Introduction

As per Deloitte’s survey on digital marketers, the role of digital marketing has increased by 72% during the pandemic period. Today, with the incorporation of digital technology, digital marketing has transformed radically. Digital Marketing has replaced traditional ways with new technologies, which resulted in unmatched reach, precise targeting, and quantifiable results. Even after this much development, the industry faces some obstacles that have the potential to make it unsuccessful.

It is very crucial to be on top in this fast-paced industry for digital marketers. They always have to come up with new, creative, and innovative solutions. As they say “Content is King”, today’s digital marketing has a big dependency on content marketing in terms of bringing traffic and qualified leads. To achieve more online visibility through digital marketing, a business needs the right content strategies. Since there is a diversity in location, each worker offers a unique perspective which will lead to improvement in group performance. 

When it comes to reaching different parts of the world, the content strategy has to cover perspectives from different ethnicities. Hiring talent and creating a remote team from different parts of the world would be a crucial part of a business. Digital marketers have to deal with the problem of navigating complicated rules to effectively manage worldwide teams. In such situations when there is loads of work, to focus on the core tasks, Employer of Record services can be a fine solution.

In this blog, we’ll understand the several obstacles that the digital marketing sector faces. Let’s understand how Employer of Record services assists with these difficulties, and take a deep dive into recent advancements and trends that have the potential to influence the field’s future.

New Developments and Trends in Digital Marketing

• Rise of usage of AI and automation: Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are revolutionizing digital marketing by enabling personalized customer experiences, predictive analytics, and automated campaign optimization. Over 80% of digital marketers in the retail and consumer space are expecting their businesses to use AI and new technologies by 2025. From chatbots and virtual assistants to predictive analytics tools, AI-driven technologies are reshaping the way marketers engage with their audiences and measure campaign performance.
• Priority to content personalization: In an age of information overload, content personalization has become essential for cutting through the noise and capturing audience attention. Digital marketers are leveraging data-driven insights to deliver tailored content experiences across multiple channels, driving higher engagement and conversions.
• Video marketing: Video continues to dominate the digital landscape, with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram driving unprecedented growth in video consumption. Marketers are increasingly incorporating video into their content strategies to captivate audiences and convey their brand messages more engagingly and memorably.
• Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for brands to reach and engage with their target audiences through trusted voices and personalities. As influencer marketing matures, marketers are focusing on building long-term partnerships with authentic influencers who align with their brand values and resonate with their audience.
• Voice search optimization: With the proliferation of voice-activated devices and virtual assistants, voice search optimization has become a priority for digital marketers. Optimizing content for voice search queries and leveraging conversational AI technologies can help brands improve their visibility and relevance in voice-enabled search results.

Challenges of the Digital Marketing Industry

• Global compliance and regulations: As digital marketing campaigns work across geographical borders, companies often struggle with the obstacles of regulations and compliance requirements. Staying compliant is one of the challenging tasks for a digital marketing company. Companies have to face challenges like data privacy laws such as GDPR in Europe and regulations of advertising in different countries.
  
  
• Talent acquisition and management: Innovation and creativity are the main pillars of the digital marketing industry. At the same time, talent acquisition and retention are some of the company’s responsibilities. Finding a skilled resource with expertise in areas like SEO, social media marketing, and analytics can be stressful.

• Curating content per ethnicity: To keep the variation in content, it is very essential to have team members from different ethnicity. Curating these experts in content is one of the challenges businesses face.
• Flexible workforce management: Since remote work has become a successful trend in the market, digital marketing teams have started hiring more and more independent contractors, freelancers, and remote employees. But, to achieve the privilege of flexibility, one has to go through difficulties such as coordinating diverse teams, different cultures and time zones, and smooth cooperation.
• Scalability and adaptability: It is very important to scale quickly in terms of experiencing the advantage of new opportunities and adapting to the changing customer paradigm. At the same time managing the pressure of expansion may put a burden on infrastructure and resources already in place which may result in inefficiency and lost opportunities.
• Budget constraints and ROI optimization: A digital marketer is measured on their performance over Return on investment(ROI). Digital marketing budgets are not limitless even though the process has a high potential for returns. It becomes a challenging task to allocate the right candidate for the right channel while maximizing ROI. 

EOR Solutions: Addressing Industry Challenges

• Global compliance made easy: Navigating complex international regulations is the expertise of the Employer of record service. EOR will help digital marketing teams to be compliant in every jurisdiction they operate in. Employer of record services make sure that the companies are relieved from the burden of managing payroll, benefits, and compliance issues. Letting the business focus on its core task is the main purpose of EOR.
• EOR helps in curating experts from different ethnicities: Content is an important part when it comes to digital marketing. Finding talents from different genres is crucial and essential in terms of maintaining diversity. EOR can help the organization find the right talent for content marketing and help focus on their core tasks.
• Streamlined talent acquisition and management: EOR has an all-inclusive solution to offer for talent acquisition and management solutions, providing access to a vast pool of skilled professionals. EORs allow companies to build a strong and scalable EOR team and minimize the worry of administrative overhead, from sourcing top talent. Enable companies to build agile and scalable marketing teams without administrative overhead, from sourcing top talent to handling payroll and HR administration.
• Effective workforce management: Digital advertising companies may effortlessly onboard and manage remote workers and contractors worldwide with the help of EOR services. EORs manage every facet of employment, such as payroll, taxes, and compliance, making it easier to manage a dispersed staff and encouraging cross-border cooperation.
• Agility and scalability: Digital marketing teams may react swiftly to shifting market conditions by scaling up or down using Employer-of-record solutions. EORs offer the flexibility and scalability required to adjust to changing business demands without the headache of establishing legal corporations or handling payroll complications, whether launching seasonal promotions or venturing into new markets.
• Optimizing budget allocation and ROI: Digital marketing firms can more efficiently handle their budgets and resource allocation by contracting with EORs to handle employment-related tasks. By providing clear pricing structures and assisting in the reduction of administrative expenses, EORs enable marketers to concentrate their efforts on initiatives that yield quantifiable outcomes and the highest return on investment.

Availability of Resources for Digital Marketing in India

India has emerged as a global hub for digital marketing talent, thanks to its large pool of skilled professionals and growing technology infrastructure. With a young and tech-savvy workforce, India offers a rich talent pool comprising experts in areas such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, content creation, and analytics. Additionally, the proliferation of digital marketing courses and training programs has fueled the growth of a highly specialized workforce capable of meeting the diverse needs of digital marketing companies.

Cost and Cost Comparison

India is known for cost-effective hiring. India is a desirable location for businesses trying to maximize their marketing budgets without sacrificing quality because employee expenses there are much more affordable than in other nations. Companies can leverage India’s talent pool for digital marketing at significant cost savings by taking advantage of competitive pricing and a favorable exchange rate.

There can be a noticeable disparity in the cost of recruiting digital marketing personnel in India compared to other nations. For example, digital marketing experts in India frequently make far smaller salaries than their counterparts in the US or Europe. Overhead expenditures like office rent, utilities, and infrastructural charges are also significantly lower in India. 

Businesses can access elite talent for a fraction of the cost by outsourcing digital marketing functions to India, which enables them to optimize their marketing budgets and increase return on investment.

See the table below about the cost structures in working with two different remote business models such as resource cost in USA/Europe and local EOR in India.

Indicative per month cost of a team of 6 members. It is the average salary cost of 6 members (1 manager, 2 senior- or mid-level contractors, and 3 junior-level contractors)

Cost Table:

Models	Costs/month
Resource cost in USA/Europe	USD 40,800.00
Local EOR	USD 10,046.34

Conclusion

The digital marketing industry is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behaviors, and regulatory shifts. While these developments present new opportunities for marketers, they also pose challenges that require innovative solutions. 

Employer of Record services offer a strategic advantage for overcoming the complexities of global expansion, talent acquisition, and workforce management, enabling digital marketing companies to focus on driving growth and innovation. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing new trends and technologies will be essential for staying ahead of the curve and delivering impactful marketing experiences in an increasingly digital world.