Marketing in the oil and gas industry is moving online, with more and more companies ready to make the digital transformation leap.

If your organization is partnering with a digital marketing agency to support you as you create an oil and gas website, online marketing campaigns, and a social media presence, you may not know what to expect when working with them or what kind of role you play in the partnership.

After all, you want to maximize the most of your digital marketing spend, so it’s important to know how you can do just that.

Here are 9 ways to make sure your digital marketing engagement is a success.

1. Set aside time to work on your oil and gas marketing strategy each week

If your oil and gas company has never worked with a digital marketing agency before, it’s important to know what the time commitment on your end will be like.

After all, when you hire a digital marketing expert, you may assume that they will be taking care of all of the tasks for you.

While the role of the digital marketing agency will depend on your agreement, it’s wise to remember that you will likely need to set aside some time each week for your digital marketing activities.

This may include:

• Attending virtual meetings
• Reviewing design or content
• Gathering resources about your business for the agency

We recommend that clients set aside between 2-5 hours each week when working with a digital marketing agency in the oil and gas industry.

2. Have one decision maker only

It can be tempting to include your entire marketing and sales department in your strategy calls with the digital agency — but that is a mistake you should avoid.

You’ve likely heard of the phrase:

“Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth.”

This quote/idea applies to digital transformation in oil and gas too.

Have one decision maker for your digital marketing strategy and give them the authority they need to work with the agency on the project.

3. Trust the digital marketing experts

You are the expert in your oil and gas business.

The digital marketing agency is the expert in theirs.

They are up to date on all of the digital marketing trends because this industry moves fast. They know the best practices to follow to ensure you meet your goals.

If you’re not a digital marketing expert yourself, be sure to trust the experts you’ve hired to make strategic decisions for your marketing activities.

We encourage our clients to ask questions when they want to increase their knowledge, but we also ensure they understand we have their best interests at heart.

This means we may suggest alternatives to their ideas if they don’t align with industry best practices. 

4. Think long term

In oil and gas digital marketing, most agencies will require you to sign a 12-month contract at minimum.

This is because digital marketing is not a one-and-done task you mark off a checklist. It’s a long-term strategy with many moving parts.

To get the results you want, you have to iterate and pivot as you gather more data from your online activities.

Often, it can take 6-12 months to see digital marketing results, especially when it comes to search engine optimization.

5. Always do your homework

There will be times when you are required to prepare for an upcoming meeting by gathering information or reviewing content or design.

Making sure you do this homework is key to moving your project along.

If you don’t do your homework, your project’s schedule may get delayed. Losing momentum can negatively affect your end results.

6. Follow schedules and deadlines

Have you heard the phrase “early is on time, on time is late?” It’s something we strongly believe in and try to reinforce to our clients.

Whenever you miss a deadline, you throw off the entire project’s schedule.

If you miss a deadline by a day, it doesn’t mean your schedule is off by a day. Often, it can mean your schedule is thrown off by several weeks because of that small delay.

In order to maximize your digital marketing spend, it’s best to show up on time for meetings and make sure you meet all content or design review deadlines.

7. Take advantage of the resources provided to you

For many oil and gas companies, the digital transformation is a new element they have not dealt with before.

This means that you may have to use new technologies you are not familiar with, such as:

• Design review software
• Word processing software
• Project management software

We provide our clients with tutorial videos for any applications we expect you to use.

Often, these videos are fairly short — just a few minutes in length — but they are full of valuable tips on how to use the programs.

Be sure to take advantage of any tutorial resources so you can use the software to its maximum potential.

8. Hold up your end of the bargain

In some cases, your agreement with the digital marketing agency may involve your company providing content for the website or for the social media pages.

If that’s the case, it’s important to make sure you provide everything they need at the same time, instead of trickling in pages here and there.

This keeps the project moving smoothly and ensures nothing gets lost in the process.

For our clients that need help with content, we work with copywriters and content strategists who are experts in the oil and gas industry.

They can take content totally off your plate so you can focus on high-level digital marketing strategy instead.

9. Ensure you have the right tools for oil and gas digital marketing

The majority of the meetings for your oil and gas digital transformation are held online through video conferencing software.

To make this work most efficiently, you will need to have:

• High-quality microphone
• Headphones/earbuds
• Webcam
• Coffee (or whatever does it for you)

This way, you will be able to clearly see and hear the people you’re working with.

After all, you don’t want to waste strategy time by having to constantly repeat yourself.

Make the most of your digital transformation in the oil and gas industry

It can be daunting to take the plunge into the digital transformation in oil and gas.

Know that you’re not alone — you have experts to guide you every step of the way.

Not sure where to start?

Learn about our Web Strategy Exploration™ process and how you can get on the road to a captivating digital presence for your oil and gas company.