Welcome to the first installment of "A Decade of Marketing Insights,” an exciting series celebrating our 10th year in business. Over the last decade, I've grown as a leader and as a marketer. Throughout this series, I'll share 10 insights to help you along in your own entrepreneurial journey.

Join me as I share a little bit about my own marketing experience and unpack the essential factors for a successful marketing strategy. Whether you're contemplating outsourcing your marketing or handling it yourself, there's something here for everyone eager to reap the benefits of digital marketing!

A Decade of Marketing Insights Part 1: Opening an Agency

Why Did I Start My Marketing Agency?

Starting my marketing agency was a whirlwind. Many companies today recognize the benefits of outsourcing marketing services; however, 10 years ago, in-house marketing was more common. It was thought to be more cost-effective. However, I was well aware that for most small-to-medium-sized businesses, an in-house marketing hire would likely lack the expertise needed to succeed across the entire digital landscape.

Apart from the appeal of being able to work on marketing efforts when inspiration struck (as opposed to just 9-5 Monday through Friday), I was also very focused on setting up a full-service agency to make things simpler for our clients. Typically marketing agencies will specialize in a particular service or a particular industry. While we do specialize in certain industries (more on that in the next installment of this series), we have experts in every facet of digital marketing. This means our clients can simplify their overhead by working with us on everything as opposed to fracturing their time with one point of contact for social media marketing and another for digital advertising.

While hiring a digital marketing agency is more common today, there are definitely still plenty of deficiencies in what marketing agencies are offering. We are focused on maximizing results for our clients with the ability to pivot across marketing channels as the landscape or their target audience dictates.

Ok ok, enough about Page One Digital! Let's dive into some insights to help you understand what a successful marketing strategy entails. This will help you determine if your current marketing efforts (whether outsourced or in-house) are effective.

How to Identify a Successful Marketing Strategy

A successful marketing campaign should have several identifiable factors.

1. Measurable Goals: Such as increased website traffic, higher conversion rates, and greater engagement across social media platforms. 
2. A clear return on investment (ROI): Regardless of the type of campaign, you should be able to identify your ROI. ROI might not always mean more new clients, it could mean more loyal clients, for example. However, this should always be a focal point of any marketing strategy.
3. Engagement from your target audience: Active participation from your target audience shows that the campaign resonated. If you don't have a clearly defined target audience for your marketing strategy, that is the first place to start. 
4. A clear call-to-action: Consistency in delivering the campaign's core call-to-action in a very clear way will likely lead to a successful effort.

If your marketing campaigns are lacking any of the above, it is time to revisit your strategy. Though marketing efforts can take time to make an impact, these key elements should be present from the start. If you want to hire a marketing agency that will set the foundation for long-lasting success, we're here to help.