Many companies and entrepreneurs consider using an online advertising agency in order to grow their business.
Keeping in mind that people at these agencies are specialists in communications and advertising, the results are often positive. However, if you’re someone who’s unsure whether or not an online advertising agency is for you, this article will provide you with the keys to know how to pick the best suited agency for your needs.
The best thing to do is to start at the beginning. Do you actually need an advertising agency?
Services offered by external advertising agencies can help you identify the best strategies for promoting your company and for increasing your sales.
Among the advantages of utilizing an advertising agency are: the design of an overall strategy centered around your company, the monitoring and supervision of metrics (so that nothing is overlooked) and support and insight designed just for you. Sounds good, right? Let’s continue!
What to Look for in an Online Advertising Agency?
Just like any other service, it’s not always easy to know what to look for when selecting an online advertising agency either. In fact, the leading question people have is “On what basis do I chose a company with ‘x’ characteristics?” Today, we’re going to provide a checklist to help you figure out the best qualities for your business so that it can stand out in front of the competition.
- They have experience. You need an agency with experience; one who has previously dealt with clients and can prove they can help you achieve your campaign goals. Additionally, taking the time to review an agency's previous success stories and to check out the campaigns of some of their other clients within your market can prove to be helpful in finding the right agency for your company.
- They are experts in their respective fields. To be specialized requires having a professional team across different fields; each person does their part and truly knows what they’re doing and that they are capable of creating a well-rounded strategy. Furthermore, it’s important the agency staff knows how to explain what they do. Finally, agencies who offer blogs and educational materials for their potential clients tend to cover this aspect well.
- They ask plenty of questions about your business, products/services and goals. It might sound silly but, an agency that asks a lot of questions regarding your business is usually a pretty good agency. Only by fully submerging themselves into your brand will they be able to establish specific goals and the right strategies for meeting such goals. But, how are they going to be capable of creating a good campaign?
- They do tests in order to optimize your campaign. Optimizing campaigns and formats of online advertising involves improving the proposed actions in order to increase yield at a more affordable cost. However, getting the best optimization means carrying out lots of tests. If the agency you have in mind does this, you’re probably getting close to making the right decision. Also, there's nothing inherently 'bad' about running tests - quite the contrary! They’re actually quite positive and very necessary in order to learn about new possibilities and ideas (that could later be used to promote your own business). In this way alone will you be able to know what works best for your clientele.
- They’re always up-to-date and looking for new ways of working and improving. Trends within the world of communication and advertising are constantly evolving. A good agency is always at the cutting edge; they look for new strategies, formats and tools. After an internal analysis, an the agency can then propose their findings to their clients; clients can be key in seeing improvements. Tests within the world of advertising, whether for new strategies or for proposals focused on the use of certain applications, are almost always synonymous that things are being done well.
- They’re not afraid to say “we don’t know.” Just like no single person knows everything, being an “expert” does not mean someone knows every single detail of every single field. If you ask your agency something and their response is “I don’t know, but I’ll check it out!”, you should take this as a good sign. To consider oneself above the rest without knowing the plethora of other theories and concepts out there does not make them an “expert”. Looking up answers to unknown question and then giving fully explaining them to clients, however, is.
- They have workplace values an ethics. Hiring an online advertising agency who has as a team that works in positive, uplifting and ethical work environment is a huge plus for your business. If an agency is mindful of their own staff, they will more than likely be highly motivated and ready to face challenges your company faces. They will also have the right attitude when faced with your business objectives and will likely turn them into a job well done. This type of agency, without a doubt, would be the best partner to have in order to promote your content!
- They give you complete, regular and well-explained reports. It’s essential to monitor campaigns; if you don’t measure current campaigns, you can’t improve on future campaigns. For this reason, when the time comes to pick an online advertising agency, keep in mind the documents they prepare for you as one of the primary priorities for achieving your goals. Only with this data can you know what is working and what still needs to be worked on.
What Will the Future of Online Advertising Agencies Be Like?
The internet has greatly changed the way in which we do things. In fact, the internet has revolutionized many business and has allowed for new activities to successfully take off. It’s logical, then, to assume that all of these online changes will also have an effect on online advertising agencies. So, what will agencies be like in the future?
Even though we don’t have a crystal ball, based on current trends, we are able to predict with certain reliability the 'not-so-distant future'. In this light, there are three factors which clearly mark the difference between an online advertising agency of today and online advertising agency of yesterday. Want to know that they are?
- Specialized staff. The importance of a specialized staff within the advertising sector is clear, therefore, we are confident that future ‘marketers’ will be especially quick, analytic and easily adaptable to the changes within the world of the internet.
- Metrics. The internet allows us to get data in real time. It’s becoming easier and easier to do this and we are confident the future be even more so. Everything will be measurable, but, make sure to note the differences between general data and those accessed via special tools from specific KPIs of each activity. The latter requires a bit of a defining process and analysis beforehand, however. Once carried out, they too will be able to be measured from the start.
- Performance marketing. Here, we’re going for a business model in which you flee from fees for specific online advertising actions. With the right personnel and the advancement of tools and metrics that are always available, the concept of paid results can be achieved; agencies will negotiate with their clients the right price for the objectives they achieve.
Relying on the services of a good online advertising agency is truly an important factor for your business. In fact, it’s a decision you’ll never regret. At Cyberclick, our philosophy goes much further than just personalized attention for our clients. We are an agency with a clear vocation in communication. We commit to doing things in the best ways possible in order to meet our clients’ objectives. Moreover, our company's goal is to always exceed expectations.
