Mahesh Murthy, CEO of the digital advertising agency Pinstorm, said, “I do think that in the first few quarters of a startup’s life the things it needs to get right are identity, website, SEO and positioning across all media including social”. And he knows what he is talking about, being not only CEO of Pinstorm, but also being mentor and investor in over 50 startups in India. His statement easily reflects the truth; startups need intensive digital marketing right from the get-go to survive in the market.

Most companies start by having a Facebook and/or Twitter page, managed by one or two people in the team. The aim is to build a presence and reputation in the market to attract customers. But once you have a sizeable following, you require an entire team to keep updates flowing out and new followers coming in. Building an internal team is not always the option for a small startup, since valuable funds would have to be diverted into retainers and salaries for employees. The smart way is to hire a digital marketing firm. Not only they are the expert in their sphere, but they will also take away some of your HR-related worries. Here is what you should look for in a prospective digital marketing agency:

Look at how they are handling their own marketing needs

Check if the agency’s website is up-to-date. It is a good indicator of whether they can keep up with your needs too. See what media they are present on and if they have a good background in tech and social media.

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Safe hands

Check the agency’s credentials and referrals. This will inform you of their work methods and experience. A good firm will have more than one referral and testimony. Look for innovative and symbiotic past campaigns. You wouldn’t want to risk the future of your startup in inexperienced hands.

Gozoop, India’s largest independent digital media agency, developed some of the most innovative digital campaigns for their clients including Flipkart, Indiabulls and Myntra. They also helped Pepperfry.com to connect with its targeted audience by leveraging online promotions and social media trends.

Your needs first

Rather than going for a digital advertising company with a big name and big clients, go for someone (even if it’s a small agency) who offers the exact mix of services or products that you are looking for. This matters especially if you are a tech-based company which specializes in a niche market. Similarly, your social media requirements might be more demanding if you are an e-commerce company. So analyze and define your needs before engaging an agency.

Viralcurry is a good example of this. The agency handles digital marketing for Lenskart. They offer online brand management, social media marketing and digital marketing services. A startup can choose between the services they require depending on their product or business model. They came up with exciting campaigns which helped Lenskart trend worldwide and achieve a manifold increase in organic reach. Besides Lenskart, they work with others like Snapdeal, Jabong, Magicbricks and many more.

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Dynamic growth

As your startup grows, your marketing needs change. You need someone who can keep up with your growth and actually help you fuel that growth. The agency will have to alter and develop its strategies, which might mean more updates or tweets, or better website design to showcase your growing offerings.

Take Briefkase for example. It is an advertising firm that engages with funded-startups and SME’s. They have more than 50 happy clients, including DHL and Cloud Lending, utilizing their services. For Cloud Lending, Briefkase helped them not only in increasing traffic, but also generating customer leads. They eschew traditional advertising methods, implementing their own mix of advertising philosophy. And this approach, with their in-depth knowledge of tech and software, helped Cloud Lending achieve a 173% increase in organic traffic to their website and a 278% growth in month-on-month leads. Just goes to show that although unorthodox in their methods, they might be on to something here.

Relationship with clients

Usually, a good digital marketing agency will help you analyze and study your digital marketing requirements. Do you need only social media marketing, or SEO too, or a bit of traditional advertising thrown into the pot? This might start with a simple call or the agency’s willingness to talk about it with you even as a free consultation. It’s all about communication between the two entities, and its importance cannot be stressed enough.

Also Read: Budget marketing tips for a Startup

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