You want to go on vacation but driving seems like a horribly long way to get there. You know where you want to go, how many people you’ll have, and the dates of your trip. You hop on Google and look up “How To Fly A Plane.” You spend a couple of weeks researching, taking notes, and learning more about being a pilot. The time comes for your trip and you go find the nearest plane and hop on board in the pilot seat.

This story sounds crazy right? I don’t know ANYONE who would ever do this so why should your digital marketing efforts be any different? I was recently grabbing drinks with a friend who is a successful real estate professional and we were having a great conversation about our work and passion. We started discussing how it’s frustrating sometimes to be in a profession where people think that they can do your job and don’t always value your knowledge or abilities.

Yes, there are people who pride themselves as “people who do social media” that really have no idea how to do anything other than making posts but that’s not who I’m talking about. Most digital marketing professionals will have a wide array of knowledge that extends past social media and possess marketing knowledge they’ve acquired over many years through many channels. They will not only know what you should be doing but WHY you should be doing it and HOW it should be measured. Digital marketing is something that should not just be “done,” but to truly be effective should be done WELL. It’s okay to ask for help. If you have a limited budget there are many resources to help you such as local BDC’s.

Think twice before you Google, it’s just as easy to search for “Digital Marketing Agency” as it is “How To Do Marketing” :)

I recently went to meet with a potential client and after some extensive conversation to find out how I could use social media to grow her business we got to the part of the conversation where we needed to discuss the budget. She shared with me that she had a very small budget to work with. After more conversation, it became obvious she had spent the majority of her allotted monies on a prior company who had over-promised and under-delivered. In addition, they were continuing to charge her for things she didn’t really need.

This kind of experience is unfortunately far too common and it’s not the first time I’ve experienced it and I’m certain it won't be the last. Choosing a marketing professional isn’t something that should be taken lightly and not everyone is a great fit for each other. When finding the professional that’s right for you there are a few things to consider.

Make sure to do your homework on each person you meet with or interview. Even if they are not consistently active, do they have social media accounts with a decent following? Does the content they’ve posted make sense? Do they have a presence on the channels they are claiming to have knowledge of? These are often good indicators of your professional knowledge on the industry.

Secondly, don’t feel pressured to make a decision after the first meeting. Once you receive your initial proposal take another meeting to ask questions or obtain more details about the services you will be receiving if anything remains unclear.

Meet with more than one company and compare pricing and services. Most proposals are confidential so you shouldn’t share information from the company to the company but you are allowed to know what will work best for you. Paying a high price for something doesn’t always mean great results and paying less for something doesn’t mean you’re getting poor service- quality versus quantity.

It comes down to knowing your own business and finding a professional who you think has a clear understanding of what your business wants, goals, and needs are. If you’re a small business with a very specific target market you may need to spend more than a business that has a broad demographic simply to make sure you’re properly reaching your clientele.

To schedule a meeting or phone call and discuss your businesses digital marketing needs email me at marketingwmel@gmail.com