When it comes to running a successful business, effective marketing plays a pivotal role. Marketing is how you capture the attention of potential customers and drive the growth of your business.
Instead of spending your valuable time promoting your own business, you can hire a marketing agency to do it for you.
The number of digital agencies in the U.S. has grown 54% from 2018 to 2023. These agencies are dedicated to helping you achieve your marketing goals, enhance brand visibility, and get people to check out your product.
What you will learn
- The four types of services that a marketing firm can provide and how these services can grow your business.
- The four kinds of marketing agencies that you can hire.
- The benefits of hiring an agency to handle your marketing.
- The difference between an in-house marketing team and an external marketing agency.
What is a marketing agency?
A marketing agency is a professional service provider that’s designed to help your business promote your product or services to the largest audience possible.
These agencies specialize in a wide variety of expertise, such as branding, digital marketing, social media management, SEO, and content creation. The benefit of using a marketing agency for your company is the access to a wide pool of experts instead of hiring them in-house.
Marketing agencies are usually cost-effective too because you don't have to pay overheads and manage staff.
Services offered by marketing agencies
Marketing agencies commonly offer a variety of marketing services to help businesses increase their visibility and achieve their marketing objectives.
Some of the services offered by marketing agencies include:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social media marketing
- Content creation
- Email marketing
- Video content and strategy
- Reporting and analytics
Search engine optimization
An SEO agency is a marketing agency that provides SEO services to clients in various industries and niches.
They do on-page and off-page SEO services, and their main goal is to help a business position their website better in search engine results.
They also provide:
- Keyword research - Identifying important topics that your website can rank for
- Technical SEO - This includes all the technical aspects you don’t want to deal with, like website speed optimization, XML site map creation, and fixing crawl errors.
- SEO auditing and analysis - Another time-consuming task that an advertising agency can help with is performing an audit on your website and keeping track of your SEO strategies.
- Link building - Agencies can also help you acquire relevant links to your pages that can help them rank better for target keywords.
Content creation
Running a successful business today takes more than just creating a website and hoping people show up.
It’s often required to produce and distribute additional content online to help catch the attention of potential customers.
Content creation requires creativity as well as knowledge of the most current technology.
A content creation agency can help save you a lot of time in many different ways:
- Content writing - This can include everything from tweets and blog posts to press releases. If you don’t mind someone else creating blog posts and articles for you, you can utilize a content creation agency to produce your main content as well.
- Visual content creation - If you have zero skills in the graphic design department, you can also enlist a content creation agency to provide visual content such as infographics and images. This also includes videos and other interactive media.
- Content strategy and planning - This can include conducting audience research, identifying gaps in your content, defining objectives, and creating an editorial calendar for you.
Social media advertising
By today’s standards, the success of your brand relies heavily on social media. Social media advertising is a popular service offered by marketing companies that can help you find an advantage over the competition.
- PPC advertising - PPC advertising stands for Pay-per-click advertising. This type of advertising is a way for your site to get immediate visibility on search engines and social media.
- A company that can elevate your social media presence will handle everything from ad creation to bidding on specific auctions.
- Influencer marketing - Influencer marketing involves working with individuals who have a significant following on social media in hopes of gaining more views.
- It’s important that the influencer you target for your business matches your audience as much as possible. You'll find that influencer marketing services are also offered by a social media marketing agency.
Analytics and reporting
Analytics and reporting is a service that covers all the boring parts of your business that you probably don’t want to waste precious energy on.
Thankfully, a marketing agency can deal with all the boring stuff for you:
- Data-driven decision making - Once you understand the metrics and trends that work the best with your business, you’ll know what content to focus on.
- A marketing agency can identify which strategies, campaigns, or channels perform the best for your website and adjust accordingly.
- Measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) - By hiring a marketing agency, you can let professionals worry about your marketing strategy.
- This includes website traffic, conversion rates, click-through rates, and engagement levels.
- Return on investment (ROI) - Return on investment can be one of the most important factors regarding the success of your business.
Instead of handling all the numbers yourself, you can enlist a marketing agency to track the cost and performance of your business.
Some additional services by marketing agencies include:
- UX services - UX (User Experience) services are all about getting your website working as perfectly as it possibly can.
- To pull this off, UX professionals will study your target audience using various techniques and methodologies, then redesign your website to help guide your user as best as possible.
- Email marketing - Email marketing is the process of producing, managing, and distributing emails on your behalf. Email marketing can also cover list building and A/B testing.
Types of marketing agencies
There are over 10,000 advertising agencies in the United States alone. That's an increase of 21.8% from 2022 to 2023.
In the diverse world of marketing agencies, there are four main types that businesses can choose from:
- Digital marketing agencies
- Traditional advertising agencies
- Full-service marketing agencies
- Specialized marketing agencies
Digital marketing agencies
Digital marketing agencies specialize in providing digital marketing services, focusing on online strategies, improving website experiences, and monitoring marketing performance.
A digital marketing agency can achieve this by implementing several different strategies:
Diverse digital expertise - Digital marketing agencies are known for being well-versed in various online marketing strategies.
These strategies include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), influencer marketing, and more.
An omnichannel approach - Instead of relying solely on one marketing channel, a digital marketing agency will integrate multiple channels.
An omnichannel approach ensures that your target audience receives a consistent message from your brand, regardless of the channel they engage with.
Continuous adaptation - Why worry about the digital landscape changing when you can hire someone to do that for you?
Traditional marketing agencies
Traditional marketing companies specialize in reaching your target audience through offline channels.
If you’re looking to reach people in the real world and not just online, here’s how a traditional marketing agency can help:
Print advertising - A traditional marketing agency is perfect if you want your business to be marketed in newspapers, magazines, billboards, or any other printed medium.
Direct mail - A direct mail campaign involves sending physical promotional materials directly to your target audience.
This will often include postcards, flyers, catalogs, and brochures. A traditional marketing agency will also handle the creation of these materials and manage your mailing lists.
Broadcast advertising - A traditional marketing agency can develop commercials and radio spots to help engage your target audience with your product.
These agencies understand the importance of storytelling, creativity, and brand messaging when reaching out to TV and radio audiences.
Full-service marketing agencies
You can think of a full-service marketing agency as a digital marketing agency and a traditional marketing agency blended together.
A full-service marketing agency is a one-stop solution if you’re looking to engage with your audience through both traditional and digital means.
Full-service marketing agencies offer comprehensive promotional services, including:
- Design
- Development
- Management
- Social media promotion
- Inbound marketing
- Traditional advertising
- Graphic design
- SEO
- Content marketing
- Market research
- Content development
- Website conversion optimization
Specialized marketing agencies
Specialized marketing solutions offer limited services tailored to specific marketing channels or industries.
Examples of these agencies include creative marketing agencies, boutique marketing agencies, and B2B marketing agencies.
Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider using a specialized marketing agency:
In-depth knowledge - Specialized agencies are known for dedicating their time and resources to deeply understand their chosen area of expertise. This in-depth knowledge is often worth the price alone so you don’t have to second guess your decisions about these specialized areas.
Targeted skill set - Not only will a specialized marketing agency have in-depth knowledge, but they’ll also have the exact skills needed to get the job done. Instead of trying to figure out how to handle SEO, public relations, or any other specialized skill, you can just let the experts do it for you.
Niche expertise - These types of agencies can also cater to niche industries and smaller audiences. Unlike a general agency, a specialized marketing agency is more likely to hire experts that can help you resonate with a specific target market.
Benefits of hiring a marketing agency
Marketing agencies have experienced professionals who possess comprehensive market knowledge and can provide tailored solutions that address specific business challenges and goals.
Working with the right marketing agency can provide several benefits for businesses, including:
Access to specialized expertise - Marketing agencies have specialists in every area of marketing, from SEO to social media. These agencies can use their wealth of expertise and specialized knowledge to help your content stay relevant.
Cost-effectiveness - Agencies have the ability to scale their services to fit your budget so that you only pay for what you need.
Ability to focus on the core operations of the company - Outsourcing your marketing campaigns to an agency will free up your time so you can focus on running your business. This can lead to improved efficiency and productivity in your overall business operations.
Fresh perspective - When it comes to your own work, you’re just too connected to it to see it objectively. A marketing agency can provide unbiased feedback and suggest new ideas that you may not have considered.
Access to the latest technology - Technology can get expensive. Instead of spending your hard-earned money on the newest marketing tools and technology, you can utilize marketing agencies, which will have everything required for the job.
In-house marketing vs. hiring an agency
Choosing between a marketing agency and hiring in-house talent for marketing efforts depends on several factors, such as brand familiarity, availability, and cost.
While in-house marketing teams may have a deeper understanding of your brand and can offer more immediate accessibility, they may lack the specialized skills and resources that a marketing agency can provide.
Here are the pros and cons of using an in-house marketing team vs. utilizing a marketing agency.
Cost
In-house pros:
- You’ll have more control over budgeting, like determining salaries, benefits, and resources.
- You can build a long-term investment with an in-house marketing team that’s more likely to align with your business goal.
In-house cons:
- Maintaining an in-house team may lead to higher fixed costs when adding up all the salaries, benefits, training, and infrastructure.
- These higher fixed costs can be especially bad for smaller businesses and startups.
Agency pros:
- A marketing agency can provide cost flexibility by offering their services on a contract basis. This allows you to scale your budget up and down as you see fit.
- In some cases, you can pay for one or a few specific services instead of the entire package. In those cases, you can save a little bit of money.
Agency cons:
- You may have to pay higher upfront costs, depending on the agency.
- You will have less control over the process, and no amount of money will buy back that control.
Expertise
In-house pros:
- Your in-house team will have a deep knowledge of your brand and direct experience working with your company.
- With an in-house team, you will have direct access to experts who are readily available to address any marketing concerns that may arise.
In-house cons:
- Your in-house team may become insular and less exposed to industry trends, innovative ideas, and fresh perspectives.
- Your in-house team may lack certain specialized skills that are more likely to be present with a marketing agency.
Agency pros:
- A marketing team can offer a diverse team of professionals with specialized skills. They can offer a breadth of experience with access to a range of knowledge and capabilities.
- Agencies work with multiple clients from different industries. This experience exposes them to a variety of solutions that can be used in your marketing.
Agency cons:
- Engaging a marketing agency requires an onboarding process so that both parties get on the same page about your goals.
- Most marketing agencies will have limited availability.
Flexibility
In-house pros:
- You’ll have direct control over the agency’s workload and priorities.
- An in-house team can work closely with other departments within the company. This can provide seamless integration between sales, product development, and customer support.
In-house cons:
- An in-house team may face limitations in terms of scalability. Scalability would require additional resources to meet increased demands. This can take time and add to your overall costs.
- There’s a good chance that your in-house team might not be big enough to handle large-scale jobs.
Agency pros:
- A marketing agency is designed to quickly scale its services up or down based on your needs.
- A marketing agency can bring a fresh perspective to your marketing campaign. An agency also has the flexibility to change the direction of your campaign toward those fresh ideas without much of a problem.
Agency cons:
- There may be a learning curve for the agency to overcome that may take up precious time.
- Because of the typical workload of a marketing agency, it may take time for you to get in contact with them if a problem arises. This can also slow the project down.
Scalability
In-house pros:
- Quick response times can lead to faster growth.
- You’ll have direct control of resources, putting every aspect of scalability in your hands.
In-house cons:
- Scalability requires higher fixed costs, like hiring new employees or investing in training materials.
- Other fixed costs may include equipment, salaries, benefits, and office space.
Agency pros:
- A marketing agency is capable of quickly allocating resources to meet scalability needs.
- A marketing agency allows you to scale your marketing efforts without being hit with all the fixed costs associated with hiring and trading new employees.
Agency cons:
- You will be relying on the agency’s availability and capacity to handle your scaling needs, giving you less direct control.
- The speed at which your business scales may be hindered by the often lackluster communication channels provided by marketing agencies.
Key takeaways
- Marketing agencies provide tailored strategies and services to help businesses optimize revenue.
- Different types of marketing agencies offer comprehensive, digital, specialized, or advertising solutions.
- Partnering with a marketing agency provides access to expertise and knowledge that can save time and increase ROI.
- An in-house marketing team will have in-depth knowledge of your brand, while hiring an external marketing agency will allow you to scale your marketing efforts more effectively.
Conclusion
Marketing agencies play a crucial role in helping businesses achieve their goals in an ever-changing landscape.
By understanding the different types of marketing agencies, the benefits of partnering with them, and how to choose the right fit for your business, you can harness the power of expert marketing assistance to navigate the online landscape.
