Digital marketing is a key component of any successful advertising strategy. After all, the Internet is many consumer’s "gateway" to new brands and business relationships.
Companies work with a digital marketing agency to maximize their advertising ROI. Many of these businesses have the common misconception that if they already work with an agency, they can't also work with a media partner.
In reality, many high-performing brands use both agencies and media partners to drive results. Of course, it takes effort and coordination to achieve optimal ROI when taking this joint approach.
Here are 5 tips to successfully merge your digital marketing agency with an experienced media partner. We’ll go over how to make the transition smoother and grow your business quicker.
1. Communication is Key
Your digital marketing agency and your media partner will both be working on different facets of your overall advertising strategy. This means they also won't be communicating with each other on their own.
It's crucial that you communicate clearly, frequently, and comprehensively with each marketing partner. You'll need to clearly define to each partner what role they’ll play in your upcoming campaigns. Your digital marketing agency may focus exclusively on executing a PPC campaign around high-performing keywords. Whereas your media company may deploy strategically placed TV spots to boost brand awareness and drive traffic toward the business' website.
2. Collaborate to Reach Your Goals
Collaboration is crucial to the success of any marketing campaign. If both of your marketing partners are willing to "buy-in," you'll be able to leverage that synergy into exceptional ROI.
Granted, your digital marketing agency will likely specialize in online advertising. Your media partner may play a supportive role in increasing your brand's digital footprint. Or it could go the other way around.
The Wild Animal Safari, a drive-thru animal park, wanted to boost its attendance. They partnered with an experienced media partner who developed a year-long TV campaign to increase top-of-mind awareness, drive higher sales, and increase customer retention rates. They launched that alongside their already solid digital presence and achieved record attendance levels throughout the following year. The collaborative efforts of all marketing partners involved led to outstanding results.
3. Keep Everyone on the Same Page
Both your digital agency and media partner need to stay on the same page in terms of brand messaging, tone, and position. That’s absolutely imperative. Sticking to a consistent ad delivery schedule ensures your efforts don't overlap when you don’t intend them to.
Consistency has a huge impact on your bottom line. Brands that consistently publish content are worth up to 20% more than those with inconsistent messaging. This is why keeping everyone on the same page is so crucial. Nothing is too trivial, regardless of whether it's in regard to a color scheme, tagline, or distribution strategy.
4. Schedule Regular Meetings
Regularly schedule meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. One-on-one meetings with a marketing partner or joint meetings with reps from each company will make your messaging stronger. These allow you to provide feedback on what's currently working and what's not. You can also examine KPIs together, adjust upcoming tactics, and evaluate distribution schedules as needed.
Frequent and consistently scheduled meetings ease the gears of communication, contributing to better outcomes.
5. Combine Efforts to Maximize Your Results
A unified, combined strategy will almost certainly lead to optimal results. Direct-To-Consumer brands that use digital marketing agencies also see major sales uplift in response to highly targeted and well-designed TV ads, according to one report. Incorporating digital and TV advertising into an overarching marketing plan broadens your consumer base, multiplies potential touchpoints between you and your target audience, and results in more leads, sales, and profitability.
Leverage Your Digital Marketing Agency and Your Media Partner for Sustainable Growth
Many forward-looking companies leverage both digital marketing agencies and media partners for brand growth. Each company has its specific areas of expertise or more experience working with one advertising channel. Combined approaches use the strengths of each to yield maximum ROI.
Keep the lines of communication open. Using them frequently allows seamless collaboration between your marketing partners. That way you’re better suited to reach your advertising objectives and grow your business. Not only is such a three-way partnership possible — it may just be the best option for your brand moving forward.
