What is a digital marketing consultant?
A digital marketing consultant is someone with knowledge of all aspects of what it takes to make a business as visible as possible (to the right people) online.
They can see what a business needs and figure out where, and how, to position them online to be successful.
What does a digital marketing consultant do?
A full-service digital marketing consultant handles anything online that gets your company in front of potential customers. Below are some of those services.
Digital marketing services:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
- PPC (Pay Per Click)
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Branding
- News
- Lead Generation
- Influencer Marketing
- Video Game Marketing
The possibilities are endless really. There are more avenues available for digital marketing all the time. One of the most exciting things is that if you are creative and persistent enough you can be successful.
Digital marketing consulting for 2021
2021 is all about building a website that will last the test of time. That is why website optimization should be the 1st step of any digital marketing plan. If your site is properly optimized it will enhance everything else you do online from a marketing perspective.
I understand this is a controversial perspective. But I also understand that the easiest avenue to a paycheck for a marketing company is to sell you ad space. But ad space only lasts as long as you are paying. A properly researched and formatted website will benefit you long after the work is done. The benefit of this does not come immediately but rather builds like a snowball down a hill over time. This is a big reason many companies don’t recommend optimization 1st. It is harder to explain to a customer that the benefit will come a couple of months after the work is done. But, it is also the most effective way to build a business online and should not be overlooked.
Your website is an investment that builds over time. Make sure you build it the right way and don’t start buying ad space before you have the proper foundation to support those visitors and build off them.
What to look for in a digital marketing consultant?
It is hard to know what to look for an internet marketing consultant. There is no shortage of people saying that they can increase your web traffic by hundreds and even thousands of times, but it is a very small percentage of those that actually deliver on those promises. The main goal for most digital marketers is to sell ad space, or backlink and citation services that they then farm out to “SEO Farms” that essentially link your website to spam networks. Google is getting better at identifying these practices and has spoken out against them for years.
I say this so that you are hopefully careful when you select an online marketing specialist. I am going to discuss a few things to look for so that you can hire the right person for you.
Do you feel you can trust them?
This is the toughest one to judge. A lot of the time you will just have a phone conversation or two to make your decision.
One thing that I have noticed with online marketing is that Marketing Consultants will throw around big words and “catchphrases” to seem knowledgeable. Marketing, like anything else, is about how you apply what you know to be effective in the current situation. Knowing how to recite what you are supposed to do does not mean you know how to plan and apply it correctly.
Make sure you ask potential online marketers how they will specifically target and structure your digital marketing plan and execution. Even though the same general rules apply for all businesses online, the approach and focus can be very different from one company to the next.
Talking to 3-5 companies and getting proposals from all of them (Most marketing companies will do some sort of free analysis and consultation) is a good way to make sure you are getting good information by comparing what they all tell you.
Do they ask about you plans and goals for your business?
A big part of knowing where to go is knowing where you are at. Someone that is marketing your business should care about your vision and not just try to push their own. Make sure that they ask you questions and not just tell you things you want to hear.
Does your online marketing “professional” make huge promises?
Can you see enormous gains due to online marketing? Of course you can.
Is it ever guaranteed? NO!!!!
A marketing professional should really never promise you numbers. We can do a good job of assessing the potential your business has online and how hard it will be to reach that potential but we never know exactly what will happen.
I would choose a digital marketing consultant that shows you current numbers, potential, and a solid plan to reach that potential, over someone who gives you a brief outline, big words, and big promises.
Digital marketing consultant for YouTube
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard people talk about having better YouTube videos but they are not getting any views. There can be many factors but here are some of the main ones.
Titles and Descriptions
What most people don’t understand is that Google owns YouTube and the search algorithms are similar. With YouTube, you don’t have as many tools at your disposal which makes your titles and descriptions so important.
Keyword Research
Keyword research to write titles and descriptions people are searching for, and that you have a chance of ranking for, will most likely save you years (and a lot of frustration) on the road to success online.
Influencer Marketing
Partnering with other influencers or paying them to advertise your channel are also great ways to grow your viewer base.
Someone that understands YouTube Marketing knows how to leverage influencer marketing to grow your channel. You have to be able to analyze the potential benefit of a partnership, know how to maximize it, and be able to format and negotiate a deal with the influencer.
Having a professional to help with influencer marketing can save you a lot of time and money if done correctly.
Paid Advertising on YouTube and others
Paid advertising can also be very effective to help grow a YouTube channel. Have your videos pop up before similar videos on YouTube or you can pay for ad space on many other websites. Your business will dictate the best strategy for this.
Most advertising money on the internet is wasted. Do not advertise without a well-researched plan. If you don’t know how to do this or don’t have the time I would recommend hiring a professional. This is not something you want to take lightly.
Digital marketing consultant for blogs
Most blogs that get written are seen by a small number of people or no-one at all. Most people don’t know that it can actually take a lot of time, effort, and research to have a successful blog.
A Blog is a business just like any other. Instead of selling a product, you provide value through education or entertainment.
There are different ways to monetize a blog such as selling ad space or selling sponsorships. No matter what strategy you take to make money, having someone on your side that knows what it takes to be successful is incredibly valuable. An internet marketing professional can save you time and years of your life by doing things right the 1st time.
Keywords
Keyword research and implementation can save you years of time in getting your blog to the people. A digital marketing consultant can bring the knowledge and planning needed to maximize your potential and write your blog correctly the 1st time.
I always tell people it is better to have 10 blog articles written in a way that search engines and viewers understand than to have 100 that nobody will ever see.
Content Length
How do you know how long your blog articles should be? It depends on your industry, area, competition, and more. Having a professional internet marketer can be a great tool so that you know how long your content needs to be and how much of it you might need to be successful.
Title and overall content structure
How you title and format your blog entries is a large part of determining how many people will see them. Making sure that your titles are relevant and that people actually search for those terms is important for how you will rank in search.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can be a great way to get a blog out there quickly. The problem is that most paid advertising is ineffective. It takes more research than you would think to launch an effective PPC campaign.
Especially for your 1st campaign, I would recommend hiring a digital marketing consultant. A good one will save you thousands on PPC campaigns by teaching you how to be effective