What is digital consulting?

What is digital consulting?

Many businesses find it challenging to welcome an outsider into their operations. However, the fresh perspective a digital consultant brings can be exactly what’s needed to identify how you can achieve your business goals.

Whether you’re running a start-up or a well-established company, businesses across all sectors can benefit from digital consulting.

In 2023, the UK consulting industry was worth £20 billion, and the demand for external expertise for businesses has almost doubled since 2018 – but how can a digital consultant help your business?

What is digital consulting in marketing?

Digital consulting in marketing involves hiring an external consultant to assess a company’s digital footprint, including its website, social media, online advertising and search engine optimisation. The consultant then makes suggestions on how the company can improve its online presence for maximum effect.

These suggestions could include strategies for driving website traffic, improving online customer engagement or boosting search engine rankings. The process typically involves conducting a thorough audit of your digital platforms, defining your goals and then building a strategy to achieve your objectives.

Depending on the contract you have, your consultant may help you implement your strategy and offer ongoing support. Any business with an online presence can benefit.

How can it support your business?

Digital consultancy plays a crucial role in supporting businesses at various stages and across all sectors, helping them navigate the often complex and competitive digital space. They can offer varying levels of support depending on your business type.

• Start-ups – New businesses often lack the resources or expertise to establish an effective digital presence from the get-go. A digital consultant can help set up and optimise everything from a well-designed website to your social media profiles. They can create an online branding strategy, an SEO plan to increase visibility or an efficient email marketing campaign to engage potential customers.
• Established businesses – Larger organisations often need help, whether that’s using their digital assets effectively or entirely transforming their website. A digital consultant can provide insights into the latest trends, technologies and strategies for established businesses to stay competitive. They may implement advanced data analytics for more informed decision-making, incorporate AI into customer service or develop a comprehensive content marketing strategy for engaging existing customers and attracting new ones.
• B2B businesses – Digital consultants can help B2B companies optimise their digital marketing strategy for more targeted leads. This could involve growing their LinkedIn presence, improving their SEO strategy for better visibility or implementing an effective email marketing strategy to encourage leads.
• B2C businesses – Digital consultants can amplify a B2C organisation’s online reach to build a broader consumer base. Strategies might include using social media advertising to drive sales, improving website design for better user experience (UX), or leveraging Influencer marketing for wider reach and more engagement.

What types of services do digital consultants offer?

Digital consultants offer a wide range of services to enhance a business’s online presence and performance:

• Digital strategy development – They provide strategic guidance on how to leverage digital channels for business growth, which includes setting clear objectives, identifying target audiences and devising tactics for engagement.
• Website optimisation – This covers improving site design for usability, optimising site structure for SEO and enhancing site speed.
• SEO services – These help improve website visibility in search engine results through keyword research, on-page optimisation, link building and content creation.
• Social media strategy – Consultants can help businesses effectively use social media to boost brand awareness, customer engagement and lead generation.
• Content strategy – Efficiently planning, creating and managing high-quality content drives traffic, engages users and boosts SEO.
• Paid advertising – This covers services like pay-per-click advertising (PPC) or social media ads, aimed at driving traffic and promoting offers.
• Analytics and reporting – Monitoring and analysing data to assess digital strategy performance and make necessary informed adjustments.

Each service is designed to tackle the various aspects of a business’s digital presence – a consultant can provide multiple services at once for a cohesive approach.

Find out about our digital marketing consultancy services.

Typical digital consultancy services for your business

Strategy

A digital strategy is a comprehensive plan that outlines how a business can achieve its objectives in the digital space. It’s essential because it provides direction, helps you allocate resources effectively and focuses all your digital efforts to keep them in line with business goals.

A digital consultant can draw up strategies for a whole range of digital activities – content, social media, SEO, email marketing, web design and PPC. If you need multiple strategies at once, you can ensure that your strategy helps you avoid wasting time and resources.

Creating a strategy is a multi-step process. It starts with understanding your business goals, target audience and current digital footprint. This is followed by a competitive analysis and internal audit to identify what works well in the industry (and what isn’t effective). After this, a consultant can create a plan that’s bespoke to your business.

A holistic approach to digital consultancy ensures all elements work together cohesively, targeting your specific goals with a plan that is bespoke to your business. When using a digital consultant to create a strategy, you benefit from their expertise and get an unbiased, objective perspective that can lead to fresh ideas.

SEO

Search engine optimisation involves enhancing your website and online content to improve its visibility in search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Common SEO services offered by digital consultants often include auditing, keyword research, on-page optimisation, website and traffic analysis, link building and content creation. Taking a holistic approach to SEO and covering multiple aspects – rather than just one or two elements – will mean your business benefits from a cohesive approach.

Working with a consultant to handle your SEO needs has several benefits. They bring expertise and stay updated with changing search engine algorithms, making informed adjustments. They can also provide a customised strategy that targets your specific audience and goals, improving website traffic and boosting customer engagement.

Discover Submerge’s full suite of SEO services.

PPC and paid advertising

If you want to get the most visibility, but have a tight budget, say hello to PPC.

Pay-per-click (PPC) and other paid advertising services form a significant part of many digital consultants’ offerings. PPC is an online advertising model where you only pay each time a user clicks on one of their online ads. Other forms of paid advertising could include display ads, social media ads or sponsored content.

Businesses should consider PPC and other paid strategies because they can bring immediate visibility and traffic to your website, unlike organic SEO strategies, which take time to create results. They also allow for precise targeting based on demographics, interests or behaviours, ensuring ads reach the most relevant audience.

A digital consultant can manage all aspects of your PPC and paid advertising campaigns, including keyword research, ad creation, campaign setup, platform monitoring and optimisation. They can analyse performance data and make strategic adjustments to maximise return on ad spend in real-time.

Want to know more? Pay our PPC services page a visit.

Social media

Social media management is a typical digital consulting service. It involves managing a business’s presence on various social platforms such as Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and others. Although researching and generating content across multiple platforms can be time-consuming, the opportunity for wider reach, increased brand awareness, and direct communication with customers is worth it.

A digital consultant can create and implement a robust and flexible social media strategy for your business. This would involve selecting the right platforms, creating content and scheduling posts. The consultant could also monitor engagement, manage ads and measure performance for maximum ROI.

Contact us to find out more about our social media services.

Content marketing

Creating and implementing a cohesive content marketing strategy requires consistency, time and resources – this could be challenging for a start-up or small marketing team to prioritise over other more time-sensitive tasks.

Content calendars, strategy, keyword research, writing, editing, scheduling… a digital consultant could do it all. With a specialised consultant on your side, you would then have the time to focus on the other areas of your business that require attention. Their expertise could result in fewer mistakes, more organic traffic and increased visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Submerge covers all content needs, from research and SEO optimisation to bespoke blog posts. Find out more about our content marketing services.

Web development

Web development involves designing and creating a website from scratch or optimising an existing one, with the aim of providing a user-friendly, visually appealing and functional online presence for your business.

This is crucial because your website is often your customers’ first impression of your business. A well-designed website is key for SEO – search engines prefer sites that offer a good user experience (UX) and rank them higher.

A digital consultant with the right skills can manage all aspects of web development, from site design to coding. They’ll ensure that your website is easy to navigate and optimised for SEO. This involves incorporating elements like meta tags, appropriate keyword density and high-quality content.

Read about our web design services.

5 benefits of working with a digital consultant

There are lots of reasons why hiring a digital consultant can boost your business – here are just a few:

• Expertise – They have in-depth knowledge of the digital landscape, including the latest trends and technologies. Exposure to various sectors and industries means consultants can bring fresh, proven strategies to your business. Their expertise means effective strategies are more smoothly implemented, something your in-house team might not have the experience or capacity to do.
• A focus on core business functions – Outsourcing work to experts allows you to focus on your core responsibilities. You can dedicate your time to other areas of your business that demand attention while experts efficiently handle your digital presence.
• Cost-effective – Digital consultants can help you optimise your ad spend, ensuring your budget is used effectively to reach your desired audience. A consultancy can also be a more affordable option than hiring a full-time, in-house digital marketing team.
• Extension of in-house team – A digital consulting agency can serve as an extension of your team, providing additional support and resources when needed. The right agency can seamlessly integrate and collaborate with your in-house team, boosting productivity.
• Data-driven decisions – Digital consultants rely heavily on data analysis to make decisions. This can result in more targeted, effective strategies, reducing guesswork and improving efficiency.

What to look for when choosing a digital consultancy

Choosing the right digital consultancy for your business is key for the success of your digital presence. Since you’ll be working closely together, look for a consultancy with:

• A similar attitude and a good understanding of your business goals
• Previous experience in a similar industry
• Strong client testimonials
• The capacity to provide multiple services for a comprehensive approach
• Transparency in their working practices and pricing
• Good communication skills
• A responsive approach

Looking for a digital consultancy to work with? Contact Submerge today.