Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency for a Small Business can be challenging, Same with creating an impactful and successful brand requires the right marketing and for that choice, a perfect digital marketing agency plays a very important role.

The right digital marketing agency can shape your brand, use resources effectively, share guidance, and implements the right brand strategies to grow faster.

A right digital marketing agency doesn’t revolve around just past testimonials, range of services, and price points, in fact, it’s more than just these.

The agency should be treated as a part of your core team and works in sync to give the best results.

Read on to know more about digital marketing agencies and how to choose a digital marketing agency in Ghana that change the game of your business upside down!

Why Go For a Digital Marketing Agency for A Small Business?

Digital Marketing agencies help your business or brand to build trust among your audience and increase brand engagement using technologies, marketing strategies, and talents.

They actually help your business to make a strong online presence through the right marketing tactics involving, SEO, Social media marketing, Content marketing, email marketing, etc.

An agency can redefine and optimize your customer experience by following multiple approaches and adding value to your audience where ever possible.

Benefits of a Digital Marketing Agency for A Small Business

Digital Marketing is a whole new world in itself and to be updated and implement the latest strategies and tactics requires a lot of effort and time.

For a business managing digital marketing all by itself is tough and most of the time business hours will be drained in marketing. It becomes difficult to manage both business and marketing at the same time by the same team and eventually it affects the business.

Whereas on the other hand a digital marketing agency fully focuses on the marketing side, being updated with the latest algorithms and norms. They have the best teams who work all day in and out to bring the best results for any business.

Having a Digital marketing agency and having a good relationship with them actually saves significant time, money, and resources. We have shared with you some of the top 8 digital marketing benefits for a business.

#1 Cost-Effective

If you are just starting in business, playing everything within a budget is a crucial part. Small businesses also step back when it comes to marketing, all because marketing charges are very high in the traditional approach.

This is not the case with digital marketing, there is a very nominal charge to start with and one pays only if people view it.

There is a huge cost-cutting when you move from offline marketing to online marketing. The money saved by doing online marketing can be utilized for optimizing the core business.

#2 Brand Awareness

Usually, in offline marketing, it takes a lot of effort, time, and money to actually create reasonable brand awareness in a particular region.

While in digital marketing, one easily reaches the mass audience, and with the help of creative ads and providing value to visitors can create impactful brand awareness and that also in a very cost-effective way.

#3 Brand Image

Creating a brand image via digital marketing is easy. Marketing strategies if done right can make a powerful and strong brand image in the market.

Although marketing has both edges, if anything goes wrong, it can affect the brand image but usually, in online marketing, any errors are taken care of immediately, hence, reducing the risk.

#4 Massive Reach

The traditional way of marketing is very limited, you spend a lot of money but still, the reach is limited to a particular region and because of it your business can go global.

Digital marketing helps you to reach new potential customers from all over the world wherever there is a demand. A global reach in your business can skyrocket your sales and profit.

#5 High ROI

Digital marketing assure of increase in ROI (Return on Investment) than the usual way of marketing.

The marketing strategies are based on actual data and figures so it’s more likely to perform better and boost sales. The conversion is managed by A.I Hence it keeps on improving by itself and as a result, ROI keeps on improving.

#6 Marketing Based on Data

Unlike traditional marketing, online marketing is supported by past data that gives more clear objectives, and goals and helps in budget allocation.

The marketing tactics are based on market data, demand regions, target audience, and also the campaign objective hence giving an upper edge in getting better results.

#7 Retargeting

Online marketing gets a clear edge in retargeting ads to potential customers. Retargeting helps in converting cold prospects into customers.

Retargetting in offline marketing is not that effective and costs too much whereas on the other hand in online marketing you retarget ads to specific sets of people and bring better results.

#8 Providing Value to Customers

Digital Marketing is not just limited to just paid ads and to increase reach and conversions. In fact, with the help of your online presence, one can share valuable content on different channels, and those contents build trust among readers and visitors. This creates brand trust and eventually increases organic reach and sales.

Now, as we have discussed till now, you got to know why you should go for a digital marketing agency and also its benefits. Now, how to choose a digital marketing agency in ghana for your business or brand.

Let’s talk about that

Choosing a Digital Marketing Agencies for A Small Business

There are multiple factors that one should consider while choosing a digital marketing business for his business or a brand.

We have curated a list of the top 8 factors you should look for in a digital marketing agency.

8 Key Factors for Finding the Right Digital Marketing Agency

So, here we have curated a list of some factors which you should cross-check while choosing the right digital marketing agency for your business.

#1 Testimonials

A product that has some social proof or has given satisfactory results in the past tends to be sold faster than any other product having fewer or zero testimonials, reviews, or proofs.

The same case is also with digital marketing agencies, there are both types of agencies; one with past records, and testimonials. Lack of proof and testimonials is a red flag for you although there are many talent agencies out there who have every high potential but no feedback, testimonials, or proofs.

This shows that these agencies cannot market themselves and are only focusing on clients’ requirements. Try to choose those agencies which very good reputation in the market and have already done similar tasks as you are looking for.

#2 Specialization

You will find different types of agencies, one which offers all A to Z services in digital marketing while on the other hand, one offers only some specific services. It totally depends on you who should go for but here we will try to explain what’s the difference between both of them.

–  Web Design vs User Experience Design

There are some agencies that are specialized in creative web design and have an artistic approach to designing, whereas, on the other hand, some agencies focus on how the user is going to experience when he is using the website, and work on functional aspects of the website, easy to use designs which often backed of user research, past data’s and artificial intelligence.

As a customer we usually tell what type of design we need and what the agency specialized in by their homepage if you see smooth and attractive, you can usually gauge their design speciality. Agencies focused on UX Design care more about results, KPIs, and metrics – things that will actually move the needle for your organization and your users and customers, rather than simply impressing your internal marketing team and executives.

– Technical vs Complex Websites & Apps

Some agencies have a very good and talented in-house technical team that handles all the technical parts of the marketing including website designs and apps but there are also many agencies that outsource technical teams for their projects.

So, if you are having a complex website or an app, depending on agencies that outsource technical teams for a particular task would not be the right option to go for.

Instead, choose an agency that has an in-house technical team and has proved its excellence in past works. Otherwise choosing other agencies for the sake of budget, timely delivery, and results, you might have to compromise with technicals. 

– Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Content marketing is one of the best ways to do marketing. It not only brings value to the readers but also builds trust among them.

In content marketing or even just writing, SEO plays a vital role and it comes down to writing high-quality content that matches the intent of what people are searching for.

Usually, you or your in-house writing team are the ones who write content but when you are choosing an agency for this task, you basically asking an agency to become you.

The writing style, tone of the article, and intent are very unique to every brand. So, it’s better to choose an agency that perfectly matches your requirements and can deliver the best content by teaming up with your in-house teams.

– Content Marketing

Same as stated above, here content marketing also has the same story. Whatever high-quality content you upload needs to be marketed.

The intention of writing top-notch quality content is to rank higher on search engines, bring subscribers, and visitors, and collect leads.

Content marketing is a very specific method of getting content to rank highly through inbound marketing and to be linked from other websites, either through natural means or via intentional outreach and link building.

This is a very specialized skill set that involves ideally promoting lead generating and being connected to email marketing. So, if your agency is also doing your website and also doing your digital strategy and also many more things.

You can now understand that it would be too much on the agency’s plates and might not be able to fulfil the task as asked.

– PPC and Paid Advertising

There are plenty of paid advertising consultants and agencies who can help you execute paid marketing campaigns. However, having the expertise in-house to align ad copy, creative, landing page messaging and layout, a value proposition to tie it all together, and the technical expertise to run and optimize the actual ad campaigns can be a tall order for an agency that doesn’t specialize in paid advertising.

#3 Metrics

Any good digital marketing agency should be focused on moving the needle for your organization, which means an emphasis on KPIs and metrics.

Without optimizing the metrics with time and improving the results there is no need for agencies.

An agency should focus more on the growth of the organization. Giving consistent results is fine but giving higher results every time sounds much better.

#4 Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing without a proper digital marketing strategy is of no use and inefficient. While you may own that strategy in-house, there’s nothing worse than an agency that doesn’t understand or provide added value to your strategy. Marketers already have enough to do, and agencies should have strategists who are competent and helpful in following a marketing plan and meeting business needs.

You should always ask an agency about their strategies and how they are going to achieve your goals.

#5 Marketing Execution

Every marketing has its own way of execution. It’s important to be aware of their strategies and what channels they are going to be using for your business marketing.

Some of the execution ways are listed below:

• Valuable content that entices your audience
• A conversion-focused landing page
• On-page and off-page SEO
• Social media posts and engagement
• Email marketing
• Online advertising

Mastering content creation is essential to successful marketing. Therefore, make sure that the agency of your choice is performing well in this area. This includes visual and written content, like written content, including photos and videos, performs better on social media, advertising, and many websites. Agencies should also advise on how to use social media to engage and build relationships with viewers. For example, Instagram Live has become a popular option for product demonstrations, customer feedback, founder interviews, partnership programs, and more.

#6 Technology Being Used

Finally, data-driven analytics is key to choosing a digital marketing agency. With data, you can learn from marketing activities and continue to improve over time. In this way, companies reduce costs, increase margins, and improve return on investment (ROI). In this way, successful brands also learn about the audience that is essential to product development and customer satisfaction. High-quality, accurate data needs to guide business decisions and marketing strategies so that organizations can achieve better results. If the agency you’re considering doesn’t have a data-centric approach to marketing, go away.

#7 Partnership & Agreement

Agencies that want to make every task and marketing activity unique rather than working with an in-house team are there for their own benefit.

You should be aware of what their terms & conditions are and how much confidential data you both are going to exchange with each other.

Everything should be on paper so that both parties are in the safe zone.

#8 Pricing

Always understand the value that one institution can offer more than another. Value is of paramount importance at the end of the day. For example, an agency can do social media management (just post content and follow social channels) to social media marketing (actually strategically work with social media to create new businesses and work on SEO pairing). Don’t think of these two price ranges as Apples to Apples if you’re rating the same.

2 Factors That Actually are Not That Important

Sometimes the client gets hooked on very specific details that may be a bit important, but less important than the factors above.

1. Industry Experience

While some industries have special needs and quirks, they tend to be more about customer convenience than real tangible assets for most projects. Some industries, such as healthcare and the financial industry, have strict regulations on the advertising and usage of customer data (PII), such as HIPPA compliance. The same is true for higher education and other industries that serve the public – accessibility through ADA compliance is critical.

However, a smart technology agent with experience in other or related industries can quickly become familiar with your specific requirements and regulations – e.g. any digital marketing company Every serious digital person must have a clear understanding of ADA compliance, no matter what the field it serves.

Design is one area where this can be important. Designing a website for a college or university obviously requires a different aesthetic than a flashy B2C  website with an e-commerce component.

2. Experience with Specific Technical Details

If the agency is very technical, has UX design experience and CRO experience,  has general e-commerce experience, but no experience with a particular platform, which is one of 100 similar platforms. It’s not a big deal. Agencies can handle it and may have learned a lot from working with different e-commerce platforms rather than focusing on one or a small subset.

Another example is a very specific detail that seems to be important to the client, such as “Experience of migrating from Drupal to WordPress on a website that spans X pages”, but in reality, the details related to the success of the project is not. This means that if your agency has migrated hundreds of websites to Drupal and hundreds of websites to WordPress, many websites with hundreds of pages, some websites from Drupal to WordPress. But if it’s not the exact number of pages, it’s important that this detail is actually very small. To the factors mentioned above.

How to work with a digital marketing agency for a small business

As a client, there are several things you can do to maximize your results and get the most out of your strategic partnership with a digital marketing agency.

Doing so helps to set the stage for effective and successful collaboration throughout the project’s life cycle.

Prepare your team and do your homework

It is critical that everyone is on the same page. So, hold a meeting with your team and inform them of the scope of your new project or partnership, giving them plenty of time to prepare.

If you owe the agency anything, make sure you spend time and effort on it. They need to learn the ins and outs of your company, and this is your opportunity to lay it all out there.

This sets the tone for the rest of the project, so don’t rush through it.

Understand the scope, process, and timeline

Before beginning the project, ensure that everyone who has a stake in it agrees on the scope and timeline. This is your job as much as it is your agency’s.

Furthermore, the majority of digital marketing projects go through the following four stages:

• Exploration and investigation
• Execution of project planning
• Review, outcomes, and debarment

Layout the details of each step with your team and agency so that everything is clear before the project starts.

Don’t expect a hands-off experience

The most successful digital marketing projects involve a high level of collaboration.

Furthermore, your thoughts, ideas, and input help move the project forward in the right direction to achieve your desired results.

Some agencies and projects work together more than others. So, throughout the project, make sure you understand what they require of you.

It may be beneficial to have a dedicated point of contact, as well as a team or team member, prepared to manage the project. Having someone readily available ensures that you are not impeding things on your end.

Be ready to forfeit control

Remember that the agency you hired is excellent at what it does, and you hired them for a reason — their expertise.

This entails giving them complete control over certain aspects of the project in order to allow them to focus on what they do best. It’s also critical to pay attention to what they say.

If they have a reason for doing things the way they do, remind yourself that they are the experts.

You don’t have to agree, but it’s important to keep an open mind.

Ask questions

You will see and experience a lot of new things if you have never worked with a digital marketing agency before.

And it’s perfectly natural if you don’t understand everything that’s going on.

The best thing to do is to inquire.

Perhaps you don’t understand why they chose this colour over that one. Or there’s a piece of information you don’t have. Perhaps someone said something to you that didn’t make sense.

Nothing is wrong with not knowing. However, asking questions about things you’re not sure about is a great way for everyone to learn more. It also helps to clear up any doubts.

In a Nutshell

Choosing the right digital marketing should now be easy for you! We have tried all the factors that are important while finding the right marketing agencies.