You’re an active business with a groundbreaking product or service and intelligent, dedicated employees. You know your brand’s vision inside and out. But now you have to market that vision to the public. Should be simple, right? Especially with such a talented team?
While it’s true that you have a rock-star staff, developing and executing a digital marketing strategy can mean a lot of extra work for them (that is, on top of your team’s daily tasks). For this reason, many brands opt for outsourcing their digital marketing, i.e., choosing to pay for the services of an agency vs. hiring a full-time marketer.
Is hiring a remote digital marketer really worth it, though? Let’s examine both options to find out.
In-House Marketing Employees: Pros
Your in-house employees are already immersed in your company culture, but what do they bring specifically to the team when compared to working with an agency? Here are some potential perks.
Saving Money
Let’s address the elephant in the room here: one of the biggest perks (and one of the most common reasons) for hiring marketers in-house is purely budget-related. On an hourly basis, hiring internally costs somewhat less than the agency option. But when you factor in a full-time salary and benefits, how much are you really saving?
Quick Communication
You may need to call an emergency team meeting or reevaluate your business strategy within a moment’s notice. Your employees are already, quite literally, in-house. What’s more, an in-person conversation (instead of, say, an email or Skype call) will allow you to confirm the goals of your project almost immediately.
In-House Employees: Cons
For all its convenience, there are several downsides to hiring in-house marketers—many of which are not evident at first glance.
Risk of Employee Turnover
If you hire and train someone internally to manage your digital marketing affairs, you risk that employee departing at any given moment. Employee onboarding and training takes time and money. And then you’re still at risk of those future employees quitting—and taking their marketing knowledge along with them. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Great Employees ≠ Great Digital Marketers
You read that right. Your employees could very well be exemplary at what they do, whether it’s traditional marketing or penning powerful newsletters. They could even learn the nuances of the digital marketing game over time. But many of them simply haven’t been trained in it and won’t have been exposed to the breadth of knowledge and technology that agencies have access to, which means your digital marketing strategy may not produce the results you want to see.
Remote Digital Marketer: Pros
Hiring a marketing agency or a single remote digital marketer may mean spending a little more up front, but there is some considerable payoff to be gleaned. Let’s examine what dipping into your company budget gets you in this case.
Flexibility for Both Long and Short-Term Projects
If you hire internally for a short-term project, your employees will have trained only to go back to what they were doing before when the project ends, which can be a difficult transition all-around.
Outsourcing your digital marketing, however, allows you to work with an agency on one-off projects or continual retainers—whatever you decide you need. It’s the ideal option for both sporadic and evergreen marketing campaigns. And if you need to keep your remote digital marketers around for even longer? No problem at all. At Snap, we’ve worked with clients on everything from quick web builds to years-long digital strategies.
Talented Marketers With Years of Experience
We mentioned earlier that a great employee doth not a great digital marketer make. Well, digital marketers are specifically in the business of creating killer strategies that will boost your online presence. They have years and years of experience honing their techniques and make it a point to stay on top of the latest tools, technologies, and developments in search engine marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and more. What’s more, you won’t find yourself faced with the burden of training in a new employee—agencies all have their own onboarding processes that will allow them to learn everything they need to know about your brand and business.
A Fresh Perspective
Sure, being immersed in company culture is great, but what if it means your employees are stuck in a rut? Or rather, that they’re not looking at your digital strategy with outside eyes—the eyes of your customers?
Digital marketing agencies come equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to guide digital strategy, but also with just the right amount of outsider’s perspective to keep your team thinking and innovating. In the ever-changing online frontier, this kind of creativity is of the essence.
Caught at a Crossroads? Let Snap Show You the Way
Hiring a digital marketing agency is one of the wisest decisions you can make for both strengthening and building your brand. Our team of strategists and creatives has the ideal blend of industry knowledge and innovative spirit to help your business succeed.
You’re already on the right track by asking the tough questions about who to hire. Take the next step today with Snap. We can’t wait to work with your team to build something great.