Should you outsource your marketing?

With more and more start-up businesses, small enterprises and solopreneurs popping up everywhere, it’s become increasingly difficult to market your business above all the noise. With small budgets and big competition, the thought of outsourcing your digital marketing activities might be a big decision to make, but one that could yield great results in future.

According to recent statistics, the outsourcing market has been thriving, with figures topping $92.5 billion in 2019, proving that outsourcing is becoming progressively popular among businesses worldwide. 

When in-house teams are stretched thin and internal talent is struggling, it can make more sense to keep some tasks in-house, while outsourcing others. 

There are three outsourcing routes you can take:

• Outsource your marketing in full
• Keep all marketing activities in-house
• Use a combination of in-house and outsourced marketing

The best option for your business will depend on your requirements, as well as your financial standing and the capacity and skills set of your in-house team.

Outsourcing your marketing activities can have a myriad of advantages but do you know what these are and which individual marketing components would be best suited for your business to outsource?

The pros of outsourcing marketing

For marketing to be most effective, it requires innovation and engagement. While familiar tactics may have worked in the past, the marketing landscape is forever changing and needs a team that will remain on top of shifts and trends. Outsourcing will connect your business to agencies that specialize in this field, keeping you at the forefront at all times.

In addition, outsourcing is often cheaper than hiring in-house talent. Turning to a third-party whenever you require marketing can cut down on costs and ensure that budget is only being utilised when necessary.

Over time, outsourcing your marketing efforts will help you develop a fixed budget that better reflects your marketing expenditure and will help you determine whether an in-house team is viable for your business.

Now that you’re aware of the advantages of outsourcing, let’s explore the different aspects of your marketing strategy that you might consider hiring a third-party for.

Outsourcing content marketing

Content is the cornerstone of positioning your business as an industry leader. By outsourcing your content to a third-party team, they may bring a new outlook to your brand and serve up relevant and engaging content to your target audience as a result.

Outsourcing email marketing

A successful email marketing strategy can turn automation and personalisation into your business’ secret weapon!

If you’re worried about spamming your customer’s inbox with content or having them forget about you completely, outsourcing the set up and creation of email workflows might be the best option for you. This will take the heavy lifting off your plate and put it in the hands of professionals who have an intricate understanding of these systems and what it takes to get the most out of them.

Outsourcing marketing strategy

From developing customer personas, to mapping campaigns and identifying marketing trends, essential groundwork needs to be done to ensure that your marketing strategy caters to all stages of the consumer journey.

Outsourcing this vital work means that you will be enlisting the help of an industry specialist who can pinpoint audience demographics that you may have missed and help tweak your marketing strategy for success.

Outsourcing marketing analytics

Data analytics inform your marketing intelligence. 

Speciality agencies can provide the necessary expertise to interpret your data and offer insights in response to existing analytics. Additionally, they can provide solutions to fit your budget and business requirements. 

Instead of incurring unnecessary costs, you can lean on the knowledge of your marketing intelligence agency to turn nuggets of insight into profitable products and systems.

Outsourcing social media strategy

While there are plenty of benefits to keeping social media in-house, it is such an important facet of business that social media might actually be an important task for you to outsource. When executed correctly, social media can extend your brand’s visibility and reach tremendously. 

Another idea that might benefit your business is to outsource certain social media tasks to a third-party group. For instance, if you find that your social media manager is juggling too many platforms and is unable to focus adequately on one, you might hire an agency to focus on one platform specifically, to get the most out of it.

Every business requires a marketing strategy that is tailored to their unique challenges and needs. You should consider outsourcing your marketing if your team members are wearing too many hats, are missing deadlines or are hampered more than helped by your current marketing strategy technology. 

A happy medium can be found by utilising a mix of outsourced marketing and in-house resources. With an experienced third-party agency at your disposal, you’ll be able to empower staff and streamline processes without overspending or embarking on a lengthy recruitment process. 

With countless remote virtual marketing agencies around the world at your disposal, the options are endless.