Content marketing is an increasingly important part of any business’s overall marketing strategy today. Making sure that you have good content should be one of the first things you consider when starting out.
But, you probably don’t have the time to write 100 blog posts on your own; so what can you do? One option is to outsource. A survey in 2021 revealed that 50% of businesses outsource their content marketing, while 30% of marketing professionals outsource their content marketing responsibilities.
But who do you outsource to—a freelancer or an agency? I’m writing this article because I have seen so many businesses start off with the wrong choices. This article aims to clear any and all of your confusion and help you make the best decision.
See also: Does Content Marketing work for Startups? 5 examples that will inspire you
Why is it important to outsource your content marketing?
Here are 5 important reasons you should outsource your content:
1. It allows you to define and meet your content marketing goals faster.
It goes without saying that outsourcing to professionals would make defining what you want to achieve with marketing a whole lot easier. Everything about content marketing suddenly becomes less vague when you enlist the help of a third-party professional. Having your goals laid out in the clearest way possible is a recipe for growth and success, and it’s what outsourcing your content will fetch you.
2. It allows your company to devote more time to other areas that require attention.
Outsourcing your content marketing to professionals affords you the opportunity and freedom to give the right amount of attention to areas in your firm that might need it. For example, if you’re a firm whose main concern is producing and perfecting skin care products, charging your limited employees with the additional responsibility of taking on the company’s content marketing is definitely going to create a lag somewhere. When you outsource, it opens up time for you or your employees to focus wholly on your main concerns as a company.
3. Flexibility in the type of content your company produces for your audience emerges.
Choosing to outsource your content to a professional somehow fosters better flexibility than when you’re running your content marketing in-house. How? As an organization whose focus isn’t content marketing, you may be limited in your ideas compared to a professional. That professional could very easily help you diversify your content.
Introducing a professional to your marketing goals, for example, opens their minds to the many different forms your content could take. Whether that is in the form of revitalizing your social media or getting you a better ranking on Google’s SERP page, you can trust that they will think of something good for your brand. This is especially true if you previously ran your content marketing in-house and your content was limited to average blog posts.
See: 4 product-led content examples B2B startups need to check out
4. It fosters creativity
Flexibility does not equal creativity, and that is why these two are separate advantages of outsourcing your content to a professional. Besides having flexibility in the kind of content your firm releases to the public, outsourcing your content marketing to a professional gives you room for creativity.
Suddenly, your blog posts are becoming more relatable to your audience, engagements on your social media posts are increasing and your chances of being on Google search engines’ first page are rapidly increasing.
5. When compared to in-house content marketing, there is a significant difference in diligence.
If you currently run your content marketing in-house with other responsibilities grating at you for attention, you will notice a few things. Top of this is laziness, because well, it’s not exactly in your employees’ job description; and easy employee burnout with regards to both their job and handling content marketing efforts.
Outsourcing your content marketing to a professional curbs and completely puts a stop to some of these problems you may be facing. That is because you would now have professionals whose only concern is to better your marketing and ensure your success in that area.
Results that can be controlled are delivered when they are due, inconveniences are reported early enough to be sorted, and so on.
Marketing Agency vs. Freelancer
A marketing agency is a professional organization that employs marketing specialists to develop and execute marketing strategies for clients. Marketing agencies are generally more expensive than freelancers because they have a team of people there to help you out with all your projects. But if you’re looking for quality service, then it might be worth investing in a marketing agency rather than hiring several freelancers each time you need something done.
A freelancer is an individual who works independently, on a project-by-project basis, for a client or company. Freelancers often have specialized skills and knowledge that make them ideal for particular jobs. For example, one might be able to write articles and blogs that boost the reputation of a company’s website; another might be able to create video content that educates consumers about products and services; while another might be able to design e-commerce websites that convert visitors into customers.
They are a lot cheaper to work with since they work alone, set their own hours and rates and choose the type of clients they want to work with.
Now, the crux of the matter: A Freelancer or Marketing Agency?
Here are five reasons you’re better off with a marketing agency:
1. Agencies are more committed than a freelancer juggling a lot of other responsibilities.
It is not unheard of that a freelancer may have their hands in many other pies, and they can only go so far with their one-man team.
Admittedly, an agency also works with many brands, sometimes simultaneously, but the thing is, they can afford to—the whole 2-heads-are-better-than-1-analogy and everything. The best part? Because of their expertise, quality will never be compromised.
2. Working with an agency allows you to understand the potential of your content marketing.
Along with an agency being more disposed to producing and distributing quality content for your brand, it is also with them that your content marketing is truly able to spread its wings, take on different forms, and yield positive results because they will be executed properly.
3. Agencies have access to more resources than a freelancer.
There are many reasons agencies can afford to be more committed and flexible. Having access to quality resources, including human resources is one of those reasons. An agency has access to content marketing tools that a freelancer may not have due to factors such as a lack of experience or expertise.
Also, an agency has access to a diversity of skills because it is a team of individual professionals who are more focused on making your success possible.
See also: 25 tools essential tools for every content marketer
4. There is no temptation to micromanage.
A marketing agency is a registered business. A freelancer is certified, of course, but there is nothing like knowing you work with a registered marketing agency that’s got your back. It takes away the need to do a lot of things like micromanage.
When you work with a freelancer, there might be this overwhelming need to micromanage them. You give yourself reasons like, “he is just one individual”, “a third party”, “he’s not even registered”, and finally, there’s just something in you that makes you unable to come to terms with the whole thing when you consider everything that could go wrong if they are left totally unsupervised.
When you deal with an agency, though, the situation is the opposite. Here, you’re comfortable with the fact that a team is in charge of your content marketing, adding their own internal oversight without your involvement.
5. Agencies can offer a variety of services.
A freelancer is one individual who can only know so much. He or she might do well with creating content for your brand, but there comes the question of creating graphics to go along with this content, among many others. You may not want to be too involved in the whole thing because, in the past, it has seemed like you were doing the work for the people you hired. And who can blame you, really?
A marketing agency is able to grant you services that you might need when they have created your content, like video marketing services, graphics designing, and so on. This is because again, a marketing agency is a group of diverse individuals with different skill sets and potential. Agencies almost always have a solution to any problems that might arise from doing content marketing. They have someone for nearly everything regarding content marketing.
Choosing the right agency to outsource your content marketing to
Before you choose the content marketing agency you want to outsource to, there are many questions you need to ask:
1. How are they (the agency) with deadlines?
One reason you may be outsourcing is that you need your firm’s content done at a certain time and at a certain overall pace. Knowing how good the agency you have your sights on is with deadlines is a great way to narrow down your search.
2. Do they have their own writers and/or social media managers?
If the agency you’re looking to outsource your content marketing to is outsourcing the services they claim to offer, it’s a red flag. It would make the whole point of not contracting a freelancer moot.
Conversely, if they have an in-house team, it is the greenest of flags as they have better control over the quality of the content representing your brand.
3. Where’s the proof?
Proof does way better than word of mouth ever could. Asking the agency you have your sights on for proof of the successful work they have done for brands like yours is a great ask. After taking a long look at the proof they provide, you could then go ahead and make your decision.
Wrapping up
Outsourcing your content marketing to a trusted agency could open your brand up to the growth and opportunities never dreamed of. It’s the whole reason you have to do it right.
Set your sight on an agency with a proven understanding of launching a successful content marketing team for brands.
At Hera, we understand the struggles of running your content marketing in-house when you have other pressing concerns. That’s why we’re happy to take the trouble off you without compromising the quality you want for your brand.
Go on, hit us up today!
We have worked with over 24 startups to drive conversions through increased community presence and relevant blog posts that we help distribute. To understand our process, book a 15 - 30 minutes meeting with us.
