You put up a query around DigitalMarketing services or Social Media services on a portal (job, social network,
gig-based networks or simply a freelance network), and within minutes you are
being hounded by social media “experts”. You receive calls, direct messages,
messages on WhatsApp. Some of these service providers are really affordable,
and from a pricing standpoint, you have hit the jackpot! There are multiple
agencies/freelancers working under the garb of an agency willing to work for
free, almost!
This may be appealing initially
but in almost all of the cases, this model is not sustainable and cannot work
for too long. The service received is poor. The ROI is minimal and the time
that has been wasted in the engagement is lost forever.
The Current Digital Marketing
Industry
Before we look at how to address
this, let’s try to look at the history of what forced us to end up here.
The low hanging fruit – In reality, the barrier to entry for entering this profession is extremely low.
Excelling is a different ball game together (which I will discuss in the latter
part of this article). Anyone born in the ’80s and ’90s has a good command over
technology and has seen and used these platforms, can become a so-called
“digital marketer”.
No capital expenditure needed –
Who does not like this? Starting a business without investment.
Design is cheap – No, the
design is not cheap! In fact, I find that good design is the most expensive
part. It is rather unfortunate that the way tools and software have been
exploited and rampant piracy has been used. Clearly, ethics have taken a back
seat.
Packaging and selling Digital
Marketing courses – A lot of Digital Marketing training institutes
mushroomed across India where the focus was on making a quick buck, rather than
building marketers with a strong foundation. It was always quantity over
quality, and these courses were not at all cheap. The graduates from these
programs proudly claim to be digital marketers. We interview them for job
interviews and trust me, finding a good marketer is like finding a diamond in a
coal mine.
So, now we are in a situation
where we have people selling services at less than $2 per hour. We have been
successful in creating an extremely mediocre talent pool fighting for that $2
per hour.
How can the Agency and Brands Stay
Strong in This Ever-Changing Game!
We have been observing this
industry since the past decade and would like to share our observations with
fellow agencies as well as brands who are looking for agencies.
You are currently over-dependent
on Facebook/Instagram – Creating a graphic and posting it, writing ad
copies and running simple ads; these are not going to get you too far. You need
to understand that business should not be easy to replicate, hence if your client
can move from you to someone else, then it is time for you to think again. If
your business model revolves at the mercy of Facebook, it should be considered
a red flag. We have seen a lack of consistency as far as Facebook advertising
is concerned, Facebook loves to A/B test, and guess who pays for it – you or
your client!
Concentrate more on original
thinking – It is easy to search for similar products and services and try
to copy their marketing strategy. Although I would not be completely against it
as it's ok to take inspiration, your thinking needs to be original, otherwise,
it will just add noise in this cacophony.
Know the Costs Involved –
The bottom line is, as long as you are able to justify the costs to yourself,
you will be able to justify and explain them to the client or the lead. It’s
actually easy, just grab an excel sheet and estimate the following:
The number of resources required
The number of hours the task will
take
Cost of the resource
That simple?!? Not exactly. Let
I break down the cost of the resource (as this is what we get wrong all the
time). There are various factors that come into play here while deciding this
cost:
The cost to hire that resource
The cost to the company (everything
goes in here, and I mean everything right down to the money taken by the
janitor!)
The cost of the resource falls
sick or leaves
Cost of software(s) used (you can
include that in the CTC, though I would stress on the fact that even if you are
small, try to follow ethics, they will take you a long way)
The cost you incur to
train/motivate the resource
You cannot know these costs when
you start, but keeping an eye on them and focusing on them can help you define
the right price for your offering which you can back up.
One Size DOES NOT fit all –
Bigger companies are no longer looking at generalists. They want people who are
super-specialized. If you are still operating under the umbrella of a 360-degree agency, it’s time to rethink and focus on your core strengths.
Communication is the key –
This is the part that I see most young professionals in this space get wrong,
it always has to be a mix of branding and sales. Focusing on sales only may get
the customer to your door but ignoring branding will not keep them engaged or
encourage buying again.
The digital landscape is evolving
and so should you! You need to know what the popular networks are and be there
before your users show up. You need to be early adopters and have the will to
experiment. This field will turn into the specialized-network-based field in
the future.
If you are looking at getting
your digital communication audited, do get in in touch with us at info@vggroups.com
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