Did you know that marketing budgets don’t actually rank that highly in many modern business owners’ lists of priorities? To make a difference, it may be enough to simply write out a list of goals, calculate or “best guess” costs, and compare this to the realistic budget or income. Yet, not many businesses are ready to dive into this because a modern digital marketing strategy can seem so complex.
The Many Facets of Marketing Budgets
After all, there is so much that realistically goes into contemporary marketing budgets, and it has to do with the advent of the internet and the rapid-fire expansion of mobile and digital technologies. Just consider that a mere 25-30 years ago, marketing meant print, radio and/or TV advertising, yellow page listings, and direct mailings or calls. Today, those approaches are a bit outmoded or extinct, and a digital marketing strategy has to involve issues like:
- Website design
- SEO
- Target market research
- Channel development
- Content creation
- Social media marketing and all that it involves
- Analyzing and updating the strategy in real time
- PPC ads and other paid advertising methods, and more
All of these elements are a reason behind the emergence of various digital marketing careers, as well. In the past, for example, many firms never had to develop a salary or role for a social media manager as part of their ongoing digital marketing strategy and planning. Today, it is a vital part of any business, but this is often a smaller role in the much bigger whole of a marketing strategy.
Saving Time and Money on Your Digital Marketing Strategy
If you were to be given a chance to look at the marketing budgets of many other businesses, you would see that a large number opt to hire outside help with their digital marketing strategy. They are making a wise choice, but we suggest taking it a bit farther. Rather than looking to hire a social media manager, an independent website designer and manager, a marketing person and so on, we say it is wiser and more efficient to look for a team.
Today, marketing goes far beyond the designing of a single strategy, and you need experts in everything from target market assessment and website design to SEO and video content. You will rarely be able to individually assemble a freelance team or pay a single staff member to manage it all. A team of digital marketing experts is the best solution.
Remember, it is all about setting goals and assessing the budget – as we noted at the beginning of this article. Do that, and you are taking a very sound first step in the right direction. Yet, why do it on your own and using guesswork, when there are affordable solutions in the form of expert teams ready to help you use modern, digital marketing in the strongest and most effective ways possible? Partnering with Organically is the smartest way you can invest your marketing dollars.