Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring an Internet Marketing Agency

Hiring an Internet marketing agency is a necessity these days. Their expertise can land your company right in front of your market. That being said, you need to know what to look for in order to hire the right one. Otherwise, the one you end up with will be far more trouble than they’re worth.
If your company is in the market for an Internet marketing agency, this should be a pretty exciting time. Soon, your bottom line will benefit from the expertise of a company that can bring you more exposure than ever before. However, now is not the time to lose your head. Hiring the right Internet marketing agency is indeed going to be a huge help. Hiring the wrong one, on the other hand, could set your business back considerably. So here are some mistakes you’ll want to avoid making.

Not Being Specific about SEO
SEO is an essential field for getting ranked on search engines and finding your market. Unfortunately, it’s also a very broad subject that leaves itself open to vague service descriptions. So you want any potential Internet marketing agency to be specific about what they’re going to offer.
One mistake is to hire a company because they say they can handle things like backlinks, social media, directory listings and a whole collection of services that all happen away from your website. These things can definitely help; there’s no doubt about that. But what you want is a company that will also handle on-site SEO. That’s absolutely essential to climbing the ranks of Google.


Not Providing SEO Campaigns
Along the same lines, simply providing you with some blog posts or changing your meta descriptions won’t help either. You need a company that can actually give you legitimate SEO campaigns. This means syncing up every component of their SEO services so they all work in tandem to get you up those page ranks.
Don’t just take their word for it either. Ask them specifically about your company and website. What do they plan on doing with it to get results? Can they give you examples of when they’ve done this in the past?

Social Media, Social Media, Social Media
Nothing is as hot in marketing right now as social media. As such, expect that any Internet marketing agency you talk to is going to bring up this golden calf. The problem is social media—a lot like SEO—is rife with vague services and empty results.

One perfect example is Twitter followers (or Facebook friends, etc.). Each follower isn’t worth the same amount in terms of the resources it takes to secure them. Think of them like actual customers. If you ran a car lot that sold minivans, who’s worth more to you:
•    Customer 1: Recent college graduate, single, lives in the city by the subway.
•    Customer 2: Married career man in his 30s who’s expecting twins.
That’s how you need to think of Twitter followers and other social media currency. A company with a long history of securing these may actually not be worth your time. You don’t want followers/friends/pins, you want leads. Hire the company that shows you how they’re able to procure actual leads from social media.

Assuming They’re Responsible for Their Resume
You always want to look at the resume of any Internet marketing agency you’re interviewing. But that doesn’t mean you simply assume they’re responsible for the success they’ve had. In today’s day and age, those numbers could come from a variety of things.
This is why you have to contact their prior clients and ask them about the agency in question and how big a role they really played. It could be that a competitor went out of business, they came out with a new product or they simply started using Facebook. While this would be a rare event to happen consistently for an agency, it’s worth taking a second to make that call.

Neglecting Your Own Talents
The right Internet marketing agency will be a godsend and worth every cent that you pay. However, that doesn’t mean you need to overpay or even purchase certain services. You may be able to handle your blog perfectly well, for example. Updating social media may be in your wheelhouse. If those things aren’t jobs you can handle now, consider taking classes or otherwise learning the ropes. You could potentially save a lot of money and maintain some control.
Before you hire an chicago Internet marketing agency, make sure you’re avoiding the above mistakes. Countless companies before you have made them and some didn’t recover.

For more info about Chicago interactive marketing agency visit us.
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How an Interactive Marketing Agency Can Help

 Marketing agencies have long been essential to a company’s success. But that doesn’t mean they’re still as effective as they used to be. In today’s day and age, an interactive marketing agency is more up to speed. If you want your company to get found online and connect with customers like never before, they’re the solution.

Every company needs solid marketing. It’s how potential customers find out about your business. But it’s also how they become excited about it and even motivated to buy. Decades ago, there was only one type of company when you needed help running ads. Now, however, one of the best choices you can make is considering interactive marketing agencies. Want to know why? Keep reading.

An Interactive Marketing Agency vs. the Traditional Kind
You may be wondering what the difference is between an interactive marketing agency and the traditional type you’re probably more familiar with. Both share many things in common and, actually, most of the traditional versions have some kind of interactive facet to them nowadays, if they’re smart.
The main difference is that interactive agencies tend to put their focus solely on the Internet. This is especially true of social media. Traditional ad agencies usually focus on print, radio and television ads for marketing purposes. Interactive agencies also support a number of other methods like:
•    CDs
•    DVDs
•    RSS feeds
•    Email marketing
•    Online videos
•    Podcasts
•    Apps
•    Games
They rarely, if ever, cross over into traditional channels.
While some traditional firms have evolved into interactive ones, many interactive firms actually started as web design companies. Over time, they simply kept adding services to their line because traditional firms didn’t know how to handle them. A lot of traditional firms even outsourced their customers’ needs to web design companies that eventually became interactive agencies.
The cool thing about an interactive marketing agency that started as a web design firm is that they have a unique understanding of how the Internet works. Many of these agencies are specialists in search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO). Even today, their traditional rivals may still be catching up in a lot of these areas.

Some of the major services these agencies provide include:

Increased Sales
Interactive agencies aren’t just interacting with your audience, they’re studying them. They’re also writing the kind of copy that turns interested buyers into satisfied customers. Plus, unlike traditional marketing through the TV or radio, interactive solutions generally give the viewer the ability to make a purchase on the spot.

Reputation Management
One important area an interactive marketing agency may specialize in is known as reputation management. We all know that our reputations are important, but this is especially true in business. Sometimes, it’s the only thing separating you from your competition. So many companies work hard to keep theirs pristine.
Unfortunately, that can be fairly difficult thanks to the Internet. If someone writes negatively about your company and gets those comments ranked high enough in Google, your business will most likely take a hit.
However, thanks to an interactive marketing agency with an intricate knowledge of SEO and SEM, that page can soon start to lose rank and eventually its potency altogether.
Reputation management can also mean that the agency monitors social media on your behalf to keep an ear out for any conversations about you or your company. Aside from reporting back, they can also work to ensure there are plenty of positive opinions being expressed on various platforms. Also, if a conversation is centered on a customer’s complaint, they can alert the client to reach out to that person and smooth things over.


Feedback
As you’ve probably guessed,Chicago interactive marketing agency also specialize in customer feedback. Unlike ads in a magazine or on a billboard, they have the technology and expertise to monitor what’s really engaging and make necessary changes on your behalf.
Interactive Marketers
Interactive marketing agencies will typically employ a wide range of specialists. This will differ somewhat depending on the industry they specialize in, but most will have some variation of:
•    Graphic designers
•    Web designers
•    Multimedia specialists
•    Copywriters
•    Social media manager
•    SEO specialist
With the right collection of the above, an interactive marketing agency can accomplish all kinds of things on the Internet. Some, however, may only have a few people, but because of their specialties and the industry they serve, that’s good enough.
While you may not have the budget for an agency’s help at the moment, keep the above in mind in case that changes. An interactive marketing agency can help get your company the exposure it needs in some pretty incredible ways.

For info about Chicago marketing strategy firms visit us.

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Planning for Your Chicago Web Marketing Agency Meeting

The first time you meet with a marketing agency it can be pretty scary, especially if you are a small firm without much experience in marketing. It is overwhelming to think you are going to pay some of your hard earned money to someone else in the hope that they can help you make more money. But if you prepare yourself ahead of time you will not have to be scared before you hire your marketing agency. Take the time to write down your goals, set your budget and go to a couple consultations before you hire the agency that is going to work with you. 

Make a list of the goals you would like to achieve by using a marketing company. This should be a broad list that includes everything you can possibly think of that involves marketing. When your list is complete, take a look at the items you have and see if any of them are things you or your business associates could complete on your own. If they are things you think you can complete,then take them off the list. The remaining items should be a list of things you do not have the skills to complete and that your Chicago web marketing agency can help you with.

It is hard to set a budget for marketing, especially if this is the first year you will be spending money in this area. It does not matter how much money you set aside for marketing, just set aside what you feel your company can afford. This amount is what you can get started with when you meet with the marketing firms. Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to start your marketing work with a small budget. You do not need to have thousands of dollars to make a big difference in your marketing efforts.  No matter what your budget is, go into your consultation ready to negotiate prices.

Before you hire a marketing company you should visit with a couple different firms and do a consultation with them. During your consultation the marketing company will discuss what you can expect from them and their rates for these services. It is not necessary to accept the first rate they quote you and you can discuss discounts or package deals that may work best for you. Do not settle for the first price the marketing company gives you, instead; take the time to negotiate a price that suites you best.

When you start planning to build your marketing efforts it might be a little overwhelming. Before you go to your first meeting it can help if you have a defined set of goals for your marketing campaign and the budget you plan to work with. When you have your consultation you can talk about your ideas for your marketing campaign and even ideas for the future or additional marketing plans. Your marketing firm is there to help you meet your needs, so do not feel afraid to ask them for exactly what you want.

To Know More about Chicago interactive marketing agency visit us. 

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