Besides all that you also need to understand the latest digital trends, consumer behaviours, your audience’s pain points and needs, what they like and don’t like about online ads, how to earn trust, and how to persuade browsers to become buyers.

So just a few things then.

If you’re new to digital marketing, organising online ad campaigns can be a daunting task. But unless you have a strategy that works, you will spend a lot of time and money to get nothing in return.

Even if you are familiar with online strategies, pulling together your resources across web developers, graphic designers, content writers, social media managers and PPC management requires efficient organisation and a clear vision of your objectives for each project.

Both scenarios happen a lot among small business owners that try to cut costs and manage their own digital marketing projects.

Oftentimes, the attempts end in wasted time and resources before it is accepted that an experienced team of digital marketers heading by a competent project manager is the best solution.

Moreover, as your business starts to grow, business owners seldom have the time to engage with project managing your digital marketing efforts. The best option is for you to place your expertise in other areas of your business.

What are the benefits of hiring a digital marketing project manager?

Over the course of a digital marketing campaign, project managers have a huge impact on the over workflow. Experienced campaigners understand the online landscape and can knit campaigns together through the various professionals typically required to pull a campaign together.

Digital marketing projects require structure. Important decisions have to be made. Knowledge of the digital landscape is invaluable here, together with knowledge of the best tools and strategies to use in relation to a budget.

Business owners that don’t have this knowledge will typically overspend their allotted budget or end up with a campaign that is below par in quality and performance.

Experienced project managers understand your targeted audience and are able to craft content in a cost-effective way. They also know which tools and platforms to use to reach your audience and measure the performance of the campaign.

What are the advantages of digital marketing?

If you are a business owner, you are probably already aware an online game is required to hit your bottom line and help your profits spike.

Statistics reveal that 89% of consumers start the buyer’s journey with a search engine and 74% of purchasing decision are based on peer-to-peer recommendations on social media.

With shoppers placing so much emphasis on researching brands and products through online platforms, today’s businesses cannot afford to neglect building an online presence.

What’s more, the world wide web gives you the potential to reach a global audience for a small investment. When low-cost strategies are properly planned and targeted, project managers can help steer your digital marketing efforts towards the right audience.

Digital marketing platforms also give you the benefit of analytical insights – far more than any method of traditional advertising.

Trackable and measurable results enable you to understand more about your audience and shape future ad campaigns that are even more effective. Analytics is critical for improving ROI. 

With consumer trust in brands at an all-time low, proving authenticity is vital. Digital platforms enable you to develop social proofing through real client testimonials and word-of-mouth.

Social media encourages brands to be transparent and open. Consumers recognise this. Having a presence and interacting with your customers on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter helps to build a positive brand image and reputation.

Data collection also enables you to reach customers and offer a personalised service. A variety of sign-ups and website registration strategies enable you to build up a contactable database of potential buyers.

Following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy laws issued by the European Parliament, there are certain rules that have to be followed with regards privacy but to digital marketing professionals, they are not as complicated as lawmakers make out they are.

In essence, digital marketing does give brands more potential to leverage conversion rates. Unlike traditional forms of advertising, digital platforms also encourage two-way conversations and invite customers to approach brands with questions.

However, there are some negative aspect to digital marketing that we feel are worthy of a mention. Online marketing is not all chocolates and roses.

The disadvantages of digital marketing

Business owners understand that you have to take the rough with the smooth. Digital marketing is no exception. Despite all the potential advantages, online platforms do have some downsides as well.

Perhaps the most difficult part of digital marketing for many business owners is how much time it takes to pull a campaign together. The online game is very time-consuming even when you do know what you’re doing.

The problem many small business owners face, therefore, is learning the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the digital arena.

Tools, platforms, trends and behaviours are constantly evolving so unless you are dealing with digital marketing strategies daily and keep up-to-date with the latest developments in the industry, you are essentially throwing darts in the dark.

Moreover, competition is fierce. Because digital marketing is so important to modern businesses, everybody is doing it. The chances are that your rivals are using a professional digital marketing agency to manage their project for them.

This not only means they already have a steal on you in terms of online visibility and reach, they are also probably getting their strategies right and turning browsers into buyers.

Earlier we mentioned the benefits of social proofing. Giving your audience a platform and a voice can also go against you. However, brands that sell excellent products and deliver excellent customer service both online and offline should have nothing to worry about.

We also mentioned the security and privacy issues. If anything, this is an inconvenience, but can easily be sorted out by a professional web designer that understands GDPR.

Why does your business needs a project manager?

The advantages of digital marketing mentioned above speak for themselves. If you have a business and want to survive in the modern climate, you need an online promise which underscores you as a credible brand that can be trusted.

Hiring a digital marketing project manager, therefore, increases your chance of increasing your bottom line and giving your business the potential to grow. Project managers can also eradicate the problems listed as a disadvantage.

Digital professionals have specialist skills that typically fall outside the skillset of traditional employees. A project manager understands the expectations required by each contributor and is better place to provide instructions and assess the work for quality.

Furthermore, project managers that are familiar with the digital landscape are up to speed with the latest tactics and techniques. This alone can be the difference between success and failure.

What’s more, to cover all the bases you need a team of at least four specialists; graphic designer, web expert, content writer, and a savvy social media user – all of whom are well versed in SEO and consumer behaviour.

Assembling a full compliment of full-time specialists you need to create an effective digital marketing campaign is a drain on your wage bill. Outsourcing campaigns as and when you need them is far more cost-effective.

A dedicated project manager also eases the burden of time. Whether you’re a business owner having a pop on your own, or you have an in-house team that handle some of your digital marketing activities, knitting an ad campaign together is time-consuming.

With a professional team handling your digital marketing efforts on your behalf, you can spend that time developing other areas of your business – and basically putting your own expertise to better use.

Smart business owners know you can’t do everything on your own. Delegating jobs to professionals that are better equipped to handle the task saves you time and money in the long-run. Delegating will also probably ensure you get a return on your investment.

Not only that, but the negative effects of failed marketing campaigns start to trickle down throughout your other employees. Imagine the impact on the motivation and confidence of your staff.

Whilst it is understandable that small business owner and start-ups feel they need to save money to invest in other areas of your businesses, the DIY mindset can actually be more detrimental to the longevity of your business.

Considering 30% of small business owners invest 50-59 hours a week and 33% invest up to 49-hours into running your business, where will you find the time to create a compelling marketing campaign?

And if you are finding time to invest in performing digital marketing activities, are there other areas of your business that are suffering because you have not dedicated enough time to them?

On the one hand, it is very useful for business owners to be clued up about digital marketing. It actually makes our job easier. However, working together with a team of professionals that can engineer an effective marketing campaign from start to finish will return dividends in the end.

The ultimate goal for every business that ever exists is to hit your bottom line. Ideally, you will gradually grow from there. In modern times, you need a digital presence to stay relevant.

With an experienced digital marketing team on your side and a project manager that ties the loose ends into an impenetrable knot, you give your business more opportunities to go from strength to strength.