Digital marketing has so many aspects involved in it and is ever evolving. With so many people and companies interacting in the digital space, the competition to stand out, leave an impression, and convert them into paying customers is stiff, to say the least.
On top of that, not all brands are on equal footing in this dynamic competition. Start-ups and small to medium businesses are the underdogs in any industry or niche. While big corporations with a team of marketing experts and a hefty budget naturally dominate. In the midst of all this, outsourcing digital marketing can be an equalizing force that gives start-ups and SMBs a fighting chance.
In this article, we are sharing the things you need to consider when outsourcing digital marketing and why it is a good idea.
Why Outsourcing Digital Marketing Is a Good Idea
There are a lot of benefits to outsourcing digital marketing to an agency. On top of mind, you get the help you need to effectively get the word out to your target audience about your brand and what you offer.
Moreover, for the cost of hiring an agency, you may get a big return on investment (ROI) both short term and long term. With that said, here are a couple more reasons why it is a good idea to outsource your digital marketing needs:
Create Engaging Campaigns
Regardless of the industry you are in or the niche, there are commonalities between your brand and your competition on how you market your offering to your target audience.
Sadly, these commonalities do not make you stand out or make your brand memorable at all.
By outsourcing digital marketing to an agency, you get the chance to spice things up. Because of their expertise and experience working with so many companies across the board, they can help you find new ways to create engaging campaigns.
Work With Marketing Experts
Digital marketing is dynamic. It may seem simple, but finding the sweet spot to make your brand stand out is not.
If you are a start-up or a small business, there may be a learning gap that you need to overcome before your marketing campaigns yield big results and even your posts go viral.
However, by outsourcing digital marketing to an agency, you can easily bridge that gap. You get to work and learn from the experts who essentially live and breathe marketing.
Reduce Risk While Saving Money
Moreover, marketing carries a certain level of risk. Not surprising, considering you are pouring both time, money, and effort to engage with your target audience and eventually convert them into paying customers.
Digital marketing agencies help minimize the potential risk of loss and save you money. This is because they know how to make the most of your marketing budget and yield the results that your business needs.
Agencies already have their own teams. This saves you a lot of money and effort compared to the slow and lengthy process of hiring more people for your in-house marketing team.
Moreover, they also have access to powerful marketing tools. With outsourcing, by extension, you also have access to these tools which will also save you more money compared to availing them personally.
Engage With Your Audience Easily
Knowing how to effectively speak to your target audience and relay your message is essentially the core of all your digital marketing efforts. In relation to the learning gap mentioned earlier, a marketing agency understands this and takes the time to fully understand the people you want to reach.
Because of this in-depth understanding, they can create campaigns and apply strategies that will enable your brand to easily reach out, engage, and persuade your target audience. Beyond that, with good marketing, there is also the opportunity to turn your audience into evangelists who help you grow the community around your brand.
10 Things You Need to Consider Before Outsourcing Digital Marketing
With that said, there are a lot of things to consider before outsourcing digital marketing. It is an investment that carries a certain level of risk, that is why you need to do your homework and carefully weigh everything to help you make an informed decision.
What are your marketing goals?
One of the important things you need to be crystal clear about is your goals when you outsource. Do you want to grow your audience based on a specific platform or all social media platforms? Do you need help with an upcoming seasonal campaign? Do you want to increase your website’s organic traffic and ranking?
Digital marketing agencies offer a suite of services. So, to make the most of your investment, you need to have a realistic and timely goal.
What are the milestones that a digital marketing agency should meet?
Aside from your marketing goals, what are the milestones you need the digital marketing agency to achieve? It is also better to be specific about this aspect as well.
For example, you want to increase your number of followers on TikTok. The milestone that you specified can be like: “I want to reach 10 thousand followers in 3 months and double that by the end of the 6-month contract.”
What are the services you need?
Once you have specified your marketing goals, it is easy to identify the types of services that you will need when outsourcing digital marketing needs.
For example, you need help with the upcoming Black Friday Sale and Halloween campaigns for your social media profiles. For this, the services that you will usually need are social media management, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, content creation, graphic design, and animators.
What is your budget?
You also need to carefully consider your marketing budget. Outsourcing digital marketing comes with a price tag. It may differ based on a lot of factors, such as the services that you will have to avail of and the agency you decide to partner with.
Another thing to consider is that your marketing budget will change depending on how much you are willing to invest and how much you want to outsource your digital marketing needs.
Luckily, some agencies enable you to have a short-term agreement to get a vibe if it works out for you before you jump right in.
How long will you outsource your digital marketing needs?
Another question you need to answer is, “How long will you partner with an outsourcing digital marketing agency?” This is directly related to your marketing goals and will influence your marketing budget.
If you are already set on a specific budget and do not want to make allowances, then you can opt to partner with an offshore digital marketing agency from the Philippines like Flexisource IT or other agencies from outsourcing destinations to make the most of your investment.
Where are you going to outsource your digital marketing needs?
There are a lot of options when it comes to outsourcing. You can choose to outsource to an agency within your country, to neighboring states, or go further like outsourcing in the Philippines.
One thing to consider when outsourcing is how you can maximize your investment, both upfront and down the line. Choosing to offshore enables you to get high-quality results without going above the budget you already set.
What is the process of the digital marketing agency?
If you already have a list of digital marketing agencies to choose from, it is important to understand their process. This will set how you will work and collaborate during the span of your contract.
Moreover, understanding their process enables you to get a feel for which agency best fits your needs, your goals, and your vision.
How will your in-house team and outsourced agency work together?
Lastly, you also need to consider how your team and the digital marketing agency will work together. This is not just about communication; you have your respective methods when it comes to digital marketing. What you need to think about is the process, from the brainstorming stage up to the execution.
Of course, there are a lot of ways on how this will play out. You can choose to just trust the digital marketing agency you partner with and occasionally provide feedback. Or you can also choose to involve your in-house team and be more hands-on throughout the process.
Finals Thoughts
With all that said, what is important is that you need to consider everything—from what you need now to what you will need down the line. There is no denying that outsourcing digital marketing can be a big boon for your business.
However, like most investments, there are things you need to go over and carefully weigh. Making an informed decision will, ultimately, help you figure out the best way to maximize this opportunity aside from its immediate benefits and results.
Guest article written by: Flexi Digital Marketing helps professionals & small businesses to grow by elevating their digital knowledge & skills.