in collaboration with in-house marketing teams to ensure all bases are being covered.
If it’s the latter, and you don’t have anyone in your existing team that knows how to really do digital marketing well, hiring an agency will allow you to make use of expert, professional knowledge. This is often more cost effective than hiring someone on a full-time salary too.
Looking for a digital marketing agency? Get in touch today to find out more about how we can help you.
