In a recent study, it was found that companies are spending roughly 25% of their marketing budget specifically on digital marketing. This study looked at budgets from 2014. As digital marketing as grown even more since then, it stands to reason that the 25% is even higher now. Based on current trends, it is believed that by 2019, companies will be spending upwards of 75% of their marketing budget on digital marketing.
Another study conducted with consumers revealed that 80% of consumers research a major purchase online prior to buying. Another 46% stated they rely on social media when making buying decisions. This further supports the need for companies to present a strong online presence in order to thrive in the current economy.
For many business owners, digital marketing is foreign to them, and they don’t have time to learn everything they need to know while still running the day-to-day operations of their business. This is where an ad agency come in. Outsourcing digital marketing to ad agencies that are well versed in everything digital market will save time and resources while finding digital marketing success faster.
This year alone, it is projected that marketers in the United States will spend $24 billion on digital advertising. Nearly 60% of business leaders believe display ads are an effective marketing channel. Getting their company name in front of as many people as possible while also providing a direct link back to their company website is far more effective and provides more immediate results that other forms of non-digital advertising.
Another reason hiring ad agencies to meet your digital marketing needs is the way to go is the constantly changing landscape of digital marketing. You cannot simply learn digital marketing and then move on. Digital marketing and best practices are constantly changing, and an effective digital marketer needs to stay on top of all the trends and move quickly when necessary.
Over 15% of digital marketers, when asked, stated that the hardest part of their job is constantly meeting the needs and expectations of the always-connected customers. Consumers these days are always online. The percentage of people shopping and researching from mobile devices, opposed to desktop computers has exploded. As technology changes and shopping trends change, digital marketers have to stay at the forefront.
When looking at digital marketing, there are several facets to consider. There is online ads, content marketing, social media, and email campaigns. Email marketing has one of the highest return on investment percentages in all of advertising. Despite that, less than 10% of companies have an email marketing team.
One of the problems is that many companies do not have the understanding of digital marketing to run their own marketing department or the resources to learn. It is simply more cost effective to work with ad agencies that already know what they are doing and can act more effectively.
Here are some more statistics demonstrating the state of digital marketing for most companies. Half of all companies admit that while they have digital marketing, they have no plan for it; their marketing efforts of somewhat haphazard. However, nearly 80% of companies reported having a social media team. While social media is still highly important, companies are realizing that content is equally important. Content creation and management is now the second biggest expense under the umbrella of digital marketing.
An advertising agency can be used to create a digital marketing plan for companies to follow. Additionally, a creative agency can work with you on content creation, which can be used for websites, blogs, social media, and other online outlets. Outsourcing digital marketing to a company that specializes in it and can work with you from creation to follow-through will save time, money, and resources.
Many companies don?t want to hire an advertising firm due to the additional cost. However, when you look at the time and resources wasted on ineffective digital marketing efforts, hiring a professional is well worth it. When looking at ad agencies, find one that understands your vision and goals.