A loud blog post wearing a necktie may seem like an absurd idea, but in today’s digital agency arena, the sad truth is that they’re everywhere. They’re not even very difficult to spot. Chances are that you or someone you know has already worked with an agency that will regurgitate information that you already have, such as …
“You have very low online lead flow.”
A revelation? No.
Sometimes they’ll take it a step further and tell you a vague solution but won’t explain the basic steps to realizing it.
“You should increase your lead flow.”
Insightful? No.
If you’re lucky, they might explain themselves, and then leave you standing in the cold with nothing but a hollow explanation and not lick of know-how.
“You should increase your lead flow by implementing an SEO campaign.”
Worthy advice? No.
These agencies are the necktie blog posts, and the depth of the problem isn’t that you’re not getting your money’s worth. The real problem is that their recommendations are no more helpful to you than asking your 12 your old to read aloud an SEO blog post. Hang a necktie on him and you have the world’s youngest SEO specialist!
In the end, it’s your business that suffers
The modern internet and the marketing strategies it demands are too complicated for these hollow advices to be useful anymore. Perhaps once they provided landmarks by which to navigate, but today they don’t even get you on the right planet, let alone following the correct road. The truth is, you don’t need a map at all, but an actual guide. That’s what your digital agency is supposed to be while navigating the online marketing frontier.
Putting the agency back in the “Agency”
Your agency should be able to look at your past strategies, pinpoint the weaknesses and strengths, explain to you the necessary actions to surge forward, and then – and this is most critical – take those actions on your behalf. A good agency won’t stand behind you and tell you there’s quicksand up ahead, but instead stand in front of you, take your hand, point out the quicksand and then actively navigate you around it. In other words, a good agency brings their specific expertise and knowhow to execute your desire.
The best digital agencies can explain what they’re advising, have it within their means to do it, and then do it for you. In simplest terms, they can identify, educate, recommend and execute. It’s the difference between your agency saying …
“Implement product schema on this page”
versus …
“We can install this completed product schema on this page tomorrow with your permission.”
Now that’s what I’m talking about!
One is notably more helpful, and worth your investment, than the other.
Wrapping It Up
It’s true that there are different levels of engagement with clients, and maybe your budget can’t cover exhaustive treatment from your digital agency, but if you can easily imagine that you’re just being read a blog post by your SEO agency, you really aren’t getting the quality of service … and maybe even the results that you deserve.
