There are numerous advantages to outsourcing your marketing, and the business world knows it.
Nearly 56% of B2B (business-to-business)companies and 59% of B2C (business-to-consumer) companies outsource at least one content marketing activity.
However, despite its many advantages, outsourcing is not for everyone.
This article will help you decide whether outsourcing content marketing is right for your company, and provide questions to consider before hiring a content marketing agency.
Outsourcing Your Marketing: What to Consider
1. In-house Marketing Team
It takes significant time and energy to build an in-house team of experts that can handle everything from keyword research to writing, to SEO optimization.
Therefore, building an in-house marketing team is a great strategy for companies who are willing to allocate substantial time and resources to marketing from the get-go.
2. Content Marketing Agency
Working with a content marketing agency has many advantages.
It gives you access to a team of experts that is difficult (and expensive!) to create within a small business.
While the content marketing agency is working on your content, you can focus on what you do best: running your company!
3. Freelancer
While working with a freelancer may seem similar to working with an agency, it is not.
It is not feasible for one person to have the writing skills, market research capacity, and SEO knowledge content marketing agencies offer.
If you choose to work with a freelancer, you may need to hire multiple people and spend extra time and effort coordinating among them.
If you would prefer an all-in-one solution for your content needs, hiring a content marketing agency is your best bet!
What to Consider Before Choosing a Content Marketing Agency
1. Competence
The right content marketing team will help you increase traffic, bring in more qualified leads, and become a voice of authority in your industry.
The wrong one could easily do the opposite.
You need to make sure your content marketing agency has the skills and resources to handle the needs your business.
Plus, it’s not just their marketing ability you need to worry about.
Since a lot of marketing activities require direct communication between your marketing team and your customer, your content marketing team needs to pay attention to customer relationship management.
Otherwise, you risk jeopardizing your company’s reputation.
To help you assess the competence of your candidates, we have created a short guide with five important questions to ask during a content marketing interview.
2. Accessibility
While an in-house marketing team works right under your nose, an outsourced marketing team can be harder to reach.
When interviewing candidates, consider how you are going to communicate. What’s their process for keeping their clients informed?
3. Return on Investment
The best marketing agencies live and die by return on investment (ROI).
They have a process in place for tracking and analyzing your campaign results, and will be able to show you exactly why you should hire them again.
How Handmade SEO Can Help
There are a few things you should consider before hiring a content marketing agency, including their competence, accessibility, and focus on ROI.
Here at Handmade SEO, we look at your company from a business owner’s point of view to determine which content marketing strategies are going to produce the highest ROI.
Want to see how we can work together?
