Angelfish Marketing Blog

Whether we’re in the market for a new phone, a car, or a different type of cereal, the digital era has changed how we decide on what we buy, and when we buy it. No longer do we talk to a sales rep first. Instead, we browse the internet to research exactly what we’re looking for, reading a wealth of information and reviews from existing customers. Only when we’re settled on a decision do we approach the business we’d like to buy from. In 2011, Google defined this critical new marketing moment as the ‘Zero Moment of Truth’. Put simply, it’s when people immediately turn to the internet, taking charge of the information they want to gather rather than having it pushed on them by marketers.

Whether you talk to an SEO expert, a business owner, or a marketing specialist, you will always hear different theories about the signals Google uses to assess the authority of your website and assign your ranking. To say Google’s algorithm is a minefield is a pretty big understatement and, believe it or not, even the Google engineers themselves find it somewhat of a mystery. This is because machine-learning algorithms, such as Google’s, are opaque - even the programmers of the AI can’t see them.

To have a successful SEO campaign strategy, you need to be producing helpful content for your target audience. This means creating relevant and engaging articles that are optimised for search engines and targeted specifically to your buyer personas. Easier said than done, right?

Traditional, outbound marketing methods such as cold calling just aren’t as effective in gaining the leads you need to stay ahead of your competitors anymore. As a recruitment agency, you need to ensure that your digital marketing skills are of the highest quality, especially in today’s ever-competitive market.

Sometimes, it’s really difficult to know where to start, and the workload ahead of you can seem overwhelming. So, whether your recruitment agency is just getting started with digital marketing or you want to optimise your current strategy, this guide will help you set up and implement a successful digital marketing strategy for your recruitment agency, step by step.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Put simply, the preparation of any business marketing strategy is just as important as the implementation of it; a detailed and strategic plan sets the foundation to successful marketing and, therefore, better results. So, it’s clear that your business needs an inbound marketing Growth Plan - without one, you’d struggle to see your goals and how to get there.

The starting point

As a recruitment agency, getting the right candidates from the right areas is a tricky task in itself, not to mention attracting and retaining the right clients. Throw in a lack of social media presence, sporadic marketing campaigns, poor site optimisation, and an over-reliance on traditional, interruptive marketing techniques, and this task becomes even more of a challenge.

This is the situation our client found themselves in before they came to us. They weren’t hitting their business goals and their website traffic wasn’t as high as most of their competitors’ were. Basically, they needed a marketing plan for a recruitment agency that would boost candidate acquisition - and they needed it fast.

Did you know inbound marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing and has a greater return on investment?

The industry is changing, and inbound marketing seems to be the most effective way to go. But if outbound marketing worked before, why doesn't it work as effectively now?

Well, consumer habits are changing, and the marketing landscape is riding along. While outbound marketing activities such as cold calling and promoting products in trade shows and seminars still have their place, modern consumers spend most of their time on the web, where inbound marketing thrives.

To craft an inbound strategy with a compelling ROI, consider working with an inbound marketing agency. Read on to learn 4 ways an agency will benefit your business.

Regardless of your industry, the web is an ever increasingly competitive space. Battling it out on the SEO playground has never felt trickier. Just when you think you’ve got it sussed, the rules of engagement change and everything that worked in the past seems futile. And there’s always some SEO expert selling their magic sauce for traffic-pumping success. But the truth is there is no magic sauce. And Google isn't trying to thwart online businesses by making it hard for you to rank. They want the same thing we all want: A great user experience and for everyone to find the best, most relevant content as easily as possible.

This is where the topic cluster SEO strategy comes in...

In a world of increasingly stretched budgets and advancing marketing methods, you may not know which strategies to use to boost your business’s brand and reputation.

However, inbound marketing could help you to reach your target audience and get more customers in a highly cost-effective manner.

Inbound marketing is simply a marketing method based on attracting customers through content and interactions. The key to a successful inbound marketing strategy is that this content and these interactions are relevant and helpful to your customers, which builds your brand, creates true customer loyalty and transforms your customers into brand advocates.

But how much of your inbound marketing budget will have an impact on your marketing strategies cost?

It’s a fair question and one that many businesses are keen to answer.

Inbound marketing is a highly effective marketing solution. On average, businesses spend significantly less on their inbound marketing compared to traditional outbound techniques. However, over 50% more leads come from inbound marketing services.

Inbound marketing is also a long-term and ongoing solution. There are a range of inbound marketing services and strategies available to your business. For example, you may decide to invest in a blog or create a series of targeted landing pages. As a result, its cost can vary greatly depending on the extent and range of strategies you decide to adopt.

At the Inbound 2018 conference earlier this year, Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, announced that the inbound marketing methodology is changing. As marketers, we have become very accustomed to using the marketing ‘funnel’ model when devising and managing our marketing strategies. We know how it works; the process is simple: attract, convert, close, delight. The focus in recent years has been on the attract stage; creating valuable content to pull customers in has been the best way to generate new leads and grow your business. But now, 'cracks' are starting to appear in this funnel.