Decades ago, marketing was containable. We had a finite number of channels—print, radio, TV, direct mail—and the strategies and tools required to manage these channels were comprehensible. Then, the Internet came along and let marketing out of its cage. Like water to a gremlin, marketing entered a rapid, sporadic state of growth and eventually developed into the monstrosity of channels, tools, tactics, strategies and standards you see today. Wrangling the marketing beast can feel a lot like lassoing Godzilla, but that doesn’t mean digital marketing success is impossible. You may just need a little extra help holding onto the ropes.
Organizations can succeed with a small, specialized team and strategic, targeted efforts, but gaps in their skill sets, tactics and capabilities are inevitable. These gaps are largely to blame for why:
The only surefire way to tame the beast and harness its power for the betterment of your brand is to partner with a digital marketing agency.
Partnering with a digital marketing agency is like acquiring an elite army with tactical training, an arsenal of martech tools, and the skills to execute plans with remarkable precision. The vast majority of organizations simply cannot afford to bring all of this in-house:
According to a recent study, 50 percent of businesses already outsource part of their digital marketing efforts to an agency. Another 32 percent plan to outsource efforts this year, and this percentage is expected to continue climbing. What do these statistics tell us? That the decision to outsource marketing efforts is no longer a matter of “whether,” but of “how much” and “when.” On the short list, a digital marketing agency will:
The marketing monster will continue to disrupt the digital marketing industry well into the future. Some trends are expected to shake up strategies as soon as this year! An agency partnership will help your business prepare for:
Smart speakers and voice assistants are completely changing the way audiences search for products and services. Between 2008 and 2017, voice queries increased by 3,400 percent, according to HubSpot. No doubt, this trend will have a lasting impact on mobile and content marketing strategies.
According to Ascend’s State of Content Marketing Report, 64 percent of marketers name video as the most difficult form of content to create. Unfortunate, considering that, by 2021, video will account for 82 percent of all IP traffic. At this rate, one or two videos a year won’t cut it. You will need full-scale support and enhanced video capabilities, such as virtual and augmented reality, to compete for your audience’s attention.
We have more than 23 billion connected devices worldwide. This number is expected to billow over the next several years, surpassing 30 billion by 2020. That’s more than four times the world population! From a marketing standpoint, we will need to get creative about how to deliver content across new platforms with limited interfaces.
The marketing monster is a real beast, but it doesn’t have to be. Protect your brand, marketing dollars and future by joining forces with a digital marketing agency. We know exactly how to transform daunting trends into dangerously competitive advantages for your business. Need proof? Check out our stats.
