Today, companies have many choices for building a strong digital marketing team. You can build an internal team, hire a marketing agency, or use a mix of both. But which option is best for your company?
Should you have your team or find the right balance with external talent?
Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency?
If you are wondering which is better considering outsourcing and in-house digital marketing, Outsourcing has many advantages.
When comparing in-house marketing versus outsourcing, hiring a digital marketing agency provides access to a diverse team of professionals skilled in social media, copywriting, SEO, public relations, advertising, design, and web development.
These specialized skills take time to master. Achieving expert-level proficiency requires repetition, sharp analysis, creativity, and extensive marketing knowledge across various platforms to effectively reach target audiences and drive business success.
While some businesses may possess essential skills for social media marketing and content development, managing complex marketing campaigns or tasks that yield significant results can be challenging.
A digital marketing agency employs team members and partners who excel across multiple tactics and comprehend the complexities of audience engagement. They are adept at optimizing campaigns and adjusting strategies when unexpected challenges arise.
Fresh perspectives are invaluable. Immersion in one’s own business can lead to tunnel vision. Partnering with an agency introduces new, creative ideas developed from different angles, insights, and skill sets.
Technology evolves rapidly. Digital marketing agencies operate at the forefront of this evolution, leveraging the latest tech tools to enhance efficiency and achieve goals.
Why Should You Keep Digital Marketing In-House?
Some companies prefer to keep everything in-house. Following are the benefits of managing digital marketing in-house:
Closeness
Traditionally, sitting together at conference tables for meetings and dropping by colleagues’ desks to collaborate, ask questions, and solve problems has been the norm. We’re accustomed to being physically close to each other.
However, with the rapid rise of remote work, the need for physical closeness in some companies has diminished.
The concept of a workplace has evolved. While physical proximity works well for some, advancements in technology have enabled team members to communicate effectively through various convenient means, allowing work to proceed with quality and speed regardless of physical proximity.
Accountability
Having an in-house marketing team means increased accountability within your business operations. Some business owners prefer this level of control over their marketing campaigns.
You know who is responsible for each task, from social media to search engine optimization. However, this requires additional time and effort and can detract from other essential tasks, which might overwhelm you.
Communication
Being able to communicate easily with in-house teams on a day-to-day basis has its advantages. The ability to have frequent discussions and analyze marketing options and unexpected opportunities is convenient.
For instance, if a news event or viral video suddenly gains traction during the day and is relevant to your business, you can quickly discuss ideas to capitalize on it through your social media channels.
However, despite digital marketing agencies not being physically present in your office or constantly visible on your screens, reputable firms ensure transparency in communications and adhere to best practices regarding reasonable response times for clients.
Input and Connection
Having immediate access to data allows for swift decision-making when it’s needed most. With closed-loop reporting, you can instantly evaluate the performance of the latest Facebook ad and receive reports on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.
An in-house marketing team is advantageous when you need to authorize a new ad promptly and don’t want to wait for an agency to provide the data.
Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency?
Relying solely on in-house resources works well for some organizations. However, many opt to collaborate with an agency because it offers them a broader range of options, particularly in:
Talent
Exceptional talent is irreplaceable, and it’s a crucial factor to consider when comparing in-house marketing versus outsourcing.
Achieving expert-level proficiency in marketing is challenging, and each role in a digital marketing agency is highly specialized. Design, SEO, copywriting, web development, social media marketing, content marketing, and more all demand expertise to yield results.
Internally hiring individuals or a team with the necessary expertise across all these specialized areas to build, execute, and manage a successful digital marketing department is challenging and costly.
From recruitment and onboarding to salaries, benefits, ongoing training, and more, the time, effort, and financial investment required to develop such expertise in-house are significant.
Fluid Marketing Need
Marketing requirements can vary and often demand sophisticated solutions. This applies to small businesses as well as large corporations, regardless of the industry.
By leveraging the experience and role specialization offered by working with an agency, you can achieve improved marketing outcomes — and each dollar invested goes further. Any astute business manager recognizes the importance of maximizing the value of every dollar spent.
Furthermore, highly technical inquiries, such as those related to data analytics and reporting, can (and do) arise, and they may pose challenges for an in-house marketer to address, whereas an agency can handle them with ease.
Equipped with highly complex content management systems, comprehensive reporting tools, and skilled, specialized professionals, an agency is adept at navigating the fluidity of your marketing needs.
Creativity and Experience
Each industry possesses unique characteristics and a potential customer base. Digital marketing needs to be tailored to these aspects for a business to achieve its goals in customer engagement, lead generation, revenue generation, and other essential components of long-term success.
This requires creativity, insight, experience, and the right strategies. When outsourcing, you gain access to a depth of resources comprising various creative minds. These individuals complement each other to form a complete and robust team with diverse skills.
Successful agencies possess the capability and background to work across industries, addressing individual business needs effectively. Moreover, they likely have experience working with other businesses in your industry.
As a result, they possess a comprehensive understanding of best practices across the industry and can construct strategic marketing plans aligned with brand guidelines. These plans are implemented cohesively across social media platforms and other digital marketing channels.
Someone Else Pays for Professional Development
Ensuring the ongoing professional development of an in-house marketing team is both expensive and unnecessary. The field of digital marketing is constantly evolving. When you hire a digital marketing agency, someone else covers those costs while providing you with what you need, when you need it.
Agencies must stay at the forefront of new content management technology, changes in social media platform functionality, upgraded digital tools to enhance efficiency, new design software capable of producing captivating imagery and videos that resonate with customers, and any other emerging trends.
This aspect of the digital marketing package is covered by the agency, relieving you of the financial burden associated with professional development if you choose to outsource.
So Which Marketing Solution Is Right for Your Business?
Deciding on the right marketing solution for your business becomes simpler when you understand what to expect from each option. The in-house marketing versus outsourcing dilemma may seem complex, but it boils down to straightforward factors.
If you’re inclined towards in-house marketing, consider the following:
- Lead Generation: If your sales team consistently generates ample leads that are driving business growth as desired, that’s excellent.
- Talent Diversity: If you possess or are willing to hire the diverse talent necessary to excel with a robust, dynamic, and comprehensive digital marketing program, you’re well-equipped.
- Reporting: If you already receive comprehensive data throughout the customer lifecycle, from initial contact to conversion to brand advocacy, you can make informed marketing decisions every day.
- Professional Development: If you have a forward-thinking team that stays abreast of the latest developments and changes in digital marketing, you have the momentum needed to stay ahead of the competition.
If you are leaning toward outsourcing, consider the following:
- Results: When your current efforts fail to yield the desired effects, collaborating with an expert digital marketing agency is the solution. Even with your best efforts, it’s challenging for internal teams to consistently optimize campaigns and achieve desired performance.
- Workloads: When the upcoming campaign feels like a heavy burden, it’s time to seek assistance. Overburdened employees hinder effective marketing campaigns. Whether it’s one person juggling multiple roles or simply too much work for your small team to handle, they may struggle to keep up. If unsure, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
- Reporting: Emphasizing the importance of reporting is crucial. Closed-loop reporting is a hallmark of quality digital marketing agencies. It enables them to understand why successful campaigns work and provide the data necessary for informed decision-making. Without it, you’re essentially operating blindfolded.
- Innovation: If you find yourself stuck in traditional marketing methods or lack knowledge about the latest social media platforms and emerging technologies (such as branding and advertising in the metaverse, which is on the horizon), don’t hinder your progress. Digital marketing agencies are dedicated to innovation, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve. Period.
Conclusion
In the end, outsourcing allows you and your team to concentrate on your core strengths. You can dedicate your efforts to delivering outstanding products or services and crafting exceptional customer experiences while leaving the rest to the experts.
As an agency with a proven track record, we understand the ins and outs of effective marketing. We have assisted businesses across various industries and specialties in overcoming their marketing challenges.
Brandtonics is your go-to destination for web design, content marketing, social media management, and web development services. Discover more about our marketing programs and reach out to us today.