In recent years competition in the online world has become fierce.  To stay competitive you must create and maintain a solid online presence. 

What is Digital Marketing?

Marketing has been around for hundreds of years and the principles are still the same, but some marketing activities have moved to the online world of the internet and this part is called Digital marketing.

Digital marketing is a broad term used to describe a spectrum of online marketing functions.  The primary goal of a digital marketing company is:

1. Increase your online presence.
2. Perform market research.
3. Integration of marketing efforts across all platforms.

What Does a Digital Marketing Company Do?

Within the above mentioned goals, falls multiple avenues that will be used to meet a companies ambition.  Not all will be needed or appropriate for all businesses, but they include:

• Website design
• Website Optimisation
• Content Optimisation
• Content Creation
• App Development
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Social Media Marketing
• Mobile Marketing and Integration
• Placement of Online Ads
• Cross platform marketing
• Email Marketing
• Online Branding
• Reporting the ROI (return on investment) of digital strategies and tactics

Can You Do Some of Your Digital Marketing Yourself?

You can do all of this yourself, but whereas a digital marketing company will be up-to-date with trends, software and know about marketing.  You will be starting from scratch and having to learn everything while trying to run your business.

If you don't have the expertise, time or staff to be able to do all of your marketing yourself you should use a marketing company to either train you, advise you or carry out some if not all of the work on your behalf. 

Here are a few examples of tasks you may be able to do in house.

• Ask a website company to design your site, but you can update the pages, content and your blog yourself.
• You can manage your own social media posts, but have an outside company manage your paid social media adverts.
• You can create your press releases, blog content, and online articles, but have an outside company distribute your online content.
• Hire an outside company to create professional marketing videos, but you place them on your website, social media, and online profiles.
• Hire an outside company to create your email marketing content or other online content, but you manage the distribution.
• You create your marketing themes and materials, but rely on an outside company to manage and implement the online and cross-platform marketing.
• You can easily see who your competition is in the search engines, but get an outside company to perform market research such as:

1. the most relevant keywords this quarter
2. The social media platforms your target audience uses
3. Researching niches within your target audience

It is entirely up to you what you choose to do in house, or whether you hand everything over to a digital marketing company.  But in both cases make sure you have a plan of action with a clear timeline for results.  Many companies choose to focus on client relationships while a digital marketing company increases the companies visibility.  If you do decide to do this, keep in touch with the company to ensure that you fully understand where their focus is.

Even if you do decide to use a digital marketing company you should still familiarise yourself with the terminology and basics of digital marketing to ensure a full understanding of all that is being accomplished.

Digital Marketing is Always Changing and Evolving

Even if you are able to complete a large amount of your marketing work yourself, you may find it tough keeping up with the constant changes to social media platforms, advertising rules and search engine algorithm changes.  A digital marketing company will always be the first to know what the most cutting edge, current, and effective ways to promote your business online are.

While it is essential to build a solid relationship with a third party digital marketing company, or a handful of third party contractors, it is always essential to understand what you are paying for and knowing your return on investment.

What to do now
Make a plan of where you want to be in a years time and how you are going to get there.  Decide what you can do yourself and where you will need help.

Start working towards your goal.  The sooner you start the sooner you will succeed, standing still will get you no where.

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