If you are looking to engage a digital marketing agency in Singapore, this will be the most important post you’ll ever read this year.
With more than 4.3 million people in Singapore who are on Social Media, it is simply not an option for businesses to think whether they should perform digital marketing or not.
The real question is…
How should businesses go about starting a digital marketing campaign?
And if they need help…
How should they go about seeking help?
Today, we break down the 5-Step system that you, as a business owner or marketing manager should use when selecting a Singapore-based digital marketing agency to work with.
Step 1. Ask the digital marketing agency what their marketing strategy is for your campaign
Most companies don’t really need the latest digital marketing tactic, such as the latest Facebook Ads targeting option, a complicated funnel, or the latest shiny object in digital marketing in order to grow their sales.
What they really need is a better marketing strategy.
Rory Sutherland from Ogilvy said it best: “The next big thing in marketing is not technology, It is psychology.”
The marketing message is what most businesses should focus on.
Look, Merrill Lynch, one of the largest investment firms in the world managed to grow its business simply by having the right marketing message.
Back in the 1950s, advertising legend Louis H, Engel ran an advertisement on the newspapers.
It was an unusual strategy.
He had written a 6,450-word article on the newspapers, simply trying to educate newspaper readers on what stock and bonds are about, and how people could purchase stocks and bonds.
This might seem quite ridiculous, as who would ever read a 6,450 word article, right?
But the results will definitely surprise you…
This newspaper advertisement was capable of generating more than over 3 million leads for the business, propelling the business to the success of what it is today.
So what is the lesson that we can learn from this story?
It’s not about the latest technology that we can exploit in order to generate more sales for your business.
It’s the psychology of marketing that matters.
It is also about what can we do in order to speak to your customers directly and to educate your customers in order for them to become a paying customer.
That is what I call a marketing strategy.
A strategy that is able to capture leads and acquire customers for your business.
Step 2. Check whether the digital marketing agency practises what they preach
You see, in Singapore, many digital marketing agencies claim that they are the greatest in Facebook Ads, SEO, or Content Marketing and the list goes on…
But…
Imagine a scenario where the Facebook Advertising agency doesn’t even run Facebook Ads to grow their own business.
It’s the equivalent of having a swimming coach teach you how to swim, when the swimming coach does not even know how to swim.
It doesn’t make any sense.
If that particular digital marketing agency is prescribing you a digital marketing technique in order to acquire customers, they should jolly well be doing it themselves to grow their own business.
Otherwise, it is a major red flag that the digital marketing agency does not know what they are doing.
If the company is a Facebook Advertising agency, they jolly well be using Facebook Ads in order to acquire customers.
Otherwise, if the company is a Search Engine Marketing agency, they also better be using Google Ads in order to acquire customers.
So what does that look like?
For instance, as an SEO agency, we rank organically on the 1st page of Google for SEO-related keywords.
This is to ensure that anyone who is in Singapore that would require SEO-related services would be able to find us.
Long story short…
Make sure that the agency you are engaging is able to walk the talk.
Otherwise, they might come across as a “fake expert” that does not even believe in their own medicine that they are prescribing to your business.
One amazing way to check whether you will achieve success with engaging a digital marketing agency in Singapore is…
To ask for a case study that the digital agency has worked on before, that is related to your industry.
Well, at this point, your concern might possibly be…
If that digital marketing agency works with my competitor, why should I still engage this digital marketing agency?
Wouldn’t that give away valuable intelligence of your marketing strategy?
Then, consider this.
If the digital marketing agency has already achieved amazing success for a similar industry in your business, they probably already know all the actionable steps that is required in order to do the same for yours.
Why try to reinvent the wheel?
If a digital marketing strategy has already been tested, and proven to work, all you have to do is stick with it in order to achieve success.
Thus, having a case study with proven results would definitely help you to select a digital marketing agency to work with.
Step 4. Check if the digital marketing agency has any performance guarantee in place
Imagine this.
If you are buying an electronic product from a store, you will want to inquire if there is any warranty, right?
The same goes for digital marketing.
A deal makes sense if there are some Key Performance Metrics in place, right?
Try asking your digital marketing agency if they are able to include some form of performance guarantee, such as the number of keywords they could rank you on the first page of Google, if you are speaking to an SEO agency.
If they are confident in what they are doing, they should no issue providing a form of guarantee.
For instance, Best SEO Marketing provides an SEO Performance guarantee where we will be able to rank your website on the first page of Google for a keyword within 3 months, otherwise we would continue to work for free.
This would give business owners and stakeholders a peace of mind that we are good at what we do, and we are confident that we can help business owners.
If digital marketing agencies can’t give performance guarantees, and they hide behind vanity metrics such as “impressions” and “clicks”, they are likely, not great at what they do.
Step 5. Understand the types of digital marketing agencies that exist in Singapore
It is critical and important to understand whether the digital marketing agency you work with would be able to tender all the needs of your marketing campaign’s requirements.
This is important as most businesses would prefer to work with a single vendor rather than having to liaise with multiple companies.
Here are some types of digital marketing agencies that are available in Singapore:
SEO Agencies
SEO Agencies are the wizards behind making your website rank higher on Google organically.
This allows your website to receive an unlimited amount of traffic for free.
Research shows that the top 3 search results on Google will get 75.1% of all clicks.
Typically, the cost of SEO in Singapore could be anywhere from $500 a month all the way up to $10,000 a month, depending on the scope of the SEO campaign.
That being said, acquiring traffic is not necessarily the solution to all problems any business face.
Branding and creative agencies
Branding and creative agencies help to conceptualize and create amazing digital assets such as advertising creatives, logo design, colour scheme and overall branding design, in order to better speak your brand.
These agencies typically provide amazing artwork and pretty looking designs that are nice to look at.
Therefore, if you are a business owner that are looking for a digital marketing agency to grow sales and revenue for your business, branding and creative agencies might not be your best bet.
Video production agencies
Video production agencies, needless to say, are agencies that produces high quality videos for your business.
With videos being watched by more than 89% of millennials in Singapore, having high-quality video production is essential to the growth of your business.
These video production agencies would be able to create animation videos, whiteboard-explainer videos, commercial videos and advertisements that could be used on your Facebook Ads and your website.
Web design and development agencies
Web Design and development agencies are highly specialized in creating beautiful looking websites.
A website essentially speaks the brand of your business.
Most web design and development agencies have deep expertise in User Experience and User Interface design.
This ensures that your website is optimized to convert.
Having a visually appealing website would be critical to the success of your business. This is where a web design and development agency come into the picture.
Social media marketing / Performance Marketing agencies
Social Media Marketing agencies (or performance marketing agencies) are highly specialized in using channels such as Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and LinkedIn Ads in order to bring more traffic and sales for your business.
They are focused on using paid strategies by paying the big technology companies such as Facebook and Google for advertisement inventory on their platform, in order to drive more awareness for your business.
These agencies typically also create landing pages which are optimized to capture leads. Having a sales funnel would ensure that you have a sales process to deliver the right marketing message to your customer at every stage of their buying cycle.
Performance marketing agencies would be able to give your business instant results since there are tangible metrics such as the number of conversions that could be tracked from the marketing campaigns they run.
Direct response marketing agencies
Direct Response Marketing agencies are agencies that are highly specialized in creating marketing messages that are designed to convert.
They usually have a team of skilled copywriters that understand how to craft marketing messages so compelling that would make prospects rip out their wallets to buy.
The marketing messages they write usually consists of an irresistible offer that calls upon a prospect to take an immediate action, such as leaving their name and email address.
Best SEO Marketing belongs to this category.
We are all about creating marketing messages that gets your customer to come in as a lead to your business.
Thus, it is important to identify whether the digital marketing agency you work with would be able to cover all the scope of work that has just been mentioned above.
Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Marketing Agencies
💻 What is a digital marketing agency?
A digital marketing agency is a company that helps businesses and organizations improve their digital marketing efforts. The agency typically helps companies acquire more customers or brand reach.
🖱 What is a full-service digital marketing agency?
A full-service digital marketing agency is a one-stop-shop that enables digital solutions for companies. A full-service digital marketing agency usually has multiple departments such as SEO, SEM, Social Media Marketing, Video Production, and Website Design, and so on.
🔍 What does a digital marketing agency do?
Most digital marketing agencies focus on specific services such as content marketing, lead generation, and online reputation management.
📒 What are the examples of digital marketing?
The most popular digital marketing services that digital marketing agencies provide include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Marketing (SMM).
🎤 What are the different digital platforms available?
The biggest technology companies are currently Google who also owns YouTube and Facebook who also owns Instagram. They currently hold the most advertising inventory for all businesses. Some players who are entering the market are LinkedIn, and TikTok.
📣 How can I start digital marketing?
You can start by running a targeted Google Ads Campaign to target the 3% of customers that are in any given market looking to buy now. Otherwise, you can start by running Facebook Ads if you are selling B2C products or services.
🔥 Is digital marketing easy?
It could be. You can start learning digital marketing simply by going to YouTube and learning from the whole library of tutorials online.
Conclusion on Digital Marketing Agencies in Singapore
If you are considering engaging a digital marketing agency in Singapore, it’s essential to perform thorough due diligence beforehand. By understanding the services and commitments involved, you can ensure that your business gets the most out of the partnership, leading to significant growth and success.
For businesses seeking expert guidance with their SEM marketing in Singapore, we are currently offering a free 30-minute strategy session (worth $1,000). This session will provide you with tailored strategies to help your business grow.
Simply click here to book your free session and take the next step towards achieving your marketing goals. Or take advantage of our free SEO audit in Singapore today!
