Hiring a digital marketing agency can breathe new life into a hotel’s online presence and create a partnership that lays the groundwork for long-term success. Many digital marketing companies can assist with fundamentals, but not all firms excel at leveraging online tools, data, or content to help your brand stand out. Forming a constructive collaboration requires the client to consider how a company harmonizes with your brand, evaluate the services they have to offer and capitalize on their expertise. We’re here to help you ask the right questions. Check out everything you need to know about what to look for in a digital marketing company.

What Is a Digital Marketing Company?

A digital marketing company is an advertising agency that uses strategy and online tools to leverage tools and tactics, including search engine optimization and paid media, to help a business reach its sales or marketing goals.

How To Find a Digital Marketing Agency

Keeping your company’s needs in mind, research digital marketing agencies online to find a partner who offers the services you need. While a simple Google search will provide a long list of digital marketing agencies, you’ll want to look for a company with a strong foothold in your industry and that provides a variety of services to help you accomplish your goals.

What To Look For in a Marketing Agency

The best digital marketing agencies practice what they preach. If you need a company to handle your blog content, social media, or website development, you should be able to determine which areas are—or aren’t—the agency’s fortés with a quick review of their website and social channels. When screening digital marketing agency candidates, keep these four variables in mind:

1. A Showcase of Agency Work

Any good marketing agency will be proud of its previous work and show off success stories and case studies. Browse these to get a good idea of the scope of work you can expect. Request examples for companies closely related to yours to see how they used insights to drive successful campaigns.

2. Proven Industry Expertise

A digital marketing agency should be experts in online tools and strategies, but to be a good fit for your brand, they also should have experience with your industry. This ensures they understand the market and they’re seasoned at overcoming challenges companies like yours face. Evidence of past clients and case studies, workshops, and webinars are all ways to gauge the company’s acumen.

3. A Collaborative, Adaptable Approach

Evaluate the marketing agency’s culture and look for a team willing to work with you rather than for you. These professionals should be able to adapt strategies when market conditions change, proposing ideas and encouraging your feedback. Candidates should explain the tools they use to share files and communicate to make the workflow collaborative; and rather than a rigid one-size-fits-all approach, the agency should value testing and experimentation to find a solution specific to your brand.

4. Versatile Marketing Tools and Services

Companies hire digital marketing agencies because they need help in specific areas, whether it’s content development or social media. When vetting potential partners, get details on the team’s qualifications—SEO expertise, web development, paid media specialists—to confirm the agency offers the services you need now and those that can help you grow in the future. 

Questions To Ask Your Digital Marketing Agency

Once you’ve narrowed your list of candidates, it’s time to hear their pitch. While this meeting is a chance for the agency to give you a rundown of their experience, it is also a time for you to get answers. Here are the top five questions to ask a digital marketing agency before you bring them on board:

Why Should We Hire Your Agency?

This may seem like a trick question, but a good digital marketing agency should be able to answer this with the concrete reasons they deserve to earn a client’s business. The reply should demonstrate an understanding of your brand, industry, and goals. A canned, generic response is a red flag and may indicate the agency hasn’t been listening to your specific needs.

How Will You Measure the Success of Our Marketing Campaigns?

Answers to this question should include metrics, such as lead generation, increased sales, or other performance indicators that confirm measurement tools are in place for your business objectives. Make sure you hear considerations for returns on investment to know they have your business’s bottom line in mind. If the marketing agency avoids discussing benchmarks for success, ask followup questions to make sure you’re satisfied with their reporting transparency.  

What Digital Marketing Strategies Have You Found Success With?

The answers to this question ought to validate the agency’s expertise and experience and show a range of creative solutions. Responses might include email marketing campaigns or paid ads tailored to the client’s goals. Hearing only generic tactics that ignore the brand strategy is a good reason to ask additional questions to make sure the company’s services align with your needs.

What Reporting Tools Do You Use and What’s the Frequency?

Whether the digital marketing agency uses Looker Studio or proprietary solutions, the answer to this question should provide information on each tool’s strengths and how it can help illustrate campaign performance for your business. They should also be open to discussing the resources they use to pull data, such as Google Analytics and Customer Relationship Management software. While the agency should be confident in the tools and reporting frequency they use, they should also be open to adjusting performance evaluations to meet your needs or preferences.

How Do You Stay Up-To-Date With the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

Experience is important, but so is a commitment to continued learning. This question allows the agency to highlight its willingness to learn new tactics and tools to keep up with the ever-changing digital world. The agency may name platform-related certifications or industry events, but they shouldn’t just provide a laundry list of conferences and courses without mentioning how these opportunities relate to client successes.

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A hotelier looking for a digital marketing agency can find a partner in TravelBoom. With 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, TravelBoom offers digital marketing services for hotels of all sizes. Focusing on industry data and research allows TravelBoom to provide creative, insightful strategies to help clients reach their booking goals and to rely less on third-party channels. If you’re ready to find the best digital marketing agency for your hotel, contact TravelBoom today for an evaluation.