When it comes to digital marketing, there is a common misconception that brands work with.
They feel that as soon as they hire a digital marketing agency, their job is done.
That is not the case. Success in digital marketing cannot be guaranteed unless the brands themselves are willing to look into processes, structures, and skills.
Even if you get the best agency on board, you cannot afford to not be interested in the outcome of ROIs from strategies.
The question then is how do you ensure that what is happening is taking place in the best possible manner?
The solution according to experts at a leading Black-Owned marketing company is simple. Brands need to invest in building their skills and understanding of digital marketing.
In this article, we are going to list down and discuss seven digital marketing skills brands need to work on with their agencies.
If you are a brand owner eager to explore success in digital marketing, check out what we have to say.
List of 7 Digital Marketing Skills Brands need to work on with their Agencies
1. Using Data Analytics in the right manner-
Digital marketing is all about analyzing the impact of a specific strategy and breaking it down into numbers. If you are looking to generate success, you need to make data your best friend.
This means numbers need to be tracked, monitored, and understood every time you do something. If you are setting SEO goals, you need to assess the monthly statistics (links built, blog articles written, forum postings done, etc.).
The same goes for practically every other strategy. Graphs, charts, and excel sheets need to be maintained to optimize efficiency, spot errors, and monitor your progress. Unless you are engaging with data, you do not have a sense of direction towards achieving your objectives.
2. Setting in place the Best Project Management Processes-
One common negative experience that brands face when working with agencies is Project Management. There are so many areas where brands feel that they have incomplete information, breakdown of communication, and poor reporting.
The constant to and fro can break trust and create barriers to working together. Right at the very start, ensure that you have set out and creates a project management process that works best for both of you.
This includes setting in place the right professionals setting timelines for reports, communication of pain points, and other specifics. When you have this in place, the overall working environment, and productivity increases multiple times over.
3. Improving and working towards Copy writing Goals-
If ‘content is king’ then brands need to have as much awareness and understanding of the copy as agencies do. If you do not set the right tone, meaning, and style of communication, how do you expect your customers to engage with you?
While the finer details of grammar and SEO optimizations might be too technical for brands, they need to ensure that the copywriter working on their account understands the brand.
Improving and collaborating on the copy requires a marketing and sales approach. This cannot be done by the agency alone. A brand needs to be interested and engage with this purpose. Make sure the copy is how your salespersons talk face-to-face with prospective clients.
4. Working towards Audience Building and Community Engagement-
No agency has as much knowledge and understanding about a brand’s business niche as the brand owner or marketing head. That is a fact, which cannot be ignored or negated under any circumstances.
A brand knows who its audiences are and what are the best ways to win over them. Traditionally, brands know how their competitors function, what do they say, and other specifics. You need to ensure that all this is communicated to the agency.
At the end of the day, you are focussing on building an audience for the brand. Make sure to point out your brand’s USP, its plus points, and why it is an attractive proposition as compared to others. This is the knowledge that will the agency amplify its strategies on online platforms.
5. Try to get Educated and Informed on Search Engines and their working-
One of the go-to strategies for brands is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. If done right, it allows a brand to rank higher on search engines for its industry’s keywords. However, SEO is not too easy to ace.
It requires an updated understanding of how the algorithms of search engines work. For agencies, SEO is a great way to tie up a brand for at least six months (you need to invest in long-term strategies for results).
Brands and business owners need to brush up on their information on how SEO works to monitor the results. There are tons of resource materials online that can help you gain an advanced understanding of SEO and search engines.
6. Understanding of Social Media Marketing and its Best Practices-
Like SEO, SMM is the second most sought-after digital marketing strategy. With increasing competition and decreasing organic reach on social media, creating an SMM strategy that delivers is tough.
Success on social media platforms can only take place if the brand is willing to invest time, energy, and effort in helping the agency. Everything from defining and communicating who your target audiences are to giving them access to your content dump can help in improving performance.
Success on social media is as much dependent on what a brand brings to the table as is the actual day-to-day working of the agency on the account. With social media being such an effective medium, a lot depends on the brand.
7. Getting the wheels to move and ensuring work is done-
We began the article by stating how brands tend to give up as soon as they hire an agency. This is what compromises the output and ROIs from digital marketing. Brands need to ensure that the actual day-to-day work is getting delivered and executed.
For example, business owners need to critically examine social media posts to spot grammatical errors, and control quality. If you do not do this regularly, agencies will fall into a laid-back kind of approach.
Make sure you are setting up monthly review meetings with the agency’s CEO and Creative Director to share feedback and take stock of the situation. This will help keep them on their toes.
The Bottom Line
Do not interpret the above points as an approval to disturb the agency in their day-to-day work. You need to put across constructive criticism and words of encouragement. Try not to interfere where it’s not required. This will simply set a bad precedent and prevent the agency from wholeheartedly committing to your online success.
By following the above seven points on digital marketing skills, brands can be valuable partners. Putting too much emphasis on just the agency’s own initiatives is probably asking too much of someone who just knows about your business for a couple of months. Do you agree with what we have to say? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.