Digital marketing services are among the most commonly outsourced business services today. Among B2B organizations, 86% outsource marketing functions like content creation while 30% outsource content distribution. Over 32% of small businesses outsource digital marketing services, accounting and IT services.
While most businesses may have an in-house marketing team, certain initiatives can benefit from outside help. Typically, digital marketing services are outsourced for campaigns that need agile, surefire results. The digital world is fast-paced and cutthroat, and most teams seek help from digital agencies for marketing efforts like:
- Creating high-quality and engaging content (blogs, articles, various copies)
- Managing social media campaigns
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Creating and running pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaigns
- Redesigning websites for better user experience (UX)
- Overhauling website content for better SEO and UX
- Creating loyalty programs that encourage customer retention
New and established brands alike seek the help of digital marketing agencies to build better brand awareness, revamp their brand image for the digital space, or even completely rebrand according to market preference.
Some of the benefits of outsourcing digital marketing services include increased output and skill for a lesser cost, as well as increased revenue. Working with a professional digital marketing agency also enhances the skills of in-house marketing team members, equipping them to further improve digital efforts.
What Is Outsourcing In Digital Marketing?
Outsourcing digital marketing services entails enlisting the help of a third party to carry out tasks related to digital marketing. This may include content creation, content management, promotions, and more. Most businesses outsource some task-specific digital marketing requirements.
A few examples include
- Writing blogs and articles
- Managing Content Management Systems (CMS) that power websites, and blogs
- Designing ads
- Writing ad and website copy
- Creating social media posts
- Creating video content for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms
- Creating lead magnets
Usually, businesses tap freelance digital professionals or digital marketing agencies to do these tasks regularly or work with them on a per-project basis. Working with digital marketers yields good results because they are experts in their field and can help businesses get the results they need.
How Do You Outsource Digital Marketing Services?
Not every business wants (or needs) to outsource digital marketing services. So how exactly do you know if outsourcing is right for your business, and how do you do it effectively? Below are some tips on how you can efficiently outsource digital marketing services for the best results.
1. Outsourcing is cheaper, but don’t be too stingy!
Outsourcing your digital marketing is typically cheaper than hiring and training multiple in-house specialists. However, you also have to set a realistic budget depending on what type of work you need outsourced.
Different tasks will usually require different types of experts. For example, if you’re doing a website overhaul, then you might need the help of a website designer, a content writer, and a UX expert.
Give your digital marketing agency a realistic budget so they can take care of your needs accordingly. You may think you’re spending a lot of money upfront when you tackle your budget.
However, keep in mind that hiring an agency means accessing the services of multiple experts who specialize in whatever you may need marketing-wise. So you’re saving a lot of money compared to what you would if you had to hire each of these marketing experts individually.
2. Focus on a clear goal and strategy
Outsourcing marketing services means you’ll have a team of experts to do the legwork to get the results you want. Hence, your job is to set a clear goal that everyone can focus on as they work on each project or material.
If your business also hires a fractional CMO, then the bulk of goal setting and strategizing falls on you. Having a clear strategy is crucial because you don’t want to waste time and money creating materials that don’t fit your business objectives.
The key to success when working with outsourced manpower is in ensuring that everything is executed in pursuit of the end goal. Without a clear goal, you run the risk of executing multiple marketing efforts in a disorganized manner.
3. Welcome Fresh Ideas and New Ways of Working
While having a clear strategy is essential, you also can’t be too married to a singular way of working that you forget to entertain new ideas. Foster creativity by collaborating with your online marketing agency, and you might just find new (and even better) ways of working.
Look at data and be open to trying out new trends. After all, the digital landscape is always shifting—there will always be new rules, tech, and insights to take into account.
4. Communicate Openly
Communication is crucial for all teams, but more so for remote and hybrid teams.
Establishing a great relationship with your agency is one of the keys to getting great results. Discuss expectations and ground rules before you start each project, and communicate constantly to address any clarifications or misunderstandings.
If you don’t like something, it’s always better to communicate clearly so that revisions can be done well and on time. Of course, there are bound to be differences in preference, especially when it comes to creative materials. After all, everyone has different tastes.
When misunderstandings arise, always circle back to your goals and refer to data and insights. Ensure that you’re working on materials that will engage your market, and are not just indulging your personal tastes.
5. Be Open To Branding Changes
When working with marketing experts, you might encounter proposals to change certain aspects of your branding. This means that they are seeing a way for your business to improve and for your brand to connect with consumers better.
It’s completely understandable if you’re attached to your branding, especially if you’re a small business owner. Communicate your concerns with your agency, but try to be open to change—especially if it’s for the better.
Branding changes can be scary, but they could also be the key to completely transforming your business and tapping more clients.
Should You Outsource Your Digital Marketing?
If you’re looking for reasons to Outsource Digital Marketing, here’s why you should. We’ve listed some of the top benefits.
Cost-Effectiveness
Outsourcing can save you the time and money you would spend on hiring and training employees. If you don’t want to deal with the inefficiencies and risks typically associated with new and younger teams, go for a team of experts that can hit the ground running. Digital marketers are incredibly updated on the latest trends in marketing and can help you reach a wider audience and get a positive ROI.
Faster Results
Digital marketing professionals have access to tools and data that provide excellent insights concerning the types of messaging and materials that can deliver results. Outsourcing certain digital marketing tasks can eliminate the guesswork in areas that you or your team aren’t experts on yet or don’t have the tools to carry out.
Work With Experts
Marketing experts can create customized campaigns that are tailored for your business and designed to get results. They know what it takes to engage customers and make them stay, and can highlight the strengths of your brand. If you have an in-house team, working with experts can also help streamline existing procedures and improve workflows.
Focus On Growth
Outsourcing digital marketing allows business owners and managers to focus on other business-critical functions while keeping marketing efforts running. Building brand awareness and customer loyalty from the ground up can be tedious and require a lot of focus. Getting professional help can allow businesses to focus on growth and explore other revenue-generating areas.
Access Crucial Insights And Cutting-Edge Tools
Digital marketers have their finger on the pulse of the marketing industry. Working with them also means being able to access helpful insights about your business and consumers. You’ll also be introduced to cutting-edge tools that can greatly improve the way you do business and relate with your clients.
Employ Best Practices
Outsourcing marketing services allows you to incorporate the best practices into your current workflow. Leveraging new knowledge and procedures will allow you to improve productivity and get faster results, thereby improving your bottom line.
Outsourcing certain tasks also assures that gaps in skills and knowledge are bridged and, ultimately, improves business performance.
Increase Your Bottom Line
Despite the initial cost you’ll have to shell out when hiring digital marketers, outsourcing digital marketing services ultimately increases your ROI. The payoff of hiring experts in various fields is significantly bigger since it leads not only to more sales but also better brand awareness and streamlined workflows.
Maintain Flexibility
Hiring in-house marketing staff requires a great deal of oversight and training. Should conflicts arise, or if results are not as good, there’s no way to sever a working relationship without getting bogged down by legalities.
From a hiring perspective, outsourcing marketing services allows for better flexibility. If a certain team does not prove to be a right fit for your company, you can simply move on to another team or agency once the contract ends.
Most agencies work on a per-project basis, allowing for a great feedback system between projects to work on areas for improvement. You also have the liberty to increase or decrease functions assigned to an agency, according to your needs.
Conclusion
Outsourcing digital marketing services may be a bit intimidating to those who are used to a more traditional marketing setup. However, outsourcing such services can prove to be a great investment, minus the cost and risk associated with having to build a new in-house digital team.
The benefits of outsourcing marketing tasks include accessing crucial insights, leveraging marketing technology, better productivity, working with seasoned experts, and reaching more customers, among others. The list is long. Plus, the extent to which an online marketing agency can assume certain functions within your organization is entirely up to you.
Finding the right agency is like getting to hire multiple specialists all at once, and for a fraction of the cost. Most agencies only employ highly-skilled marketers, so you can be assured that they can handle complex problems related to branding, rebranding, promotions, e-commerce, distribution, customer loyalty, and more. Contact us if you need help boosting your sales through SEO and PPC.
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