Introduction
Gone are the days when business owners could only rely solely on traditional marketing to promote their brand. Today, digital marketing has almost everything your business needs to grow. You can use various marketing channels, such as social media, emails, search engines, and websites.
will not fully replace traditional marketing, but it will continue to dominate a large portion of the marketing landscape.
Consider outsourcing digital marketing services in Singapore to get ahead of the competition. In doing so, you can hire a digital agency that will take care of your campaign and help you boost sales, grow an audience, and improve your online presence.
Here are some of the essential facts you need to know about digital marketing.
WHAT IS DIGITAL MARKETING?
Digital marketing is a subset of marketing that uses digital-based technology to promote products and services. Examples of such technologies include computers and mobile phones.
The difference between traditional and digital marketing is that the former is restricted to print media, such as billboards, newspaper ads, brochures, flyers, and more. As for digital marketing, the Internet is your playground, and you can take advantage of it to build your business.
While traditional marketing still has a special place in the marketing industry, digital marketing is becoming increasingly essential for businesses of all types. Besides allowing you to reach a broader audience, digital marketing services in Singapore are usually more cost-effective than traditional marketing.
Most importantly, digital marketing offers a wide range of services, such as , search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, social media marketing, and more. By choosing the right type of marketing service, you can meet your business needs in the most efficient way possible.
DIGITAL MARKETING STATISTICS IN 2021
Digital marketing is becoming more widely used by businesses today. Check out this list of numbers and statistics below to gain more insights into the world of digital marketing in 2021.
PART 1: WHAT DOES A DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY DO?
You can grow an audience and boost sales over time just by using digital marketing platforms. In that case, it would be a brilliant idea to hire a full-service digital marketing agency.
A digital agency houses SEO specialists, social media managers, and many other marketing-based professionals who can help expand your online presence. You could hire a third-party digital marketing agency in Singapore on a contractual basis to provide your business with digital marketing services.
Outsourcing your digital marketing is beneficial in the long run. However, before hiring a digital marketing company, try learning more about the various digital marketing services. Doing so will allow you to choose the right type of digital marketing service for your business.
Here are the different types of digital marketing services that most agencies offer.
TYPES OF DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES
1. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)
In this day and age, having a solid online presence is a must for every business, especially if you consider the rising number of internet users, which is around . Because of this, it might be wise to invest in .
SEO, also known as search engine optimisation, is the process of optimising your website to improve its web visibility and search engine rankings. With SEO, you can acquire more website visitors and boost sales.
SEO works by making a website “search engine-friendly”. To do so, you can improve your website’s loading speed, compress images and videos, create an XML sitemap, and optimise your website for mobile devices.
SEO is essential for your business because it helps search engines like Google and Bing easily understand your website. These search engines use automated software called bots or spiders that crawl through websites to gather data and put them in an index.
Millions of people use Google every day, so it is safe to say that optimising your website through SEO is an effective way to attract potential customers online. You could increase the quantity of organic traffic to your website and improve your online presence.
There are many ways to include SEO in your digital marketing strategy. The different types of SEO services are:
- Technical SEO
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Local SEO
- Mobile SEO
- eCommerce SEO
These SEO services can improve your organic reach through unpaid search results. It is a cost-effective way to build your online presence without spending too much money on your marketing investment.
2. SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM)
Unlike SEO, which focuses on organic search, SEM is all about improving a website’s online visibility through paid advertising. Advertisers can pay for ads to appear on a search engine results page (SERP), earn clicks, and drive paid traffic to their website.
utilise paid advertising techniques to improve web visibility. SEM also involves various marketing strategies, specifically pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, which lets advertisers bid on keywords to secure ad space.
Every time someone clicks on your ad, you will have to pay a given fee depending on the cost-per-click (CPC) of your keyword bid. For that reason, SEM is usually more costly than SEO. However, your investment in SEM will be worth the expenses since you can improve your web visibility more quickly than SEO.
The most popular SEM platform is Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords. It is an online advertising platform that lets you display ads to a specific audience anytime. Its best feature is the option to target ads by reaching people who are likely to be interested in your products or services.
3. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
When comparing digital marketing platforms, nothing is probably as versatile nor efficient as social media. You could use different social networking sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more, to engage with your target audience and grow a list of followers.
The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to social media marketing in Singapore. There are around in the country, making it a wise choice to invest in social media marketing. Your business could grow an audience if you use the right platform, too.
Before making an effective strategy, you need to consider a few things:
- YOUR GOALS. Whether you want to raise awareness or drive sales, you have to know your goals above all else. It will help you decide which social media platform is perfect for meeting your business needs.
- YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. Identifying your target audience is necessary for choosing the right social media site. Know which social media platform is where your customers are most likely to be actively present.
- YOUR TYPE OF CONTENT. Videos, images, infographics, blog posts—these are some of the types of content you could create to attract social media followers. Determine the types of content you wish to make so you can choose a suitable social media platform.
Using at least one social media site is essential for your business. However, you have better chances of success if you utilise multiple social media marketing platforms. If that is the case, consider outsourcing most of your . It will lighten your workload and give you more time to plan your marketing strategies.
4. CONTENT MARKETING
Content marketing is a long-term strategy that aims to build relationships with consumers by creating high-quality content in many forms, such as videos, infographics, blogs, case studies, etc.
Establishing relationships is vital since many customers prefer to purchase from trusted brands. The good news is that is perfect for building your reputation. You can publish content on your website or social media to engage with consumers.
There are many ways to produce quality content. Some of them include:
- Blog posts
- Guest posting
- Commercials
- Ebooks
- White papers
- Webinars
- Interviews
By creating high-quality content for your target audience, you can build trust and establish your credibility. It can even cement your brand as an industry expert, as long as you continue to share valuable information from credible sources.
5. WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Having a respectable search engine ranking is not enough if your website presents a poorly designed user experience. Build a high-quality website that screams authenticity and authority. Not only will it benefit your SEO rankings, but a well-designed website should help you earn your customers’ trust.
Your website will serve as an entry point for first-time visitors. By designing your website with exceptional aesthetics and a user-friendly interface, you can set a positive first impression of your brand.
A typical usually offers website design and development services. Try to hire one if you need help building a conversion-driven, aesthetically pleasing website.
THE BENEFITS OF DIGITAL MARKETING
Compared to traditional marketing, you have more opportunities to grow your business with digital marketing. Digital marketing is simply more immersive, thanks to a wide range of marketing channels, from social media and websites, down to emails and search engines.
Here’s how digital marketing can benefit your business.
1. EXPAND YOUR REACH
Whether your audience is located nearby or outside the country, digital marketing services can help you expand your reach globally. Use digital marketing to engage with a broad audience. Over time, your marketing efforts will help your business develop a well-established online presence.
2. GAIN CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Attracting new customers can be more expensive than retaining existing customers. It’s a good thing that digital marketing gives you many opportunities to gain customer loyalty. For instance, social media marketing lets you interact with your followers, understand their needs and earn their trust.
3. ESTABLISH YOUR CREDIBILITY
One of the many goals of digital marketing is establishing credibility. After all, your brand image is a vital element of your marketing strategy. It will be challenging to promote your products if customers do not trust your brand, so you have to earn their trust first.
For example, if you want to build your reputation, try creating quality content in the form of blog posts or case studies to provide readers with valuable insights about your products or services.
Another method for building brand credibility is to optimise your website for SEO and improve your online presence. It will take time, but your website shall look more reputable and trustworthy once it stays on top of a SERP.
4. IT IS COST-EFFECTIVE
Digital marketing services are affordable, especially if you consider the high return on investment (ROI) that comes with a successful digital marketing campaign. It is also cost-effective because you can adjust your digital marketing campaigns rather quickly, making it more convenient than traditional marketing.
Most digital marketing strategies are cost-effective since you can reach a broad audience on various online channels, such as social media and websites. Also, unlike traditional marketing, there is no need to pay for television, print, newspaper, and radio advertising, all of which are usually more expensive than online advertising.
5. ANALYSE YOUR COMPETITORS
Part of digital marketing is knowing your competitors. Ultimately, being competitive is an essential aspect of managing a business, so you have to be one step ahead of the competition for your marketing to succeed.
A good example is social media marketing. You have to gain more insights about how you can get the upper hand over the competition. To do so, you need to analyse your competitors and their marketing strategies on social media. Understand how other businesses are engaging with their audience effectively by monitoring their activities.
Overall, the wide range of software applications and platforms make it more convenient to analyse your competitors.
6. MEASURE YOUR RESULTS
When it comes to digital marketing, your results are quantifiable and trackable. You can discover the number of people who have engaged with your ads. After monitoring your campaign performance, you can plan even more efficient marketing strategies. Remember to analyse your results regularly to see which aspects of your marketing strategy require improvement.
7. DYNAMICALLY RETARGET WEBSITE VISITORS
You can use dynamic remarketing and show ads to previous website visitors, allowing you to manage your budget by focusing on potential customers at the bottom of the marketing funnel. You can tailor your dynamic ads to the specific needs of your customers based on their interests.
PART 2: IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT VS OUTSOURCING
Even though digital marketing benefits all types of businesses, it takes time and commitment to generate an effective marketing strategy. It is the reason why most companies either recruit marketers or outsource their digital marketing services.
However, which one is better: in-house recruitment or outsourcing? Both are beneficial in unique ways. But in the end, it is up to you to decide which option is better for your business.
Discover the pros and cons of in-house recruitment and outsourcing here.
THE PROS AND CONS OF IN-HOUSE RECRUITMENT
PRO #1: BUILD YOUR OWN TEAM
Do you prefer to manage your very own digital marketing team? If so, then perhaps recruiting new employees is the better choice. The best part about building a marketing team is that you can choose who to hire based on your preferences, likes, and needs.
PRO #2: COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAM DIRECTLY
Time is on your side, and there is no need for any interference or delay. With an in-house marketing team, you can communicate with your marketers directly anytime.
PRO #3: MAKE ADJUSTMENTS QUICKLY
Quick adjustments are never an issue if you have an in-house marketing team. You can make any urgent changes to your marketing whenever necessary.
CON #1: TRAINING IS DIFFICULT
Depending on the expertise of your newly hired employees, training them can be challenging. You will probably spend a lot of time training and getting to know more about your team. This situation will prove to be difficult if you are on a tight schedule.
CON #2: IT IS COSTLY
The worst part of in-house recruiting is the cost of hiring, which can be very expensive depending on your company’s budget and the applicant’s expected salary. Examine your budget before you plan to hire marketers for your business.
THE PROS AND CONS OF OUTSOURCING
PRO #1: HIRE PROFESSIONALS IMMEDIATELY
The entire purpose of outsourcing is to avoid the tedious and sophisticated process of hiring employees. There is no need to waste time looking for in-house employees. By hiring a third-party , you can outsource your services to professionals immediately.
PRO #2: AGENCIES HAVE EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES
Agencies would have experience servicing clients from various industries, such as health services, fashion, or even construction sectors. Your preferred digital agency either has enough experience or resources to help you do thorough research on your business and industry.
PRO #3: MANAGE YOUR CAMPAIGN STRESS-FREE
There is no other reason to get stressed about your marketing campaign. Unless you have personal issues regarding how your agency handles your marketing, you can otherwise manage your campaign stress-free. You can monitor your performance from a comfortable position as your third-party digital agency takes care of the heavy workload. All you need to do is give the agency your goals, objective, and preferred direction, and the agency shall handle the planning and execution.
CON #1: THE AGENCY MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR COMPANY CULTURE OR ETHICS
Each company is unique. There is a high chance that your agency may not be familiar with how your business operates. As such, the digital agency would need to spend more time understanding your brand’s voice, tone, and personality.
CON #2: SCHEDULES AND MEETINGS ARE MORE FREQUENT
Sometimes, it can be time-consuming to initiate a discussion or meeting with a third-party agency, as communication needs to be planned beforehand to accommodate both ends’ schedule. It requires more effort, unlike hiring in-house marketers, where you can converse with them directly anytime, even for impromptu discussions.
PART 3: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY?
If you have decided to outsource your digital marketing, SEM, or SEO services in Singapore, the next step is to choose the right agency for your business. Hiring just any agency is not enough; you have to pick one that can meet your business needs and goals.
What exactly are some of the factors you should consider before you hire a digital marketing company?
4 FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY
1. CREDIBILITY
Whether you are hiring an employee or a third-party agency, certain factors remain crucial, mainly credibility. You need to ensure that the agency you wish to hire is as credible as other people say.
The agency’s credibility will determine its level of expertise, so do some research before hiring one. Read a few testimonials or reviews from other clients. Start by visiting the company’s website and check if it has a testimonial page.
Another thing to consider is if the agency has accomplishments and milestones. An that has won many awards or accolades is usually a good choice.
2. TRANSPARENCY
The company you wish to hire must be honest and accurate when creating detailed reports of your marketing campaign and investment. Omitting even the tiniest details can lead to confusion, causing you to be wary of your marketing efforts.
Transparency is crucial to you and your third-party agency’s relationship. You deserve to know all about your marketing campaign’s performance, so make sure you will hire an agency that is willing to keep you updated at all times.
3. BUDGET
How much are you willing to spend on digital marketing? Ask yourself this question so you can look for an agency that offers affordable services and packages within your budget range.
4. RANGE OF SERVICES
SEO, SEM, social media marketing, video marketing, website development—all of these digital marketing strategies can help your business thrive, so think of hiring an agency with a wide range of services. You have more potential to succeed if you invest in various digital marketing services.
CONCLUSION
Digital marketing is definitely a worthwhile investment if you’re looking to expand your online presence. Find a digital marketing company that can give you what your business exactly needs.
Get in touch with OOm today! at 6391-0930.
Leave a Reply