Digital Media Agencies

Digital Media Agencies

Advice for when and how to seek out an external agency

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Digital Media Agencies

Social media has recently become even more important to small businesses, helping them stay in contact with their customers and clientele and promote growth. But, with the demand for constant online engagement, some small businesses feel overwhelmed by all the marketing and social engagement options or are not equipped to implement these strategies themselves.

Thankfully, there are experts in digital media that can step in to help. These agencies can provide a range of media and communication services to small businesses, helping them to design and strategically implement approaches and marketing campaigns to help business boom.

If you’re looking to outsource some of these work to an external agency on behalf of your business, but you’re not sure where to start, then you’ve come to the right place.

This page includes information on:

1. Why should you approach an agency?

2. How to find the right agency for you

3. Understanding agency costs

4. Some agency options

5. Press releases

Don't be afraid to ask for help from the experts. Photo: Unsplash

Why

Why approach an agency?

If you’re a small business looking to make an impact and stand out from the crowd, having fresh and experienced eyes to look over your marketing strategies and social media use can make a huge difference.

The benefits of outsourcing your media services to an agency include the development, application and management of:

Curated and cohesive social media presence
Visually pleasing content and content placement catch viewer's eye
Organised and easy-to-manage strategies
Increase of public awareness about your business

Two people are looking a laptop screen, one person is sitting down while the other peron is standing up and checking their work.

A digital media or marketing expert can make you stand above the competition. Photo: Unsplash

How to find anagency

How to find an agency

There are a range of Canberra-based agencies that can provide communication and marketing services to small businesses. To find the right agency for you, try following these simple steps:

1. Check out Clutch’s List of Top Digital Media Agencies in Canberra. This will show you a range of local agencies along with an indication of costs and links to their main website. You can also sort the list by order of review rating, company name, or number of reviews.

2. Check the reviews. When you see an agency that looks promising, take the time to check their reviews. You can usually find some on their website, but also Googling the company name followed by “reviews”. Take note of any negative reviews and what they say was an issue. Also take note of whether the agency responded to that bad review and how they treated that reviewer, and also how long ago the review was made and if it’s still likely to be up-to-date.

3. Check their previous work. To help you get a good idea of what kind of work they can produce, take a look at their portfolio of past work. Most agencies list past works and clients on the website, but if not, call them and ask.

4. Check what services they provide. Some agencies specialise in creating video productions, while others are more into social media strategies, and then others focus on graphic design and branding. Find one that has experience with what you’re looking for.

5. Contact the agency and get a quote. There’s no point you organising to use an agency if you discover they are out of your price range, so do that as early as possible. Find out exactly what is included in that quote, and how much extra it would cost for you to add a few extra things on later.

6. Speak to them. No one can tell you more about an agency than your own gut. If they make you feel comfortable when you’re talking to them, then they will probably be better to work with than an agency that makes you feel uncomfortable.

7. Make an agreement. Lay out your budget limit and expectations so they know where you stand. A good working relationship should be one where you feel confident and comfortable with the agency you’ve contracted, but also where you don’t feel misunderstood or ignored.

Two people are at a white board brainstorming ideas, with one person holding a macbook in their right hand and writing on the board with their other hand

Always do thorough research before engaging an agency. Photo: Unsplash

How much does it cost

How much does it cost?

The cost of services will vary significantly between agencies and based on the kind of services you want them to provide. Because of this, most agencies do not display costs on their website, as there is no flat-rate.

Instead, agency websites will have a “contact us” page with an enquiry form. By filling in the form and explaining what kind of services you would like and on what kind of scale, you can then expect to hear back from the agency with either an estimated quote or a contact number to discuss your enquiry further.

If there is no enquiry form, there should be an email address, phone number or social media contact you can reach out to instead

Some options

Some local agency options

Below are a selection of information sheets giving an overview of seven digital media, marketing and communications agencies within Canberra. While this list is non-exhaustive, it does give you a starting point of contact.

If you are a business wanting to implement more effective communication tactics or marketing strategies, please consider contacting any of the following digital media agencies or using the previously mentioned methods of finding one yourself. Find the fact sheets for seven local digital media agencies below:

The Mark Agency Fact Sheet

Nerio Communications Fact Sheet

2B Advertising and Marketing Fact Sheet

NewCast Studio Fact Sheet

Planet Media Fact Sheet

Coordinate Fact Sheet

Cre8tive Fact Sheet

In addition to these local agencies, here are some other more major agencies that might interest you:

1. Baha Agency – Specialises in creative technology

2. Mude – Specialises in digital marketing

3. Inc Digital Media – Specialises in digital media

4. Universal McCann – Specialises in advertising and design

5. Creative Nation – Specialises in marketing, advertising and design

a close shot of multple newspapers stacked up on top of each other

Another way to make your business seen is to publish a press release. Photo: Unsplash

press

Press releases

A press release, sometimes referred to as a media release, is a statement made by you that is published by the media. Usually, a press release is made to let the public know about major changes, some event or new issue.

Press releases are made quickly after something has occurred, or, in your case, it may be ahead of an event to help gain attention. The great thing about this statement is that it can include whatever you want it to – you control the story. You can either choose to contact an external agency or journalism to help you, or you can do it yourself!

DIY Press Release

It’s easy to make your own press release, all you have to do is write up a one-page statement and submit it to the news publication platform of your choice. The kind of media platform you send your statement to for publication will depend on the kind of business you have and what your statement is about.

Making a press release

1. Open a text document you can easily attach to an email to send later.

2. Write your headline (in bold). This is the first thing people will see, so you want to tell them what this statement is all about while still being concise. For example, “Grand Opening for Joe’s Café in Tuggeranong”.

3. Write your content. Think to yourself, “what am I trying to tell my audience?” Include details on what, where, when, who, and if appropriate, why and how.

4. Add extra elements. People are slowly beginning to move toward including images and embedded comments into their press releases to help capture their audience’s attention. If including any images, be sure they are placed so that they do not cut into your text or split sentences in-two. You should also check to see if the resolution for your chosen image is high enough that it won’t appear blurry.

5. Choose which news platform is most appropriate for your type of press release and email it to them with a little explanation as to what it is.

Choosing a news platform to publish

The easiest way to decide where you should send your press release is by considering what the contents of the statement includes and what kind of business you have.

Here is a breakdown of some local news platforms and what kind of press releases you could send to each of them:

The Canberra Times