Why Agencies Do What They Do: The Truth About Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a fast-paced and ever-changing field. To keep up with the latest trends and innovations, marketers need to constantly update their skillset and knowledge base. This can be challenging — especially for marketing professionals who work for an agency rather than as individual freelancers. In general, most agencies operate according to a standard business model that includes specific services such as branding, advertising, PR, and communications. Consequently, most digital marketing agencies focus on one or more of these services to help clients grow their businesses. However, what many people might not know is why these agencies do what they do. There’s more to that than meets the eye!

What is digital marketing?

In its most general sense, a digital marketing agency involves the planning, implementation, and tracking of online marketing campaigns. It is intended to generate leads and sales through websites, email, or social media. Digital marketing is often used in conjunction with other marketing techniques such as PR, branding, and advertising. The main goal of digital marketing is to increase the visibility of a product or brand by increasing the amount of traffic to a website or to a product page. To do this, marketers use paid advertisements on search engines, social media sites, and other online platforms to drive people to their sites. There are two types of digital marketing strategies:

Branding Services 

Branding is about creating a visual identity for your product that people recognize, remember, and trust. It’s about creating an emotional connection with your audience and building a brand that resonates with them. Branding services often include the creation of corporate identities such as a visual logo, written mission statement, and other marketing materials such as brochures and business cards. It also includes the selection of a website domain and hosting platform. Branding agencies also create and manage a brand’s social media presence. This includes developing a customized strategy for each platform and posting content such as blogs, images, GIFs, and videos that reflects the unique personality of the brand.

Advertising Services

Advertising is the act of placing an advertisement in order to promote a product or service. An advertising agency is a company that employs creative people to create advertisements for the companies that hire them. This could be a commercial for TV, a billboard, or some other type of media. The primary goal of advertising is to generate new leads and sales for your business. When done well, advertising can create a positive impact on your brand such that consumers trust your product, feel compelled to purchase it and recommend it to friends. Advertising services provide a range of options to help clients reach their target audience. This includes selecting the best media channel to reach a particular demographic and devising a strategy to optimize conversion rates.

PR and Communications Services

PR is the process of managing the flow of information between your company and its target audience. PR is not about trying to convince people to buy your product; it is about building trust and credibility so that your target audience will naturally want to purchase from you. PR services typically include the creation of a media relations plan that includes pitching articles to journalists and bloggers who have large followings. PR specialists also write and distribute press releases to inform their target audience of newsworthy events such as product launches. PR is often used in conjunction with other marketing strategies such as advertising or digital marketing. PR can be a great way to supplement your other marketing efforts and ensure that you are reaching a wide audience.

Digital Strategy and Planning Services

The concept behind digital marketing agencies and planning is to map out a long-term plan to reach your goals and vision. This often involves creating a business roadmap that accounts for current market trends, target customer demographics, and the goals and objectives of your company. Planning also accounts for any existing marketing efforts in place and how they can be optimized. This includes measuring the effectiveness of each campaign, determining areas for improvement, and identifying opportunities for expansion. Digital strategists also advise clients on how their current assets such as their website, social media presence, and content can be leveraged to achieve specific business goals. Digital strategists will often conduct research to learn more about their client's target audience and the competition. They will use this information to help develop a digital strategy that aligns with the business goals of their clients.

Summing up 

A digital marketing agency is a very broad term that can mean different things to different people. At its core, though, digital marketing is the process of reaching customers or leads online through the use of various digital marketing channels and technology. Marketers leverage digital channels such as email, blogs, and social media to create awareness around their products or services and drive conversions. The best digital marketers will also be able to measure the success of their efforts and make changes as needed to improve their results. Sound like something you’d like to do? Then it’s time to learn more about digital marketing and how you can apply it to your business.