If you search Google for a definition of Digital Agency, you will bump into a massive wall of fluffy articles with no real information on the subject. They all use hyperbolic and pretentious language that sounds deceptively complex, but that ultimately ends up obscuring the real meaning of the term, making it difficult for clients to understand what they should expect from a digital agency.
Today, we´re going to dispel all of the mystery surrounding digital marketing and discover exactly what digital agencies do for clients. But first, let’s go over a bit of history.
What Is Marketing?
Not many people know this, but marketing is an ancient concept initially proposed by Adam Smith. Marketing encompasses any effort proposed by an organization to anticipate the needs of potential customers more effectively than its competitors. The twentieth century saw the emergence of various techniques of marketing research that exponentially boosted the effectiveness of these efforts, and humanity was witness to the flourishing of a true market society.
As these efforts became more complex and specialized, companies saw the need to outsource them. This division of labor gave birth to marketing companies exclusively dedicated to promoting the flow of goods and services. In other words, marketing became an industry itself.
What is Digital Marketing?
Marketing channels and processes have changed a lot during the past hundred years, but its fundamentals have not. Digital marketing involves the actions a business undertakes to promote its products and services using electronic channels. These typically include SEO and PPC campaigns, social media strategies and email marketing. However, digital marketing can go as far as designing proper conversion funnels, crafting cold calling scripts, networking with potential partners, and much more depending on the scope of your campaign.
There are differences between traditional marketing and digital marketing. For instance, a traditional marketing campaign will focus mainly on visibility, trying to cast the widest net possible in the hopes of drawing the attention of the masses. This is the case of TV and radio ads, billboards, and neon signs. The problem with this approach is that it is costly, and extremely difficult to measure. Traditional ad investment felt more like gambling as there was no way of determining ROI.
Digital marketing allows for a more focused approach, reducing ad spend by going specifically after specific audiences and, theoretically, showing them precisely what they crave as soon as they show signs of interest.
Today, 60% of the global population spends close to 3 hours a day online. However, the internet is a big place. People spend their online time in different places; scrolling down their social media feeds, watching YouTube videos, reading online publications, finding information on Google or shopping.
Digital marketing today requires a careful study of audiences and their preferred channels. In the era of big data, audiences can be divided into categories and subcategories in order to maximize the impact of posts or ads, based on their intention and how far down the customer journey they are.
What Does A Digital Agency Do?
Simply put, a digital agency is a team of marketing experts who help businesses and brands understand their audiences better, find the most effective channels for promoting their products and services, and design uniform campaigns through the platforms that more effectively bring in customers.
A high-end digital agency is capable of crafting marketing strategies that combine professional graphic design, effective branding, compelling content strategies, all in a comprehensive package specifically designed to address the needs of your business.
Due to the dynamic nature of digital channels, digital marketers are responsible for keeping up with the latest trends and best practices, anticipating changes that could affect your specific industry or the way audiences interact with content and websites.
Selecting The Best Digital Agency For Your Business
When you want every dollar of your marketing budget to work for you, it is extremely important to hire a digital agency that understands your specific audience. Anyone can create generic SEO, PPC or Social Media campaigns. However, defining the intent your potential customers have when performing queries, or crafting the specific content they enjoy consuming and sharing, is a complicated process that only few agencies manage to master.
To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at some niche industries, determine their distinct needs, and how a specialized digital agency should address them for maximum impact.
Digital Marketing for Industrial Companies
Industrial companies are mostly interested in attracting B2B partners sizable enough to sustain their business model. This is a fairly broad niche that can include manufacturers, commodity goods providers, raw materials providers, and much more. An experienced industrial SEO agency understands the interests of your potential client and the specialized content they regularly consume, allowing them to create intuitive websites combined with content strategies that would place your brand as an authority in the field.
Digital Agency For The Gun Industry
This very challenging industry counts on a hugely loyal yet demanding customer base. Gun enthusiasts are extremely discerning and tend to be very knowledgeable. Creating effective campaigns in this niche requires an extensive knowledge of the trade, as well as the legal restrictions that surround this heavily regulated industry, to generate the right kind of traffic.
Digital Marketing For The Vaping Industry
As a relatively new industry with a lot of potential for innovation, the vaping industry faces very strict limitations that only experienced marketers can help a business navigate. Paid ads are off the table for businesses dedicated to this hobby, so they need effective optimization strategies that allow brands to position themselves as authorities in their industry for millions of readers and consumers.
Marketing Services For The Beauty Industry
Skincare and beauty products are among the most sought after products online. Consumers have become increasingly more conscious of the ingredients used to manufacture their favorite products and are looking for brands that perfectly align with their values but also offer high-quality products. Beauty products campaigns must be carefully crafted to reflect your brand’s core values while offering a compelling sale proposal for products designed to enhance the lives of your customers.
Digital Marketing For Art Supplies
A very competitive niche that pits art supply brands against inspiring and creative crafters with millions of followers online in a fierce competition for attention. Experienced digital agencies understand that audiences in this industry love to see the unexpected results of creative alliances and collabs that excite their imagination, so they design marketing strategies that help brands and artists create synergies that help them promote their products and crafts among crisscrossed audiences hungry for renovated artistic inspiration.
Marketing Services For Restaurants
It has become extremely difficult to drive traffic solely by appealing to the sense of smell. The food industry now competes in the battlefield of convenience and public perception. Digital agencies focused on the food industry know the importance of professionally designed websites with high-quality (and alluring) pictures and clear checkout systems. However, they also understand the power of local SEO, and the primacy of a well-thought-out review strategy that lets your potential customers know what people think of your delicious dishes.
Marketing Services For The Fashion Industry
Merchants in the fashion industry must keep up with rapidly changing design trends and the seasonal sales cycle. Their digital marketing needs are very particular in this respect and require the help of an experienced digital agency that knows how to utilize the power of social media campaigns, branding, shoppable posts and professionally designed websites that effectively showcase the uniqueness and quality of your products.
Marketing Services For The Candy Industry
This unique and fun industry is not exempt from fierce competition. A well designed website and a professionally crafted content make all the difference in the world as audiences today no longer guide their buying impulses solely based on visual appeal. Discerning consumers tend to be more conscious about what they eat and how brands address issues like sustainability and social responsibility. Digital agencies for this demanding industry design SEO and PPC campaigns on the channels avid consumers with a sweet tooth use to find their favorite sweets or baking ingredients.
Marketing Services For Pet Stores
Pet owners are among the most demanding audiences online, and are constantly on the lookout for high-quality products that objectively improve the overall well-being of their beloved furry friends. Digital marketing campaigns for pet stores must take into account that audiences in this niche are extremely well informed, and design content strategies that provide relevant information in an engaging and compelling manner that correctly conveys your brand´s values and commitment to quality.
Marketing Services For Pool Supplies
Thousands of homeowners and contractors are actively looking for pool supplies in your area and they need to find a reliable business that helps them find the right products and materials for their projects. This particular niche greatly benefits from PPC campaigns for generating high quality traffic and increased revenue. However, SEO and social media are increasingly gaining relevance for customers and businesses looking for detailed information about the best materials and chemicals and their different uses. You need a digital agency that understands your specific audience and can devise an effective strategy for long term growth.
Marketing Services For The Knife Industry
Closely regulated industries face unique challenges when trying to reach their specific audiences and sell their products. Knives are restricted products and success in this industry hinges on building SEO strategies that allows businesses to create and effectively distribute relevant and informative content for extremely discerning audiences looking for reliable and high-quality tools for demanding outdoor activities.
Marketing Services For The Gardening Industry
Due to the broad nature of this industry, businesses need a digital agency that understands the different audiences that are actively looking for gardening, lawn care, or landscaping products and tools. This is an extremely visual niche that has flourished with the advent of social media channels, but still relies heavily on content strategies that keep audiences informed about the best products and materials and where to find them.
As you can see, businesses require industry-specific digital marketing services and the help of talented and experienced experts if they expect to implement effective marketing campaigns and ensure success.
Learn how a professional digital agency can help your business, feel free to reach out to our team of marketing experts. They will provide all the information you need and tell you the next steps you need to take in your path to success.
