I am a digital marketing consultant

Typically an agency is a company that has lots of staff managing hundreds of different clients at any one time. A marketing consultant will handle a few clients at a time providing a more personal service that is customised to your business. 

Hiring a marketing consultant in most cases will be cheaper than using an agency because the way the businesses operate are different. An agency has to pay managers, account managers and workers, so there are many layers of add-on costs to cover which are charged to you.

A marketing consultant may not have all the same resources available where they operate from compared to an agency, but most digital marketing requires strategy, written content and execution. Things like graphic design, logo creation, photography can easily be outsourced if and when needed.

Outsourcing your digital marketing makes a lot of sense for a small or medium business. Instead of getting an existing staff member to try and do marketing you can hire a digital marketing consultant who is very experienced. 

By choosing to outsource your marketing you get access to people who are experts in their field rather than trying to do it yourself when your time & skills may not be sufficient. Digital marketing, especially things like SEO should be done by a professional who has the right skills and knowledge to get it done properly.

You only have to look at the aged care case study to see how easy it is for inexperienced staff members to make errors that lead to a website crashing, loss of keyword rankings and more.

A digital marketing consultant can help a small, medium or large business in any industry sector. The benefit of hiring an external consultant is their unbias view that is applied to solve any marketing challenges for the business. This is equally applied to a product or service based company.

Consumers use online search every minute of the day, people don’t buy newspapers or read promotional flyers in the mail box either. They search using Google and try and find a local small business to satisfy their requirement. This is why the right digital marketing strategy & execution is so important for small business owners in Australia. 

You literally can’t get found online without having something in place.

Digital marketing consultants charge between $20 an hour to over $500 an hour. This sounds like a crazy variation in pricing for the cost of a consultant, but it is all relative to their experience & where you hire them from.

It is like any skilled trade, there will be lots of individuals who say they are a consultant or an expert in their field and can provide a service, but many of them may not really have the expertise required or be as good as others who have a more solid track record.

Therefore you can find digital marketing consultants on sites like Freelancer, Fiverr or similar where the costs seem really low & quite reasonable. Although you will also find lots of horror stories of extra charges being made later, poor work being done or the person not really even speaking English.

It pays to do your research when trying to work out the differences for what a consultant might charge, not all of their inclusions may be the same & there is no point hiring someone that offers a cheap labour rate if they have no experience. You will simply miss out on achieving the results you had hoped for.

I have seen first hand business owners choosing another marketing consultant who then makes changes to their digital marketing strategies and gets results that are worse than what they had before.

The cost of hiring a digital marketer will depend on the type of situation you are trying to set up.

For example;

Contractor;
a digital marketer that is available as a contractor or freelancer might charge between $20 an hour to over $500 an hour. This sounds like a crazy variation in pricing for the cost of a marketer , but it is all relative to their experience & where you hire them from.

It is like any skilled trade, there will be lots of individuals who say they are a consultant or an expert in their field and can provide a service, but many of them may not really have the expertise required or be as good as others who have a more solid track record.

Therefore you can find digital marketing consultants on sites like Freelancer, Fiverr or similar where the costs seem really low & quite reasonable. Although you will also find lots of horror stories of extra charges being made later, poor work being done or the person not really even speaking English.

It pays to do your research when trying to work out the differences for what a consultant might charge, not all of their inclusions may be the same & there is no point hiring someone that offers a cheap labour rate if they have no experience. You will simply miss out on achieving the results you had hoped for.

I have seen first hand business owners choosing another marketing consultant who then makes changes to their digital marketing strategies and gets results that are worse than what they had before.

Full time staff;
If you are trying to hire a digital marketer to be a staff member on your team then the costs in Australia will vary between $50,000 and $150,000 depending on the size of the business & experience required. For most small business owners you might hire a digital marketing assistant to begin with which may cost between $40,000 and $50,000 per year. Although, you have to have a very clear idea if they are able to generate that amount in incremental sales to be worth hiring them. 

This is why it can be beneficial to hire a consultant on a short term basis to fix your marketing problems.

Content marketing must be part of a digital marketing strategy for small business owners in Australia. If you do not want to keep spending money on paid advertising, don’t have the time or energy to create unique social media content & don’t have any other awareness generation activities in place then creating unique content on your website can help you get found for the things you do and the problems you solve.

Any product or service solves problems that consumers will be searching for online whether that is to fix something, improve something or achieve something. The list goes on and people want information about it. 

Therefore if all you have on your website is “we are experienced”, “we have great reviews”, “our team is the best” and there is no other content then you will never get found by new customers. You are presenting the same information as hundreds of other businesses.

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that is specific to your business whether you sell products, services or both. It will be an actionable plan that can improve your current results.
2. Conduct market research and analysis to identify a suitable target audience and what they are looking for online.
3. Research how your competitors are generating their traffic volumes or other digital marketing executions to see what they are doing well or poorly.
4. Optimise your website and landing pages to ensure they are suitable for the relevant search engines to understand what they are about, this can help improve rankings and conversions.
5. Create and manage social media accounts to increase brand awareness and engagement.
6. Develop and execute email marketing campaigns to nurture leads and drive sales
7. Utilise pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to drive targeted traffic to the website
8. Create and distribute engaging content, such as blog posts, infographics, and videos
9. Implement analytics and tracking tools to measure the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts
10. Provide regular reporting and analysis to track progress and make data-driven decisions
11. Optimise e-commerce store for sales conversions
12. Create A/B testing to improve website design and user experience
13. Utilise influencer marketing to tap into new market segments
14. Optimise website for mobile devices to make sure it is fast, easily navigated and the content is simple to consume.
15. Implement remarketing campaigns to target past website visitors
16. Create and manage online advertising campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
17. Optimise local SEO to increase visibility in local search results using Google Business profiles
    
18. Provide consulting on new technologies and digital marketing trends to stay ahead of the competition.
    

1. Cost-effectiveness: Hiring a digital marketing consultant can be more cost-effective than a large agency, as they often charge lower rates or work on a project basis.

2. Personalised attention: A consultant will be able to provide more personalised attention to your business, as they typically work with fewer clients.

3. Flexibility: A consultant can be more flexible and adaptable to your business needs, as they are not tied to a specific agency structure.

4. Expertise: A consultant is typically a specialist in a specific area of digital marketing, such as SEO or social media marketing, and can provide expert advice in that area.

5. Speed: A consultant can often work more quickly and efficiently than a large agency, as they are not bogged down by bureaucratic processes.

6. Better communication: A consultant is typically more accessible and responsive than a large agency, which can lead to better communication and a stronger working relationship.

7. Access to cutting-edge technologies: A consultant is often up-to-date with the latest digital marketing technologies and can advise on the best tools to use for your business.

8. Results-oriented approach: A consultant is typically focused on delivering measurable results for their clients, rather than simply delivering a set of services.

9. Independent perspective: A consultant can provide an independent perspective on your digital marketing strategy, rather than being influenced by internal agency politics.

10. Scalability: A consultant can easily scale their services to match your business needs and budget, rather than being locked into a fixed agency contract.

There are several reasons why it may be beneficial to hire a digital marketing consultant to manage all of your marketing activities, rather than trying to do it yourself.

• First, a marketing consultant has a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field. They have likely worked with a variety of different businesses and industries, and have a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t in the ever-changing marketing landscape. This experience and knowledge can be invaluable in helping you to develop and execute effective marketing strategies.

• Second, a marketing consultant can bring a fresh perspective to your business. They are not emotionally invested in the company and can therefore provide objective advice and insights. This can help to identify areas of your marketing efforts that may be falling short, and provide new and innovative ideas for how to improve them.

• Third, a marketing consultant can help you to be more efficient and effective with your marketing budget. They have the expertise to help you to identify the most cost-effective marketing channels and tactics, and can help you to develop a budget that maximizes your ROI.

• Fourth, a marketing consultant can help you to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in marketing. They have their finger on the pulse of the industry and can help you to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring that your marketing efforts are always at the forefront of the latest marketing innovations.

• Finally, a marketing consultant can help you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. They can help you to develop metrics and KPIs to track the success of your campaigns, and can provide you with valuable insights and feedback to help you to improve your marketing over time.

Hiring a digital marketing consultant can be a wise investment for any business looking to maximise the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. With their experience, knowledge, and expertise, a marketing consultant can help you to develop and execute effective marketing strategies, stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, and measure the success of your campaigns.