You’ve probably seen them coming. They look very cool, dressed head to toe in black. It’s those agency people. They’ve finally got religion on digital marketing, so now they have a list of everything you ought to be doing. Yes, search marketing. Of course, a Facebook fan page. And LinkedIn. And don’t forget Pinterest. And–hey wait a minute! LinkedIn and Pinterest? What real business actually needs both of those? I know, I know, the same one that prints brochures for the trade show and buys ads on billboards. What? There aren’t any businesses like that? Oh.
This is the state of digital marketing. Your erstwhile agency is spending a lot more time thinking about the digital part than the marketing part.
If your agency is walking in with a laundry list of every blessed thing you could ever do in Internet marketing, throw them out. Nobody’s digital marketing strategy should look like a rate card. Just because your agency can do it doesn’t mean you should do it.
You wouldn’t do everything possible in offline advertising just because you can. You wouldn’t sponsor local golf tournaments and do national TV commercials, because no single business needs both of those. Lots of businesses might need one or the other, but almost none need both.
Don’t accept advice that is not tailored for you. If your agency is listing off the same tired tactics for you that they list for everyone else, show them the door. Just as you wouldn’t do every possible thing in offline marketing, you won’t do everything possible in digital. Think strategy first and digital second. And if your agency can’t do that, time for a new agency.
