Why you should not hire an advertising agency for digital marketing goals
Did you know that on average Singaporeans own an average of 3.3 digital devices? Indeed, Singapore has one of the highest digital penetration rates in the ASEAN region! So if you run your business anywhere in this region, you are sure to be working with some form of advertising or advertising agency to promote your solutions. However, with the advent of digital marketing, there has been a grey area for businesses who might be unsure whether to stick to traditional advertising agencies in Singapore or to look for digital marketing agencies to manage their market presence.
Different types of available agencies
So what is the difference? Isn’t advertising, marketing and vice versa? Well in the 21st century, you are right and also slightly confused. Marketing these days can be categorized into two main groups, traditional and digital. With most advertising agencies, they usually stick to traditional methods such as media buying of ad space on TVs, radios, commercial billboards space etc. Of course, they do have their digital counterparts and this is what we will discuss in this article!
As mentioned before, Singapore has one of the highest digital penetration rates in Singapore and there are a wide range of specialised agency services that can help attract customers.
SEO agencies
Search Engine Optimization or more commonly known as SEO functions through optimization of your website content to rank high on search engines.
An SEO agency doesn’t operate like an advertising agency where you produce targets ads for paid placement, but is focused on strategies to help your business website rank in search engines using strategies such as on-page optimisation or link building. Some SEO agencies may also offer content writing services to produce custom content that they know will be well-optimised for search engines.
If you would like to get a more in-depth understanding and some tips on SEO, click here!
Media Buying Advertising Agencies/Digital Advertising Agencies (SEM)
As previously mentioned traditional advertising agencies have their digital counterparts and they are usually termed as performance marketing agencies.
These advertising agencies typically assist in two main domains, one being Search Engine Marketing and positioning (SEM) and digital media buying.
When it comes to SEM, advertising agencies focuses on making sure your paid ads appear at the top of the search engine result pages. These advertising agencies will focus on optimising your advertising budget vs the number of clicks you are getting through these ads to achieve your digital marketing goals. SEM offers a wide variety of strategies and settings so that you make sure your ads reach the right people.
As for media buying agencies, they focus on other digital platforms that are not search engines. Some examples include advertising on social media platforms Facebook/Instagram, product sponsorships for influencers, website billboard advertising etc.
Click here if you would like to read more on digital media buying and what mistakes to avoid
Copywriting/Content writing agencies
Copywriting and content writing may sound like they are one and the same, but I can assure you that they are not! Copywriting is writing dedicated to advertising purposes whereas content writing serves as an avenue for information sharing!
If you would like to find out more about the differences between them, click here!
Most digital advertising agencies are likely to provide copywriting services while SEO agencies are likely to provide content writing services. Copywriting typically involves understanding the key highlights of your solution, the needs of the target market and writing a short compelling copy that will attract customers.
Content writing consists of a content marketing strategy that focuses on creating informational content and distributing them through relevant channels to maximise outreach to your target market in the long term.
There are also many other forms of advertising agencies that also have specialized avenues such as email marketing, PR agencies and etc.
Full-service agencies: Do they exist?
You may have heard of mentions of full-services agencies, these are usually end to end digital marketing agencies with a full range of skillsets to cover a wide range of marketing services.
Adssential Marketing is one such company, the capabilities of a full-service team of digital marketing experts allow you to directly deal with a single company for all your needs such as:
- SEO
- SEM
- Content Writing
- Copy writing
- Social Media Advertising
- Web Design
- Website development
- Email Marketing
- Setting up website analytics and tracking
Sounds too good to be through? Speak with us here on your required services and see how our experts can craft a complete strategy to supplement or help you to achieve your goals today!