How to Find & Hire The Right Digital Marketing Consultant?

Let me tell you a secret. – It doesn’t take a pro to do digital marketing. But, hiring one can most definitely help.

In fact, in today’s highly competitive & increasingly complex digital environment, especially, business owners must move beyond the DIY approach and onboard a digital marketing consultant to achieve their desired business goals.

But the million-dollar question is: How to find a digital marketing consultant who can generate real, tangible, & measurable results for your business?

The answer lies in simply knowing which questions to ask during the hiring process.

But, it’s also equally important to first understand what a digital marketing consultant does & what are the benefits of hiring one.

With that being said, let’s jump right in!

What Does a Digital Marketing Consultant Do?

A digital marketing consultant is basically an external advisor who is an expert in leveraging various digital marketing channels to generate desired results for an online business.

For example, a digital marketing consultant can help with:

• SEO 
• Reputation Management
• Social Media Marketing
• Content Marketing
• PPC
• One-to-One Coaching to Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

However, the services of a digital marketing consultant vary based on your specific business needs.

For example, some digital marketing consultants only handle specific digital marketing campaigns, while others oversee your entire digital marketing strategy from beginning to end.

Regardless of the services you choose, a digital marketing consultant is responsible for making sure that your digital marketing strategy is executed to help you achieve your business goals.

ALSO READ: How to become a digital marketing consultant

Key Benefits of Hiring a Digital Marketing Consultant

There are thousands of online resources available to help you execute a digital marketing strategy on your own. 

But, digital marketing isn’t the easiest to figure out, which is why working with an expert digital marketing consultant is one of the most viable solutions to avoid headaches, wasted time, & marketing dollars.

Specifically, the right digital marketing consultant can help you:

• Eliminate the guesswork & implement an effective, result-oriented digital marketing strategy from the start.
• Save you from making costly digital marketing mistakes and potentially Google penalties.
• Save you money by executing data-driven strategies that make the most out of your digital marketing budget.
• Teach you everything about website analytics & why it matters.

How to Hire a Digital Marketing Consultant: 7 Simple Steps

Now that you finally understand the benefits of hiring a digital marketing consultant, it’s time we discuss what considerations you need to take for finding the right digital marketing consultant.

Below are the 7 simple steps to find & hire a digital marketing consultant that best fits your business goals.

1 – Ask Your Professional Network

Sometimes, your existing professional network is one of the best sources for the best digital marketing consultant recommendations. 

In fact, asking your professional network means you’ll have people vouch for a consultant’s services. Or, they’ll at least point you in the right direction. 

2 – Research

Once you have a list of digital marketing consultants from your network, the next step is to research & learn more about their services and the results they’ve generated so far for their previous/existing clients.

This research process basically involves studying their social media profiles, client testimonials, and case studies. 

• Check Out Their Socials

Many digital marketing consultants are active on social media platforms and examining their content on it is one of the ways to get a real sense of their approach to digital marketing.

In fact, you can even go beyond social media profiles and check out their personal blogs to see whether a particular digital marketing consultant is worth working with or not. 

• Study Client Testimonials

Whether you’re referred to a digital marketing consultant by someone in your professional network or stumble across one on your own, it’s best to check out the consultant’s client testimonials.

Client testimonials can help to learn how they work, their past clients’ experience working with them, and the results they generated for their clients. 

• Analyze Case Studies

Besides social profiles & client testimonials, you should also analyze the case studies if they’re available on a digital marketing consultant’s personal blog.

Social profiles & client testimonials might help you understand a consultant’s work approach & how much their previous clients have enjoyed working with them. But case studies are always a stronger indicator of their ability to move the needle.

And while analyzing the case studies, ask yourself questions like:

• Does the consultant has an in-depth understanding of digital marketing?
• What metrics do they use to measure success?
• Are they just fixated on rankings or also focus on leads, sales, etc.?

These are the most important questions to keep in mind while analyzing their case studies as their answers can help to make the right choice.

3 – Request for a Clear Estimate

After you’ve conducted thorough research and selected a few candidates, you should request a clear estimate of how much their services will cost you.

The right digital marketing consultant will know how much work is required on your website to generate results, how long will it take to generate the results, and how much it will cost. 

Now, there may be optional add-ons that could be added later for faster results, but their upfront estimate should give you a clear idea of what to expect while working with them.

4 – Discuss What’s Included

Many digital marketing consultants offer an “all-in-one” package, but it’s far better to go with someone who offers specific services needed to optimize your website to generate your desired results.

In other words, you should hire a digital marketing consultant who will take time to fully understand your business, craft a personalized strategy that suits your end goals.

Therefore, before making a decision to hire someone, it’s crucial to ask what will be included in their services and what results should you expect, and the timeframe needed to achieve them.

5 – Communicate Your Business Goals

Rank at the first position on Google may be your ultimate goal, but it’s important to have other, more tangible business goals in mind. 

So, once you decide on your business goals, make sure to communicate them with your potential digital marketing consultant. 

Communicating business goals will not only let your potential digital marketing consultant know what you hope to achieve but it will also make sure that you both are on the same page.

The right digital marketing consultant will help you to articulate your current digital marketing goals and establish new ones. They also understand what’s realistic for your business & set your expectations from the start.

6 – Ask How They Measure Results

Every online business owner dreams of ranking on the #1 rank on Google, but digital marketing is more than just top rankings. 

The right digital marketing consultant knows that the goal of any digital marketing strategy is to not only rank on top positions in SERPs but to help your business make more money. 

Therefore, besides SERP rankings, the right digital marketing consultant also measures other key performance indicators like traffic numbers, quality leads, sales, and brand image to measure the success of their digital marketing strategy.

7 – Schedule a Meeting/Call

Before finally signing the agreement, it’s best to schedule a face-to-face meeting or voice-to-voice conversation with your potential digital marketing consultant. 

This will help you communicate your business needs & goals in more detail, ask follow-up questions, and overall, get a better sense of if the candidate is the right person for the job. 

Concluding Thoughts…

When you’re looking to hire a digital marketing consultant, you don’t have to pick the first candidate that comes your way. 

In fact, I highly recommend you to compare options or get a second opinion so that you can choose the right digital marketing consultant for your business. 

The ultimate decision comes down to who understands your business & your goals the best and proves that they have what it takes to achieve them for you.