When you run a small business, it can be rather difficult to find the time to develop an online presence.
Between staffing, finances, and operations, knowing how to present your product within the digital space can be extremely challenging. If you don’t know where or how to get started online, the path before you is overwhelming. To ease this burden and to stay competitive within the market, hiring a digital marketing consultant might just be the answer.
Today, with 85% of Americans saying that they go online on a daily basis, your business can not afford not creating a digital presence. If you feel as if your business could benefit from hiring digital marketing consulting professionals, but you don’t know what they do or how they can help, read on to learn how these consultants can assist your company stay on top of online trends and remain relevant to your market.
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What’s a digital marketing consultant?
A digital marketing consultant is a person who has studied digital marketing and knows the ins and outs of its working. They are skilled professionals with years of experience and a track record of building successful strategies within the digital space for multiple brands in multiple industries.
They work with businesses to help position their brand and build online awareness through personalized assessments that include evaluation, optimization, and development. Any digital marketing consultant worth their salt should be proficient with the following tactics:
- Branding
- Web Development
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay Per Click (PPC)
- Data Analysis
Digital marketing consultancy services
Some digital consultants are solo entrepreneurs as others may work within an agency that provides marketing services. If you want to hire someone to assist your business in face of the many opportunities that being a digital brand provides, remember that it is less about “who” you hire and more about what services are needed and why you need them.
Before you decide to hire any outside help for your small business, take some time to understand the common digital services that consultants will offer.
Knowing the basics will help you have an understanding of the whats and the whys your business needs and narrow down your consultancy service requirements.
Branding
Your brand is the face of your operation.
It is what you show your customers and the relationship you develop with them way before they buy something from you and long after they become loyal advocates of your services/products.
Branding, for that matter, is what sets businesses apart and provide an edge over your competition in the same industry. Any digital marketer worth hiring knows the importance of developing branding strategies to build exposure and grow an unique digital presence for customers to see and fall in love for what you have to offer.
Web Development
Every business needs a website. That’s no secret.
Your website functions as the “welcome mat” to current and potential customers as it leads to all the useful information regarding your business and showcases your products / services.
When hiring a consultant, they will analyze your current site and help you identify the next steps that will help your business as a whole.
If you lack a website, the consultant will guide you through creating a website using best practices and current trends and technology.
While your consultants may not build and design your new business site themselves – they will have contacts who can, or if they work within a firm – have a team of skilled designers/coders who can assist.
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase visibility when people search for products or services related to your business.
When people search for key terms in Google or Bing, you need to have each of your webpages optimized to increase the chances of a customer finding you. With better optimization and visibility, you have higher chances to bring new customers to your business every day.
An SEO-type of consultancy will do an audit of your website and determine where your SEO baseline is and how you can improve your visibility within the SERPs (search engine results pages).
Some ways that SEO is utilized to increase your brand awareness are:
- On-page SEO: Anything that pertains to your web pages. This includes copy for blogs, products, and website page copy.
- Off-page SEO: Anything that occurs off your website can help with your strategy. This includes link building, social media, and local SEO.
- Technical SEO: If you have a current website, technical SEO identifies ways to improve its functioning. This includes site mapping, URL structure, schema, page speed, and site navigation.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay-per-click (PPC) is online advertising.
When you manage a PPC strategy, you act as an advertiser that pays every time your ad is “clicked” on.
This pay-per-click model is offered primarily by search engines and social networks for immediate product exposure for companies. PPC is used for all types of campaign goals, such as increasing sales, generating leads, and promoting brand awareness.
Places where PPC can be used include:
- Social Ads ( Facebook/LinkedIn/Twitter)
- Google Ads (Search/Display/Remarketing/Video/Shopping)
- Amazon Ads
A skilled digital consultant will know how to utilize PPC within your market and help you set up viable campaigns that have immediate results. PPC can be pricy, so make sure that your consultant performs all pertinent research and tests within your specific market before launching any PPC campaigns.
Data Analysis
A skilled consultant will collect and organize pertinent marketing data and develop recommendations and insights to balance each marketing area that they want to provide services for. If your consultant says that your business needs “SEO” or additional “brand awareness” without providing the appropriate documentation for “why,” consider that as a big red light. An experienced consultant will be proficient with market research, know how to utilize and implement Google Analytics and be able to provide your business with data metics and proactively identify opportunities to grow within the market.
Digital consultancy is not a short-term investment
Marketing strategy is not a “set it and forget it” process. Your website and your brand is a living, breathing thing that needs to be cared for and nurtured. Someone needs to manage your campaigns, actively work on your strategy and make sure metrics and KPIs are being hit.
If you do not have the time to invest in your business – hire a digital consultancy to help. While the average cost of digital marketing services can vary depending on your campaign needs, it is worth the investment. Your digital presence is your fingerprint within the digital world, and if you want to stay competitive and keep growing – you need to invest in your business to do so.
SomneoX for your digital consultancy needs
Effective marketing is all about connecting with your audience at the right time and at the right place. If you are a small business and you don’t have the tools, experience, or the time to implement a digital strategy within your business – use digital marketing consultancy services to stay relevant within the market.
If you are a solo entrepreneur or a growing small business – having an online presence is imperative to your ongoing success. If you are interested in exploring digital consultancy and need a place to start – give us a call. At SomneoX, our team of digital marketing professionals has the experience helping small businesses build their online presences by curating personalized digital marketing strategies and much more. Get in touch with our team today!