Outsourcing your marketing activities can be a fantastic solution when you lack the time and resources to do it yourself.

But what can you expect when you choose this option?

Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing your marketing. And how to get started if it’s right for you.

Benefits of Outsourcing Digital Marketing Services

Here are some of the main benefits of outsourcing your marketing efforts:

It Saves Time

When you have a limited number of hours and multiple marketing functions to manage, outsourcing your digital marketing can help you reclaim your valuable time.

Imagine you need to create articles for your website’s blog. You need to:

• Research
• Plan
• Interview experts
• Write
• Edit
• Find images and/or videos
• Proofread
• Optimize for SEO
• Upload the content to your site
• Promote on social media

This is a lot of work. And means you could spend many hours on each blog post you write.

But outsourcing to an agency or freelancer means you can focus on other important aspects of your business. To improve efficiency and performance.

It Saves Money

Outsourced digital marketing can be more cost-effective than handling all your marketing activities in the long term.

But not everyone recognizes this.

But here’s why outsourcing often is an affordable option:

• You only pay your agency or freelancer for the work they do—not things like holiday leave, pension, sick pay, or training
• Outsourced marketers are specialists in what they do. So, they’ll do the work quickly and efficiently to maximize your return on investment.
• External agencies and freelancers provide their own tools and technologies. So, you can minimize the number of tools you actually have to buy.

It Provides Access to Expert Knowledge

When you work with an agency or freelancer, you gain access to their experience, knowledge, and skills.

This is a huge draw from marketing teams, especially small ones.

Reports show that the main reason why businesses outsource their marketing is because they don’t have enough in-house expertise.

Outsourcing the marketing activities you’re less experienced in means you can focus on what you’re best at.

For example, let’s say you’re good at on-page SEO and less skilled at outreach. Outsourcing means you can concentrate on on-page optimization and leave the link building to the experts.

The agency you work with could even show you how to build links. Which helps your team learn valuable new skills.

It Provides Access to Expert Tools

Working with an agency or freelancer means you’ll benefit from the high-quality tools they use to do their work.

To create exceptional digital marketing campaigns, you need a solid and dependable marketing technology (MarTech) stack.

For example, let’s imagine you’re improving your SEO in-house. You need:

• A keyword research tool to identify the right words and phrases to target
• A position tracking tool to monitor where you rank for specific keywords in the search engines
• A competitive SEO research tool to review your rivals’ SEO strategies
• A website auditing tool to pinpoint and fix any technical issues
• A link building tool to track your outbound link building campaigns

The costs for these pieces of software can quickly add up. You’ll also need to invest time and money in training to use these tools effectively.

But working with an agency or freelancer gives you access to the valuable data and insights these tools offer.

It’s Easier to Scale

Outsourcing makes it easier to grow your marketing team as your business evolves.

Why?

Because you can increase the amount of marketing you do without hiring more in-house staff. Or investing in additional training.

So, you can more easily market new product and service ranges. Or launch in new countries.

It Provides a Fresh Outlook

Outsourcing gives you access to a team that can offer a different perspective and suggest new ways of achieving your goals.

This is particularly useful if you feel your marketing campaigns and tactics have become stagnant. Which is common.

Agencies and freelancers work with a wide range of clients across multiple industries. And can apply what they have learned to your digital marketing campaigns.

Potential Downsides of Outsourced Marketing

Outsourcing your marketing can be a great option, but here are a few possible cons you need to be aware of.

You Might Have Different Expectations

When you outsource marketing, you may not achieve the exact results you anticipated.

This can lead to frustration for both you and the third party you work with.

So, clear communication is critical. By stating your goals and what results you want to see, the agency or freelancer you work with can make sure expectations are met.

It’s best to create and share a creative brief to ensure everyone is on the same page.

You Forfeit Some Control

Outsourcing means you hand over a degree of control to your agency or freelancer. Especially if they’ll have access to some of your data.

Make sure you know exactly what data they truly need. And give them the lowest level of access possible (something your IT department will likely require).

You can also retain some control over your campaigns by taking a collaborative approach. Some agencies and freelancers even provide marketing dashboards so you can review data in real-time.

And a good agency or freelancer will always make sure you have the final say over your data and your campaigns.

You Have to Be Mindful of Your Budget

While outsourcing your digital marketing is often more cost-effective than recruiting in-house team members, there are fees to consider. And those costs can quickly add up if you aren’t careful.

Define how much you want to spend at the start of the hiring process. And look for an agency or freelancer who’s willing to work within your budget.

No matter who you choose, make sure they provide a clear breakdown of what they charge.

Source: www.semrush.com