Any business owner will tell you there’s not enough time in the day to complete everything that’s asked of them. Depending on the day, a business owner can be everything from an accountant to an office manager while still having to stay on top of their own daily task list. With so many things competing for attention it’s tough to stay focused and make sure everything is being done to the required standard.
In the early days, business owners will often take responsibility for marketing as a priority task. It makes sense - without sales & revenue you don’t have a business at all so keeping these coming in is crucial. However, over time, owners can realise that their knowledge of specific marketing platforms and wider marketing strategy isn’t where it needs to be to continue driving the business forward.
The question is - what do business owners need to look for to make the right choice when outsourcing their digital marketing to a freelancer?
1) An Honest & Realistic Approach
The single biggest red flag in digital marketing is a guarantee that a specific result will be achieved. We’ve all received cold emails from prospective marketers promising unbelievable results with no downside;
“Position #1 On Google Or Your Money Back”
“We Will 10x Your Traffic In One Month”
“Here’s How To Triple Your Online Sales In A Week”
The bad news for business owners is that results like that are difficult to achieve at all, let alone guarantee. The good news for business owners is that they can filter out dishonest marketers simply by looking out for claims guaranteeing results that seem to good to be true.
The truth is, there are too many moving parts in digital marketing to be able to claim with 100% certainty that a specific result is going to happen. Rather than making guarantees with no context, honest and experienced marketers will work with business owners to identify specific goals before tailoring a long term marketing strategy aimed at reaching them in a realistic way. Of course, marketers have benchmark figures that are useful for estimating performance, but these should always be viewed and communicated as a guide rather than a guarantee.
2) General Knowledge, Specialist Skills
We’ve all been to a restaurant where the menu is just too big. Flipping through multiple pages containing a variety of different dishes (and sometimes cuisines), the same thought always pops up - surely they can’t be great at making all of this? To some extent, it’s the same with digital marketing.
In an increasingly splintered field with new strategies, tools and platforms emerging every month, skilled marketers tend to focus on honing their expertise in a particular area. In some cases this can be relatively broad, for example a marketer focused on Facebook & Instagram. In other cases, a marketer can build an entire career around being an industry specific expert in one campaign type, for example Google App Campaigns in the Wellness space.
Narrowing down to a specific skillset allows freelancers to deliver high quality, expert work to the businesses that engage with them. However, it’s also important for these freelancers to have a broad base of general digital marketing knowledge to give extra insights and guidance that can help drive a business forward. A working knowledge of wider digital marketing platforms, tools & strategies is invaluable information to share with an ambitious business owner and helps to create a deeper, more productive working relationship.
3) Communication & Education
Every industry has its jargon and digital marketing is no different. CTR, CPC, CRO & ROAS are all everyday acronyms for experienced marketers but can be indecipherable for the average business owner viewing a freelancer’s monthly performance report. In a previous post, we’ve discussed how marketers can work to bridge the knowledge gap between themselves and businesses that they work with and these principles all still apply.
When choosing a marketer to work with, pay attention to how they communicate complex concepts in a way that respectfully acknowledges a gap in expertise. As Einstein said, “if you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself”. A skilled marketer will be able to filter complex marketing strategies and challenges to their most basic elements, ensuring everyone involved understands the core of the conversation and what actions need to be taken to drive performance forward.
Along with clarity of communication, a marketer with a business’s best interests at heart will also welcome questions as part of building a strong ongoing business relationship. The best marketers will look beyond the direct question being asked and follow up with extra information that answers the obvious follow-up questions as well.
Choosing to bring in external marketing help is a nerve wracking decision for any business. However, making the right choice can lead to sustained, long term growth and a productive working relationship based on expert knowledge & skills.
For honest & transparent freelance digital marketing, get in touch.