What Digital Marketing Activities?

The modern-day short-handed marketing department staffs their teams with digital marketing specialists. This reaffirms that businesses understand digital marketing’s significance. It reaffirms another thing too.

Lots of small marketing departments are clueless about digital marketing.

Full disclosure, I manage a digital agency, but that doesn’t change some harsh realities. SMBs perceive an in-house digital marketing person replaces their agency, saves money and improves results. They don’t understand that digital marketers specialize in certain areas (eg; development, SEO, design) the same way doctors do (surgeons, pediatricians, OBGYNs). The agency-for-individual trade means swapping a hospital of specialized doctors for a potentially superstar General Physician to handle your health. Also, when you hire a digital marketer expect the budget to increase in:

1 – Ad buys (digital ad spend usually increases when in-house).
2 – Agency fees (to assist with work the employee can’t do on their own).
3 – Training and
4 – Replacement costs every 1-2 yrs (average marketing turnover).

You need a point person at your business to manage the agency relationship instead. Agencies and SMBs can work harmoniously if activities and expectations are clear. Below are things to flip to an agency and do internally.