Niche agencies specialize in one aspect of digital marketing, and they often do it very well. An example might be a social media marketing firm that exclusively implements organic and paid campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and more.
By contrast, a full-service agency can provide most or all of the following services under one roof:
Digital Marketing: SEO and SEM specialists, lead generators, PPC gurus, content marketers, and social media strategists all work together in concert to achieve specific business goals.
Web Design and Development: Experienced designers optimize websites to satisfy customers’ needs and exceed their expectations - fast, functional, and responsive to desktops, phones, and tablets.
Managed Hosting: You can’t just find a pro to build your fancy website. You need someone dedicated to maintaining it, protecting it from and responding to cyberattacks, and making sure your valuable digital storefront is open 24/7.
Brand and Graphic Design: Designers at a full-service agency not only create stunning individual images but a slew of artwork that tells a consistent brand story.
Media Production: Still photography, videography, editing, sound mixing, podcasting, animation – all of these skills can be combined to create something better than would be possible alone.
SaaS: Short for “Software as a Service,” a full-service agency has experts who can recommend (or build) and implement powerful tools that automate routine processes, saving hassle, time, and money.
Consulting: Advisors provide their expert opinions on which of these services your business should strategically utilize and when, based on their deep understanding of your business’ needs.
Each expert’s insights pool into the collective understanding and compound to produce results greater than any one niche provider could imagine achieving.
The full-service agency is the only one capable of creating a holistic strategy.
Full-Service Efficiency
Holistic planning is just one benefit a business can expect when opting for a full-service marketing agency, as opposed to a piecemeal approach. But what about efficiency?
Who wants to increase the number of emails they have to receive and respond to? Businesses that choose niche agencies for separate digital marketing tasks have to serve as their own project managers in addition to being clients.
For a social media campaign alone, your business might need to:
- Order images from a graphic designer, sized for multiple platforms as well as optimized for web
- Request a new landing page from the web designer
- Approve copy and budgets with a social campaign manager
- Coordinate with the hosting service to accommodate increased traffic
Each task requires multiple rounds of approvals, notes, revisions, and emails upon emails (and probably a few more emails). Full-service digital marketing agencies, however, have a dedicated project manager who funnels all of these tasks into order, tracks deadlines, and maintains brand consistency across every individual channel.
Collaboration Equals Innovation
An African proverb reads, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” When marketing experts with a variety of focus areas work together regularly, they can brainstorm and share insights about individual clients, but the real value is in the collective experience and efficiencies they develop, skills that can be applied to all projects.
Let’s imagine a retailer in Cedar Rapids that focuses on industrial workwear – we have a lot of factories. The social media team’s demographic analytics indicate that women are most likely to click on a social post. This information leads the SEO team to suggest that content marketers create a blog post targeting women’s industrial wear. The media team then shifts to make sure that next month’s photo shoot includes both male and female subjects. These shifts to meet the customers who are most engaged can be made in minutes during an interdepartmental meeting, or over a messaging channel, rather than taking months as different agencies argue over tactics and eventually catch up to speed.
Digital Marketing at Scale
Your digital marketing needs will grow as your business evolves. The great news is that most full-service digital marketing agencies will gladly work with your business on one niche service if that’s what you currently want and can afford. But as you see a return on investment and look to keep stoking the revenue fires, more services can be added without the hassle of seeking out, negotiating with, and onboarding a completely new agency.
Choosing the Right Full-Service Agency
While a full-service agency offers undeniable benefits, it's important to choose the right one for your specific needs. Look for agencies with a proven track record, a strong understanding of your industry, and a collaborative approach that values your input.
By partnering with a full-service digital agency, like Informatics, you gain a team of experts working together in perfect harmony, ensuring your digital presence is truly exceptional. Get started by reaching out.
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