Unless you have been living in the middle of nowhere you have almost certainly heard the term digital agency at some point. However, this is a term that can be confusing, especially if you have a bit of imagination.
For example, it is not an agency like the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency. In other words, it’s not an online site that fights digital crime and hackers. Such an idea sounds like fun, but this is not what a digital agency is about.
In fact, a digital agency is a lot like an advertising agency. But where an advertising agency focuses on all things ad-related, from conceiving the campaign and its strategy to the production and the execution, a digital agency focuses on the digital needs of a business. These can be many and varied.
Here are some of the things that the people at a digital agency might do.
A Digital Agency Handles Development and Coding
One of the staples of the digital agency is coding. This means writing the code that powers things like apps and websites, content management systems, and customer retention management systems.
Coders write in any number of languages. Moreover, different agencies will be specialists in different languages. Therefore, it is important to know the capabilities of each language and to partner with an agency that has the skill set that suits your specific requirements.
For example, if you are searching for a company to do Android app development Sydney, you will want to find a company that is highly proficient in Java or Python. A company that rates itself as a Perl or Objective-C house would not be right for you.
Digital Agencies Crunch the Numbers
A digital agency should be your partner in areas where you lack expertise. One example of this would be in the realm of big data consulting, where there has been a lot of change and advancement in a short space of time.
It is one thing to be able to collect user data. However, it is quite another to be able to make sense of it. The experts use platforms like Oracle’s Blue Kai or IBM’s Watson to collect useful data that helps to drive user engagement or increased advertising revenue.
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They Make It Look Good
A key role of the digital agency is to work on the design and user experience of a digital product. There is absolutely no point in having great code and incredible back-end systems that collect data if the front end of the platforms is out of date and the user experience bad.
This is a critical element for the digital agency to get right. This is because the success of a digital strategy is highly dependent on the way that users interact with it.
A Digital Agency Oversees Social Media
Knowing how to manage and deal with social media is critical. This is because social media is the voice with which your brand interacts with the public.
For this reason, many digital agencies will have large teams of social media experts. These people will range from strategists to community managers to copywriters. Some of these roles can be fulfilled directly by the brand. But in many instances, it makes more sense for them to be outsourced, and this is what the agency will do.
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Conclusion
If you find yourself struggling with giving your company an online presence that’s lively and effective, turn to a digital agency and let the experts give you a hand.
