What Does a Marketing Agency Do and How Much Does it Cost to Hire One?
by Robert Clough
When was the last time you saw an advert on television and wondered about who made it? The chances are it was probably put together by a marketing firm. In an age of savvy consumers and a multitude of media channels, it can be difficult to know where to start.
That’s why many businesses and professionals now like to leave marketing agencies to build the brand and bring in more customers. Here’s what a marketing agency does.
1. Marketing Agencies Build Brands
The key thing that marketing agencies do is build up brands. A brand is more than just a logo or a slogan, it’s a whole ethos that governs the way the company behaves and acts. A marketing agency will usually employ brand managers that must be consulted in terms of managing the entire media campaign.
In consultation with the client, marketing agencies will determine what the companies’ core values are. Is it a sustainable, green company? Or is it a company for young people trying to be cool and fashionable? Or perhaps, if the client is a law firm, like gladiatorlawmarketing.com, one of the core values is professionalism and confidentiality.
Once these values have been established other experts in the agency can come into their own as designers start to decide on the color scheme and copywriters can build the copy for the website in adherence to brand guidelines.
By strictly adhering to a brand strategy, the company can successfully target the customers most likely to purchase their product or service and increase the profit of the company.
2. They Manage Social Media
Another key aspect of a marketing firm is how they manage social media. In today’s modern age social media is imperative but it is full of pitfalls. Without a proper strategy, the company could find itself in the middle of a Twitter storm. A company also needs to understand how to make meaningful connections. There are many key questions that a marketing agency must try to answer when it comes to social media.
What Channels to Use?
Not every social media channel is appropriate for every company. A law firm, targeting high-end business clients, for instance, might struggle to engage with Pinterest as this is mainly a social media channel for fashionistas where they can share their latest designs to mood boards.
Many people have predicted that in 2020 Instagram will become the channel for business.
Twitter for a law firm might also be controversial. Nobody hiring a lawyer wants to know the political leanings of the organization or behind-the-scenes insights. The later would create too much of an informal image and the former could alienate clients who don’t share the views of the lawyer.
How Often to Post? And What to Post?
The great thing about hiring a marketing agency is that they manage the entire strategy. With a designer and a publicist and a host of other professionals, there can be a group discussion about what should be posted and the nature of the content. This can solve many of the issues of allowing one person to manage social media channels which can lead to a Twitter storm or a Facebook meltdown.
3. They Manage Print Campaigns
As well as managing social media channels, a marketing firm can also manage print campaigns. These can take the role of features in pre-existing magazines and newspapers or the marketing firm can create their own publications for their client. Though the cost of marketing in-house print publications could be extensive.
Publicists that the marketing firm employs will have good contacts at major newspapers and magazines and will know how to craft stories that will interest them. For example, if the client is a travel company then the publicists at the marketing firm should be able to target magazines such as Wanderlust Magazine, Lonely Planet or even the travel section of the New York Times.
4. They Shape Broadcast Media Campaigns
Marketing firms can also help to get some of their clients mentioned on television. Not all clients are high profile enough to merit this platform but a good marketing firm will know when opportunities arise and will be able to pursue these.
One of the things a marketing agent can do is to set up media training for the appropriate person in the company if they are to be interviewed on TV. This can ensure that the company stays on message and is able to convey the brand that the marketing firm has spent time crafting. When people ask what does a marketing company do, shaping campaigns is often what they do better than anything else.
What Does a Marketing Agency Do? It Creates a Coherent Message
Many people wonder about the question of what does a marketing agency do? And what are the benefits of hiring a marketing firm compared to doing the marketing in-house? A marketing agency can work full time on a holistic marketing strategy, creating a brand and overseeing every aspect of the marketing.
The cost of marketing might be more expensive than the company doing it in-house but the coherence of the message is what justifies this cost. A marketing agency will often have experts in all different fields. Publicists will have extensive contacts in the media that they are able to exploit so that the company gets maximum coverage on television and in newspapers and magazines.
Meanwhile, social media experts can spend all day crafting tweets and posts that reflect the values of the company. And a brand manager will usually oversee all of this to ensure that all of the elements of the marketing strategy work together.
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