If you have a low budget or you’re a new startup, an in-house marketing team might not be the best option and requires a lot of investment. 

So, if you want to grow your business through digital marketing, outsourcing it to an agency might be your best option. 

A huge number of businesses have realised that outsourcing digital marketing is now a necessity, rather than a luxury. In fact, digital marketing is the second most outsourced function for small businesses following only IT. 

In this blog, we’ll have a look at why so many businesses are opting to outsource digital marketing and how you can outsource yours. 

What does outsourcing digital marketing mean? 

Before we look at how you can outsource your marketing, let’s quickly look at what it means. 

When you outsource your digital marketing function, you’re using a third party to take care of the activities that work best for your business. This could include: 

• Content marketing - writing and uploading content 
• Paid search - designing ads, optimising campaigns, setting up campaigns 
• Social media - creating posts, scheduling posts and responding to comments
• SEO  - managing your campaign and making sure your site ranks 

These activities usually require a specialist and it can be extremely difficult to find one single person with all these skillsets so a digital marketing agency can give you access to a number of digital marketing experts who know how to drive the results you want for your business. 

Relying on a team of experts to build your brand’s online presence means you’ve got more time to focus on your usual role and growing your business effectively. 

When should you outsource digital marketing?

If you’re still not sure whether outsourcing digital marketing is the right move, there are a few key reasons why many businesses make the move, including: 

• You have seen a period of growth and want to keep the momentum by getting your brand online 
• You want to push the growth of your business
• You don’t have the internal resources to implement and optimise your campaigns 
• You want experts to take care of your digital marketing 
• You want to get ahead of your competitors 

Using a digital marketing agency to take care of your campaigns can provide your business with a huge range of benefits. 

Top 5 elements to consider when outsourcing digital marketing 

Let’s have a look at exactly what you need to consider when you’re looking to outsource your digital marketing activities. Answering these questions will help you to understand whether it’s the right move for you and will help you to make sure you get the most from your relationship with the third party you decide to use. 

1. Do you want to use a digital marketing agency or a freelancer? 

The first thing to consider when outsourcing is whether an agency or a solo freelancer will work best for you and what you want to achieve. 

Freelancers usually charge an hourly rate per project; you’ll have access to and communication with one person. This is usually the person who will do the work for you, and they may be working around another job or other projects, so communication may be slower outside office hours. Freelancers also tend to have a speciality or expertise in one area, so will be able to take care of one thing for you. 

On the other hand, an agency will bill you based on an agreed monthly retainer. You will probably communicate with one main contact, but you’ll have a whole team of experts working on your strategy on a day-to-day basis. 

2. What’s your budget 

The budget you have to play with can have an effect on whether you decide to outsource your digital marketing to an agency. Remember that you will have the fees you need to spend on ads alongside their management fees. 

Think about how much time and resources it would take or is taking you in-house, and this will give you a general idea of the cost and resources you’ll be freeing up and how this balances with the cost of using a digital marketing agency. The cost will also depend on whether you’re outsourcing one project or whether you want to partner with an agency over the long term. 

Make sure you provide your digital marketing agency with a decent budget so that they can drive the results you’re looking for. Outsourcing digital marketing allows you to have a team of specialists working on your campaigns. Compared to finding and hiring experts for each area of digital marketing, you can save a huge amount of money. 

3. What do you want from a digital marketing agency? 

Before you start looking for someone to outsource your digital marketing to, you need to think about what you want from them and your marketing goals. If you don’t have this information, it will be really hard to know what’s been achieved a few months later. 

If you already have an in-house team, have a look at their strengths and weaknesses and where there might be gaps in their knowledge or skillset. You just need to know how outsourcing your digital marketing can complement or work alongside your existing team. 

Having clear goals for what you want digital marketing to achieve for your business will help you get the most from your relationship with an agency. 

4. Search for agencies 

When you’re looking for people to outsource your digital marketing to, have a look for agencies based in your local area. They don’t have to be based near you but it can help if you’re less than an hour away if you want to catch up with them regularly and integrate them into your business and existing team. 

Have a look on Google and then use LinkedIn to research the companies you find or reach out to your connections for any referrals. 

Here are some of the things you should look out for: 

• Skillset - what skillsets does the agency have, and how can they complement your existing team? You need an agency that will help to fill the gaps in your in-house team. 
• Reputation - have a look and see if you can find any reviews of the agency or the results they’ve driven for their clients before in the form of a case study or testimonial from a previous client.
• Response time - note how quickly agencies get back to you when you send an enquiry. An agency that is slow to respond may be unresponsive when you start working with them too. 
• Does the agency suit you and your business? When you’re in touch with an agency, assess whether you think they’re a good fit for your needs. Can you see that they will communicate with you effectively and provide you with what you need? You need an agency that will collaborate with your team and work as though they’re an extension of your marketing team, not just take complete control without giving you a say in your campaigns. 

‍5. Keep an eye on the progress of your campaigns 

Throughout your partnership and when working with a digital marketing agency, be aware that you will need to stay updated on their progress without micromanaging them. You need to find the balance between letting them run your campaigns how they know how and ensuring they are aligned with the needs of your business. 

This will help them to get the most from your budget and drive the best ROI while also having knowledge of your business and team so they can work closely with you.  

Key takeaways 

Outsourcing to a digital marketing agency is a great solution if you need help with your digital marketing but don’t have the capacity in-house. You will have access to a team of experts without the additional costs of recruiting and training an in-house team on an ongoing basis. 

If you’d like to know more about outsourcing your digital marketing to an agency, please contact us at hello@logica-digital.co.uk. 

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