Growing a Business: The Role of a Digital Marketing Agency

In the early days of the internet, advertising online often involved clunky flashing banners and popups with garish colours. It was cheap, mainly because it was unpopular with large businesses and mostly employed by some very questionable ones. But times have changed, and the internet has now evolved to the point where digital marketing is an essential part of every serious business growth strategy.

The reason for this change in attitude is that the internet has proven to be the most effective way for businesses to get the right message in front of the right people at the right time, and that’s the hat trick that leads to sales. However, the methods of doing so have become increasingly sophisticated. Digital marketing is now an umbrella term that describes several specialisms. Knowing which ones your business should use and finding the specialists who can implement them is where agencies come in. 

This short guide introduces the different types of digital marketing agencies and the roles that they play. 

Types of digital marketing agencies

As mentioned in the introduction, digital marketing is an umbrella term. There are several tactics which are used within digital marketing, such as SEO, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and influencer marketing. 

Individuals in the industry tend to specialise in a small number of these. Agencies can offer all, some, or one of them, depending on their size and how they choose to define their scope of operations. Most agencies fall into one of the following categories. 

Full-service

As the name suggests, full-service digital marketing agencies offer all sorts of different tactics. They can manage the day-to-day implementation of these, but they can also offer advice on your overall digital marketing strategy.  

Inbound marketing

When the internet became widely adopted, consumers suddenly felt empowered to research things for themselves before spending money. They no longer wanted companies to directly sell to them – the “outbound” marketing approach. Instead, they want to learn about new products and their benefits from sources they trust. They’ll seek out the company themselves if they like what they read, which is why it’s called “inbound” marketing. 

Inbound marketing agencies specialise in getting your products and their strengths in front of this type of consumer.

SEO

Search-engine-optimisation has long been a popular and effective digital marketing strategy. It is essentially trying to figure out what web searches your customers are making and ensuring that your website is one of the top results when they do. It requires a medium to long-term time horizon before results start showing, yet it involves a lot of work in the meantime. This is why many businesses hire agencies such as King Kong to handle it for them. 

PPC

Pay-per-click advertising involves the placement of ads and banners on websites. The actual placement costs little, but companies pay a fee every time somebody clicks on the ad. The role of PPC agencies is to design ads that people click on and to optimise your website so that enough visitors follow through with a purchase.   

Conclusion

A digital marketing strategy is a modern business essential, and the right type of agency can deliver what you need, when you need it. This can help your business grow while keeping costs down.  

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