There is a lot of effort that goes into starting a business today. Some companies are meant to reach everyone across the globe, while others are meant to cater to a niche. Small businesses are just as vital as large corporations and the need for marketing and growth hold equal importance for both types of businesses. There are many essential activities that a small business cannot function without, and extensive digital marketing may not be one of them.

When is the right time to focus on online marketing?

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to digital marketing or online marketing for a small business. Businesses are often unsure about the right time to take their marketing to the next level.

• When a business plans to expand their reach, online marketing becomes the best course of action.
• Having an online presence helps in building trust. When people can find a business online, they automatically find the business trustworthy. Being able to get in touch with the company through social media helps people trust a company.
• An online marketing strategy should come into play when a company wants to update its customers about their new products and services.
• Market research helps a company understand the market demographics. When a company feels the need to target a specific set of customers, they should take a data-driven marketing approach.

Should small businesses hire digital marketing agencies?

When you are running a small business and have decided to focus on your marketing activities, hiring a digital marketing agency can be the right move. It is, however, important to hire the right agency and consider all the pros and cons of outsourcing your marketing activities to an external agency.

The pros of hiring an agency for marketing include the following points:

• An agency is an expert in the marketing domain and you do not have to worry about not having first-hand marketing experience.
• Agencies help you get results through marketing while you get time to focus on your core business.
• An agency will make sure that they use the best quality of media and medium.
• Agencies will use tried and tested methods that can be trusted to deliver results.
• The agency will conduct a market research for your business and work on the basis of the research data for better results.

The cons of hiring an agency may include the following points:

• Hiring an agency is costlier than conducting marketing activities in-house.
• Marketing activities will most likely take place from outside your business site.

What is the current rate for outsourcing the online marketing activities?

There are different marketing activities that are involved in digital marketing. The rates differ with different activities. Here is an outline of the prices you may find at present.

• For social media marketing, a business may have to spend between anywhere $1,000 and $20,000 per month depending on the agency it hires.
• If you are getting a market review and audit done through an agency, the cost for that can be somewhere around $1,195 a month.
• Online marketing strategy and planning for a small business can cost around $1,750. This cost is for a getting a personalized marketing strategy and plan.
• Brand identification is an important marketing activity and it essential for every business to have a distinct brand identity. A brand identification activity can cost approximately $1,995 for a month.

What are some online marketing strategies that are beneficial to every small business?
Digital marketing or online marketing strategies help a business achieve its desired goals. Growth and profit are important long-term goals of any business and the right online marketing strategies can help a business get closer to them.

• Prioritizing a customer’s needs is very important. Market research helps a business understand who is more likely to become their new customer, and tapping only those customers can be more beneficial than tapping every single internet user.
• Search engine optimization is on the top of every to-do list of marketing activities. Updating your SEO every three months is important to remain visible in the customers’ eye.
• Blogging is important to keep your business fresh in the minds of people. Posting relevant data on your company’s blog will help your business generate more leads.