By 2020, fifty percent of the workforce will be remote. What does this mean for your brand’s digital marketing?
Just like people, a brand’s identity typically has several manifestations. The way you act at home vs. work isn’t exactly the same. Likewise, your business presence goes beyond your website. Now with social media, review sites, forums and other platforms, your branding reaches out like never before. Plus, you must look great on mobile, tablets and desktop.
So when you need to work on various areas of your digital strategy, who should you hire, freelancers or an agency?
Advantages To Hiring Freelancers
With freelance sites such as Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr, any sized brand can tap into the global digital talent market. While quality may vary, there are many freelancers that can deliver work just as well as any agency.
“Companies often look to start a blog but fail to realize the value that a coordinated marketing campaign can offer.”
It makes sense to hire freelancers when:
- You require a specific task completion with defined start/stop
- Your in-house team lacks expertise or time
- Tight budgets require moving forward bit by bit
In general, a freelancer will cost you less per task than hiring an agency. Don’t forget to include the search and interview time it takes to find freelancers. If you repeat this for different areas of expertise, you end up draining your in-house resources.
Examples When To Hire Freelancers
Content writing is a very common freelance skill. If you have an entire digital team, but only need some occasional copywriting, then a freelancer makes sense. This allows you the flexibility to assign tasks when they arise, and halt spending in between.
Most brands with little experience think they can hire a “web guy” who will manage everything.
Technical issues might also require freelance expertise, like installing a particular plugin, fix or patch. Even the most capable in-house tech teams may encounter a situation where a freelance consultant can speed things up. You might also need extra help with a product launch where a freelancer could come in handy.
Advantage To Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency
Most brands with little experience think they can hire a “web guy” who will manage everything. A website is one thing, but a digital presence that grows your business is more complex. Companies often look to start a blog but fail to realize the value that a coordinated marketing campaign can offer. In fact, relying on a few blog posts a month isn’t likely to provide much traction.
Agencies offer the advantage that most of your digital marketing needs can be satisfied in one place. Also, you can expand as your marketing strategy grows. Even if there was a single person who could design, code, do outreach, write blogs, debug and analyze your web presence, it’s unlikely that they would have the time to do it all for you.
It makes sense to hire an agency when:
- You seek a holistic, long term marketing approach
- In-house resources are limited
- Broad and extensive expertise are required
- Several campaigns are going at once (PPC, social media, blogs, etc)
- You’re having complex technical issues
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