It’s finally that time. Your company is growing so much that you recognize you can’t do all of the marketing on your own, and you want to hire a consultant to help. With all of the marketing channels out there today, hiring a consultant is both needed and dreaded.
It’s needed because you want someone who is full time ‘immersed’ in the marketing world, who can give your company the best marketing services.
It’s dreaded, because you wonder deep down how to know if you’re hiring someone who can help you be successful. Are they any good? Can you trust them? Consider the following questions that all online marketing consultants should be able to answer. Ask these – and if you don’t get a good answer – keep on moving.
Question #1: How Will You Bring Me Targeted Traffic?
The methods for this will be different depending on the type of marketing you are doing. For example, paid search ads are set up differently than organically ranking online (SEO). Make sure that the consultant you are considering can explain in detail how exactly they will bring targeted traffic to your site.
Your goal isn’t just visits to your site, but visits from people who want the services or products you provide. If you are hiring for search engine optimization, do they have a process of targeting keywords and topics using good content to drive traffic that you WANT to your site? Find out exactly how this will happen and make sure it makes sense.
Question #2: How Will You Nurture Leads?
Lead nurturing is important, and it is crucial that any potential online marketing consultants be able to explain their plan for your business. If you’re unfamiliar with lead nurturing, it is basically the process of building a relationship with potential customers so that when they are ready to buy, you come to mind as a solution to their needs or wants. This often involves email and free downloads.
Even if you are able to get visitors to your site, if you don’t have a way to build a relationship with those potential customers you will lose contact. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend time and money attracting people to your site if they bounce and you lose touch.
Question #3: What Is Your Plan For Content and How Will You Get It Out There?
Content is incredibly important in today’s online marketing scene. It is common for almost every company to have a blog and it’s also common to offer free downloadable resources. This ties in with the first two questions about bringing in targeted traffic and nurturing leads. It is just as important to have a plan for the types of content that will be created and how it will be shared.
Does your potential consultant have a plan for the structure of consistently creating content? Will they use social media and other channels to promote it? Do they have the resources to create great content, whether written or visual? These are all important aspects of your online marketing, so make sure you are comfortable with the answer and plan that you get before hiring a consultant.
Hopefully these three questions give you a reference point to help you figure out which online marketing consultants you talk to can truly help your business. There are exciting opportunities out there, and you want to trust those you are working with.
To learn more about what we do here at Half a Bubble Out, download the free resource below:
Since 2002, Half a Bubble Out has been dedicated to providing marketing, advertising and small business consulting that meet the needs of our clients. We specialize in powerfully telling stories through Inbound Marketing to grow your business filled with more passion and provision. Based in Chico California, we serve clients throughout Northern California and across the country to New York.
