How to choose the right digital marketing agency for your eLearning business
In the post-COVID era, the digital marketing agency market has grown tremendously. More and more eLearning companies want to find their way into the digital world in order to survive. This factor has increased the demand for industry experts to arrive and guide eLearning companies. As a result, new digital agencies are surfacing that promise to offer the online remedy.
The unstoppable growth of digital marketing has raised the issue of trust. Today, a simple Google search can bring you countless choices of agencies ready to offer their services. However, this does not make it easy for the eLearning company manager. With a plethora of choices, it’s harder to find the right one for your business, as everyone promises but few deliver.
Don’t worry though; in this article, we’ll clear up the fog around digital marketing agencies and give you some advice to keep in mind at the decision-making stage. With the following tips at your disposal, you’ll be wiser to avoiding red flags along the way.
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Tips to choose the best digital marketing agency for your eLearning business
Before you start looking for the best digital marketing agency, let’s dive into the decision-making process. This section lists some valuable tips that will help you choose the best agency for your eLearning business. Without further ado, sharpen your pens and let’s get started!
1. Check out their website and social media
We can all agree that the first thing anyone would do in this case would be to search Google for a digital marketing agency. Let’s assume you’ve landed on their website. Do you like what you see? This is an important question to answer as you are entrusting your brand image to this agency. If they can make their brand attractive, maybe they can do the same with yours.
Make sure you look according to your goals. For example, if you are looking for a desk to hold your social mediaand then check their social media to see how they work.
2. Check their portfolio
Would you try a service that would last a long time without being sure? We don’t think so. Let’s say you are looking for a content marketing expert to help you get more organic traffic and better rankings in the SERPs. That is why checking the portfolio of the potential content marketing agency is of great importance. Usually such agencies tend to showcase their portfolios on their website so that they are easy to find.
What to look for:
- Important customers
- The result of their work
- Customers from your industry
Making sure to search for the above information will minimize the risk of failure and narrow the list of digital agencies. In addition, you can content marketing ideas for the campaigns they can build for you.
3. Look at their team members
Working with a digital marketing agency often feels like expanding your own business. During the process you contact them marketing team almost as often as with your own team. Therefore, you may want to consider checking their team members as well. In particular, ask yourself:
- Is their team experienced enough?
- What is the expertise of the team members?
- Are they communicative?
We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to consider their team members as part of your team. Look for values you want your team members to have. This can ensure a sufficient and successful cooperation.
4. Search for customer reviews
Social proof is the backbone of decision making. People tend to value reviews more than descriptions. That’s because it’s in our nature to trust someone more familiar with us. Yes, the other customers and their experience with content marketing campaigns from this office. So make sure you read the reviews carefully and target the customers who meet your own industry standards.
Nowadays you can find customer reviews almost everywhere in the online world. Start by looking at a Google search with specific keywords to find reviews about your potential partners. Continue by finding their social media accounts where you can see comments and reviews. Finally, feel free to view the relevant directories in which the digital marketing agency may appear. All the places mentioned above can provide you with enough social proof to make the right decision.
5. Make sure their company culture matches yours
As mentioned before, you will work closely with the agency for a long period of time. So you have to make sure that this new collaboration does not negatively affect your company culture. For this reason, you may prefer to work with a company that shares the same values as yours. Or maybe you want to partner with a company that has won an award for: best company culture† Such a collaboration can have a major impact on your own team. Also notice how they talk to each other during the meetings. If their employees are happy, so are the partners. This will ultimately help you build and execute effectively strategic marketing plan†
6. Avoid “overpromises”
Digital marketing is a fuzzy area with almost no certainty. Even if you have tons of experience and years of practice, you can’t be 100% sure that your next campaign will hit the mark. Especially if you are working with someone for the first time.
Therefore, if you hear exaggerated promises, stay away. Shady agencies tend to do this until you sign a contract with them. To avoid this unpleasant situation, prefer companies that mention the “downs”, the risks and promise more achievable goals.
7. Find a cooperative and communicative agency
This section adds value to the one we mentioned earlier. Digital marketing collaboration is a lengthy process. It is a collaboration of both giving and receiving. Spot the green and red flags in communication and collaboration from the first meetings. Do they ask you questions? Do they offer support availability? Do they think communication is important?
Keep in mind that the digital marketing agency you will be working with will be part of your in-house team, so look for values as you would in the hiring process. In general, the profile of your partners should match the profile of your team members, at least in terms of soft skills.
8. Commit to transparency, fairness and accountability
Partnering with the right digital marketing agency is often a long-term relationship. Especially if your cooperation includes: SEO initiatives† During such a long period of teamwork, you must strive for certain values that can make your choice of an agency a success.
In particular, the values to look for in an agency are:
Transparency is an indispensable value if you want to achieve your marketing goals. We already mentioned above that you should even give the agency full control over some marketing aspects. However, remember that you are the one who should have the last word. Make sure that from the first point of communication you notice that the agency you speak to is completely transparent with the client. This provides a bird’s eye view of the process and helps you avoid shady initiatives.
A full description is not necessary here. Honesty is a remarkable value in both individual and business relationships. You should ask the agency you will be working with to be honest with you along the way. Make sure they present not only the successes but also the failures. This adds prestige points and makes the collaboration smoother.
Nothing is promised in the marketing world. Most strategies used by agencies involve trial and error. That’s why there are times when things can go wrong. That’s not necessarily bad. What’s bad is when the agency puts the blame for their mistakes on you or on third parties. In this scenario, you have a clear indication that the potential relationship may soon be going sideways.
What you need to know before looking for the best digital marketing agency
There is no one-size-fits-all in digital marketing. Because every business is different, so is the service they require. Therefore, before you even start looking for the best digital marketing agency, you need to know who you are and what you need from the possible collaboration.
To do this, consider the following.
Every business is different, so every service needs to be tailored to the needs of the business. That is why it is important to analyze your goals before choosing a digital marketing agency. Knowing what you want to achieve with the potential partnership can pave the way for a successful partnership.
This is important not only for large organizations, but also for SMEs.
In small businesses, the process is simpler. In general, small businesses tend to have more achievable goals. Therefore, analyze the goal setting process you have made with your team and prepare for the next meeting with the agency.
Imagine a case where your SaaS eLearning company wants to increase organic traffic by 15%. Then you may want to look for an agency that specializes in link building services and has customers from your industry. This process narrows the search and increases the chance of success.
As with the previous section, we should point out that you may want to do your homework before the decision-making process begins. Undoubtedly, no one knows your business better than you. Therefore, it is necessary to be ready to provide the agency with the information they need. Having everything ready ahead of time allows the digital marketing agency to do its part more efficiently.
In many steps of the journey, the agency has full control over your digital marketing strategies and initiatives. That’s not necessarily bad. However, you should be aware that you are the customer here and you can ask anything about the process. Be prepared to ask questions about parts of the process that may seem unclear to you, since you are the one making the final decision.
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Main takeaway
Making your eLearning business stand out in a corporate world often feels like a survival game. Understandable, because the competition is huge.
So you need the right guidance to rule the online marketplace.
Moreover, there is little budgetary room for risks. These factors add to the importance of choosing the best digital marketing agency for your eLearning business.
In a plethora of choices, there are tips like the ones we’ve mentioned in this article to help you out.
Make sure to implement them in line with your business and industry.
Following these will help you find the “missing piece” of your business, its connection to the digital marketing sphere.