Why should you hire an agency for your digital marketing, if you can simply do it yourself or give it to someone in-house at no extra cost? It might seem like you’re saving money by doing it this way, but using an agency for digital marketing will actually save you money and time in the long run, and could be one of the best investments for your business. OK, you might think that we are a little biased over here, but we truly believe that the right digital agency can make a positive improvement when it comes to measuring the return on investment in digital. Here are 11 reasons why you should use an Agency for your Online Marketing…
1. More Time to Focus & Faster Turnaround Times
You’ve probably heard the saying “time is money” but it’s so much more than that – time is the greatest asset there is. And as a business owner or manager, you most likely just don’t have the time to do it on your own. A digital agency can spend time focusing on creating and implementing your digital strategy, and deliver better results than if you were to do it on your own. There is also a much quicker turnaround turn with agencies as they have a team with the necessary experience and tools to deliver successful campaigns.
2. Agencies Have Teams of Experts
An effective digital marketing campaign needs in-depth knowledge and expertise on a wide range of topics – from Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and content marketing to social media, website design and paid media. One of the best reasons to use an agency is that you get an entire team of experienced experts who specialise in these fields, rather than relying on a single person in or outside of your company, or trying to figure it out all by yourself.
For most businesses, building an in-house team to manage your company’s entire digital marketing is very difficult especially trying to find the right kind of individuals that have experience, are reliable, and have an excellent work ethic; whilst keeping in mind the expense. It also doesn’t make financial sense to hire someone full time if you don’t need their skills constantly and consistently.
3. Measurable Results
We get it – at the end of the day, it’s all about ROI. After all, no business wants to make an investment that brings no results. By using a digital agency, you’ll have clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which shed light on the effectiveness of your campaigns and how they are performing. Agencies will let you know exactly how many people clicked on your ad, how many times your keywords were searched, how many times users visited your site and even more detailed information to target your ideal audience. At SOMS, we create custom reports that focus on the most important KPIs for each unique client, with data that is pulled directly from the source, unedited, giving you peace of mind that nothing is being manipulated because we’re big on transparency. We also give our clients full access to the raw account data, so you can always double check the data.
4. New Ideas & Perspective
When you’re so immersed in your business day in and day out, your perspective becomes one-sided, and it can become easy to lose sight of the big picture. It also becomes challenging to come up with fresh new ideas – especially when you are constantly exposed to the products or services that your business offers. What you really need is fresh eyes from an “outsider” who will help provide valuable insights into your customer’s habits and their perspective. And because agencies work with such a wide variety of industries and tools, they gain new perspectives all the time and learn about new marketing techniques that they can apply to your business.
5. Manage Your Budgets More Effectively
Tracking marketing spend across different platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram can be time-consuming and confusing at the best of times. You can benefit from a digital agency’s tools and experience to effectively manage your digital marketing budget. As the client, you simply set the budget and expectation, and the agency will handle everything else. One of the main advantages of working with SOMS relates back to transparency, where we show you the exact cost and spend that goes into your campaigns. No inflated cost per click, commission on spend or mark-up added to your budgets!
6. Scalability
Scalability is a huge benefit of outsourcing and using a digital agency. As your business grows or if you want to launch a big project, you’ll most likely need to increase the size of your in-house team to manage the load. This isn’t the case if you use a good digital company, as they can respond to the changing needs of your business by simply adjusting the package that best suits your needs at that point in time. And as we mentioned earlier, an agency can apply the expertise and insights to help you through the growth stage of your business.
7. More Cost Effective
Did you know that according to research, businesses who hire a digital marketing company have a lower cost per sale compared to a business who does their own marketing by hiring a full-time in-house employee? This is because agencies work as independent contractors, which eliminates the need for payroll taxes, benefits, healthcare, salaries, pensions etc.
8. Access to Unique Tools & Resources
Some of the tools you need to run a campaign can sometimes come with a big one-time payment or subscription. A good digital agency will already have the essential marketing tools, which means you won’t need to fork out extra. They’ll have the insider know-how on managing these tools, which often require in-depth knowledge and training.
9. Reliability & Security
While every agency has a different way of working, something that you’re guaranteed is the reliability with getting the job done. Most often than not, you’ll get assigned a dedicated team to work on your brand. However, should your dedicated social media manager from your agency go off to Greece on a two-week holiday, you can rest assured the agency will have another social media expert ready to fill those shoes during his/her absence. This security of having access to more than one specialist in an agency means you’ll never be scrambling to find a freelancer at the last minute or putting the extra workload onto one of your other staff members.
10. Stay Current
The digital world is an ever changing landscape, and staying current takes up a lot of resources. Digital marketing agencies need to constantly stay up to speed and follow the latest tools, technologies, trends and developments in the industry, which means you don’t have to go through the learning curves.
11. You Can Focus on Your Business
Leaving your digital marketing in the hands of an agency means it’s one less thing for you or your team to worry about. It frees up your time and reduces energy and costs, so you can spend more time growing your business, and doing what you do best.
Final Words
To sum up, outsourcing digital marketing makes great business sense on many levels, but most notably because of the flexibility, reliability, and affordability it presents. If you’re serious about growing your business, it is definitely worth exploring.
Do keep in mind that not all agencies are the same, and unfortunately, not all of them will offer what they claim. Be sure to do your research on their experience, and ask plenty of questions to determine if they are a good match for your business’s needs.
Questions? We’ve Got Answers!
SOMS is a leading Digital Marketing Agency in South Africa, and we provide all digital marketing services such as SEO services, paid search, website design & development, and social media marketing. Our tailored approach to each client means we welcome businesses of all industries and sizes – from small businesses and start-ups, to large scale corporate companies. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business, give our team a shout.
