Well done, you’re a business owner who has finally decided to “take a risk” in this area that is still a bit of a grey area for you (Investing in Digital Marketing)?! First of all, I have to congratulate you and give you a huge round of applause (a massive one, really), you’ve just stepped away from the 90% of Portuguese Business Owners who are atheists when it comes to digital marketing and online advertising (let’s call them PBOAs from now on).
So, you’ve taken the first step, you genuinely want to see your business grow and you understand that advertising is always an investment, not an expense, and that even though you don’t know how, or maybe you don’t even like these “facebooks”, “googles” and “linkedins” (isn’t that just for finding a job?), you’ve realised they have enormous potential for your company. After that, you’ve clearly defined your goals and now you want to get down to work.
But… you don’t understand any of this, so you’ll go looking for a Marketing Agency or “someone” who can help you… right? Please don’t delegate such an important task to your son/daughter, nephew/niece or employee; don’t think that just because they supposedly know how to use their Social Media, they are qualified to work on your company in the Digital world… you need PROFESSIONALS!!
The best course of action is to contact a Marketing Agency with a team of specialist collaborators, each in their own field, because you will need services in Design, photography and video, Content Management/Creation for your company’s social media, Communication Strategies, Advertising Specialists, web programming, performance analysis, and many others… (yes, Digital Marketing is a world of its own!). On the other hand, you could “take a risk” with just one professional in the field; a single person is rarely an expert in all of that, not to mention the time and attention required for all these components, and you probably won’t be that professional’s only client! It all depends on the Value and importance you place on your company; if you want results, look for a company with a proven track record that can guarantee results. You can and should ask that Agency or professional for examples, so you’ll have more data to compare which option is best according to your goals.
If by any chance a marketing agency or even a marketing professional presents you with “solutions” without online advertising and ads, here’s my advice:
– Politely thank the person or company for the time spent with you, say a good morning or good afternoon, find the door you came in through, and run… FLEE… if you contacted the Agency or professional by email or another non-face-to-face method… delete the email, delete the messages, block the number, pretend it doesn’t exist…
If you want results, you absolutely must invest in ads, especially because Online Advertising in Portugal is still ridiculously “cheap”. If you want to know why, read this article: Online advertising is still ridiculously cheap in Portugal.
Look for an Agency or professional with extensive experience in Facebook Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn, among others, as they will be able to advise you on which ones are most suitable for your goals and what strategies to use for each.
Ask the Agency or professional about the value of the advertising portfolio they manage, i.e., in their services, what is the advertising budget of the clients that the Agency or professional manages. A company that manages an advertising portfolio of €10,000 across all its clients is certainly different from a company that manages €200,000 or more in budget. As a general rule, a company that manages a larger portfolio has much more experience and better results.
That said, once again, congratulations, you’ve taken the first step for your business to GROW, you’re on the right track. With the right investment, your company will make “the leap”! Keep it up and don’t be a PBOA, PBOA the business isn’t moving, PBOA the competition this and that, PBOA this doesn’t work… be a “Crazy” Business Owner…
