Starting an online boutique marketing agency is a great way to go into business for yourself. The internet marketing field is ever-expanding as technology advances, and demand for online marketing professionals does not seem to be slowing down.
Online marketing encompasses a variety of disciplines, including search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media management, graphic design for social media and advertising, and content creation.
Those who are skilled in these areas can create their own niche-marketing agencies where they take on clients and then manage all of their online presence. This includes creating and maintaining a website, posting quality content that gets good views and traction, managing social media accounts, and tracking and managing metrics.
Clients can come to you with concerns or needs in any of these areas, and you can help them solve it by managing it for them.
Creating a brand for yourself is one of the most important steps in starting an online boutique marketing agency. How do you want to be perceived?
Do you want to be known as the friendly, fun fashionista? The expert fashion finder? The exclusive boutique specialist?
Whatever your brand, it has to be consistent across all social media platforms, your website, and any marketing materials you use. You will also have to invest in a decent-quality logo that goes with your brand.
Part of building your personal brand is deciding whether or not to attach your name to the business. This is a decision only you can make, but it is important to think about the consequences.
If you choose to attach your name to the business, then you must be willing to put yourself out there and take some risks.
Having a website is the first step to starting an online boutique marketing agency. You can create a website for free using WordPress.com or WordPress.org, or you can pay for a website creation service like Wix or Squarespace.
Since the domain name is free, you can choose any name you want- though it may be more difficult to market yourself if your site does not include your brand name.
Regardless of which platform you use to create your website, they all have free trial periods so that you can test out if your website is what you want before you spend money on it. This is helpful so that you do not spend money on something that does not work for you.
Having a website is an essential part of starting an online boutique marketing agency because it gives potential clients access to information about your business and how to contact you. It also provides an outlet to showcase your work and services.
A webinar is a live presentation that can be viewed via video-sharing websites like YouTube or Facebook. They can be watched at a specific time or immediately accesses if you are late to the broadcast.
They are very effective as they combine both social and digital media with traditional media in a very effective way. They combine the best of both worlds, really!
They work well because you provide valuable information at a specific time, people register to watch this information, and then they can watch it again if they could not attend.
They are great for businesses as they create a sort of passive marketing. People can register and watch your webinar again and share it if they found it informative. Additionally, you can add an opt-in at the end for your business to receive more information or to purchase something.
To start your own webinar, research how to do this and invest in a good microphone for your presentation.
Creating content for your online boutique marketing agency starts with creating content for your clients.
You will be providing marketing and branding services for businesses, so it is important to keep up with trends in marketing. What’s hot now may not be next month, or next year, so you have to stay tuned into the process.
By keeping up with the trends, you can provide your clients with the best services possible. You will know what kinds of branding strategies work best and how to execute them.
Regularly posting about marketing strategies on your personal social media accounts is a great way to share information about trends. By doing this as an independent business person, you are promoting yourself as a knowledgeable source of information.
Creating content for your own website or blog is another way to generate content that can help bring in new clients.
Once you have a few clients, ask them if they know anyone who needs a social media marketing consultant. This is an easy way to gain new clients and build your business!
Clients like to feel like they got value out of the work that you did for them, so they will be more likely to refer you if they felt like you did a good job.
By having your clients feel confident in your work, it also gives you credibility within your industry. People will trust your services if others have had good experiences with them.
Having an active Instagram account can help you gain new followers and engagement, which is great for advertising your business. Having more followers on Instagram also helps people feel more comfortable working with you- they can see that you are knowledgeable about the field and have lots of attention from others.
Social media is a huge part of marketing today. People use social media to connect with friends and family, for entertainment, and to find new products and services.
You can use social media to promote your boutique business. Create accounts on the major platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and start engaging with people.
For example, you can post photos of your products on Instagram with a link to your website where people can purchase them. This will get you new followers and interest in your business.
As you build your brand, continue to post interesting content that people want to see and share so that you gain more exposure. This will help bring in new customers through word of mouth advertising.
Research the best times of the day to post on each platform to get the most exposure. Try keeping track of your views and sales to see if advertising on social media is working for you.
Paid advertising on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, niche-specific search engines like Shopify and Polyvore, and e-commerce marketplaces like Etsy and eBay are great places to start.
Running promotional campaigns through these platforms is not free, however. You will have to invest some money into advertising fees to gain customer attention. This is a good way to test the waters and see if your business is profitable!
Marketing agencies often have budgets for advertising so that they can promote their business. You could offer your services to create advertisements for other businesses in exchange for a free ad campaign for your own business.
Testing out advertisements is a great way to get started as a small business entrepreneur. It will help you learn what works and what does not, which will save you money in the long run.
Partnering with another agency is a great way to start your own boutique marketing agency. By partnering with an existing agency, you can leverage their clients and resources to gain new clients and resources to grow your own agency.
By partnering with an existing agency, you can also take on less demanding clients or projects that you are familiar with to gain experience and trust. This way, both agencies gain a client and increase their reputation as a trustworthy source for quality work.
By collaborating with other agencies, you can pool resources such as money, staff, and equipment. This way, you can offer more services to clients and produce better quality work which leads to happier clients.
Partnering with other agencies is a great way to start small and grow alongside them as your both grow your client base and need for additional staff and resources.
