Outsourcing Digital Marketing
Digital marketing enables a business to be discovered. Customers trust an establishment more if they have a distinct digital identity. However, building a reputation online can be difficult.
To be successful in marketing a business, one should be knowledgeable in copywriting, SEO, social media management, web design, and content writing.
However, these tasks cannot be done by a single person. This is why most companies hire digital marketing agencies or build their own team instead.
Outsourcing digital marketing for small businesses
Startups and solopreneurs tend to handle digital marketing on their own. Unfortunately, these can pile up with other tasks that need to be done.
They tend to leave their content outdated, lessen customer interactions, and leave inquiries and complaints unresolved.
As a result, they experience slow to zero business growth and decreased sales.
A digital marketing team can be a solution to this dilemma. However, hiring them in-house is not an easy option.
Small businesses have limited cash flow that restricts them from hiring new employees.
The good thing is that they have another way of hiring their digital marketing teams without breaking the bank: business process outsourcing.
Pros and cons of outsourcing digital marketing
Outsourcing digital marketing services has its advantages and disadvantages.
However, every disadvantage can be worked out to ensure the successful operation of outsourced digital marketing teams.
Pros of outsourcing digital marketing
Here are the reasons why you should consider outsourcing digital marketing services:
Services handled by experts
One of the primary benefits of outsourcing digital marketing is gaining access to a team of experts.
Digital marketing agencies specialize in various aspects of online promotion, from SEO to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and social media management.
These professionals bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that can help your company’s marketing team. They ensure that your digital marketing efforts are executed with precision and expertise.
Having a different insight on business
External digital marketing agencies provide a fresh perspective on your business. They can offer insights and ideas that your marketing team might not have considered.
This outside perspective often leads to innovative strategies and creative campaigns that can set your brand apart in the competitive digital landscape.
More understanding of the competition
Digital marketing experts constantly monitor industry trends and your competition’s activities.
This keen awareness enables them to adapt your marketing strategy quickly. You then get to take advantage of emerging opportunities and stay ahead of competitors.
Access to industry trends
Staying updated with the latest trends and technologies in digital marketing is essential for success.
Outsourcing to professionals means you have access to cutting-edge tools and strategies. This makes sure your business marketing strategy remains at the forefront of industry developments.
More focus on core activities
By outsourcing digital marketing tasks, your internal team can concentrate on core business activities.
This increased focus on product development, customer service, and other vital aspects of your firm can improve overall performance.
Cons of outsourcing digital marketing
On the other hand, there are also some possible challenges when outsourcing digital marketing services:
Exposed sensitive data
Sharing sensitive company information with external agencies carries inherent risks.
While reputable agencies prioritize data security, there’s always a potential risk of data breaches or misuse of proprietary information.
Lack of control in creatives
When you outsource digital marketing, you may have limited control over the creative aspects of your campaigns.
This can be challenging if you have a specific vision for your brand or want to maintain strict brand consistency.
Longer lockdown in a marketing campaign
The process of outsourcing may introduce longer turnaround times in your marketing campaigns.
Coordinating with external agencies can sometimes lead to delays in executing time-sensitive promotions or responding to rapidly changing market conditions.
Lack of focus on customers
External agencies often work with multiple clients simultaneously. This can sometimes result in a lack of deep understanding of your specific customer base and their unique needs.
This may impact the personalization and effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Potential hidden charges
While outsourcing can offer cost savings compared to maintaining an in-house marketing team, it’s essential to review contracts and agreements carefully.
Some agencies may have hidden charges that can increase your overall costs beyond the initial quote.
Outsourcing digital marketing services
Marketing agencies and BPO companies offer different services for their clients. They can be tasked with the creatives, campaigns, site moderation, and content creation depending on their client’s needs.
Digital marketers are the ones who monitor the overall marketing duties of a business.
These include gathering reports of customer behavior, website traffic, and user engagement on a specific period.
They also monitor the latest trends in the industry and how it can help improve its services. Most importantly, they monitor the effectiveness of running campaigns and advertisements.
- SEO specialists. Primarily researching relevant keywords focus and handling on-page and off-page SEO. They also study how different competitors perform and how to outrank them.
- Social media experts. They create, post, and monitor content for these sites to know if they successfully reach their target demographic. They also interact with users daily through their comments and inquiries.
- Content writers. Writers have different expertise to offer for a website. They can either form a tag team with SEO experts or do these tasks themselves. However, not all writers have single specializations.
Outsourcing digital marketing companies
Businesses can hire digital marketing teams in three ways: through marketing agencies, freelance platforms, and BPO companies.
Digital marketing agencies
Marketing agencies have different specializations. Some deal with campaigns, advertisements, and content creation. Others with marketing strategies and behavior.
There are also generalist marketing agencies that can be well-rounded in marketing strategies.
Clutch.co
Clutch.co is an independent B2B research site that lists different companies and gathers reviews from its clients.
It has a directory of top digital marketing agencies in terms of their offerings, budget-friendly deals, and the quality of service they offer.
Upwork Agency
Upwork not only caters to freelance services available. They also offer agency services perfect for larger projects of a company.
Agencies on these platforms usually charge on an hourly basis a minimum of $5 for digital marketing and consultancy services through the platform.
Digital Agency Network
Digital Agency Network is an all-in-one network platform of digital marketing agencies. They have more than 500 independent agencies in different countries that offer a wide range of marketing services.
Businesses can narrow down their search according to their preferred city or country where the agency is located.
Agency Spotter
Agency Spotter is a platform used to research marketing service providers. It lists over 15,000 marketing agencies on its site.
They also offer expert agency solutions to help their clients look for the service provider that is suitable for their requirements
Freelance platforms
Through freelance platforms, businesses can hire their employees directly and communicate with them through different messaging services.
A virtual assistant with a digital marketing background is the best suited to hire through this method.
Upwork
Upwork operates like other freelance platforms in the market. Employers post jobs online, then they will hire their freelancers directly through the platform.
It is designed so that work collaboration, performance monitoring, and payment processing will be done directly through the platform to ensure security.
Fiverr
Hiring freelancers through buying their services makes Fiverr different from other platforms. Employers can contact the freelancer upon purchase of their service, which starts from $5 up to $30.
Freelancer
The oldest platform for freelance work, Freelancer works the same as UpWork. Employers can post jobs or search for freelance profiles available.
They will then contact and hire the freelancer, monitor their work, and process their payments through the platform.
FreeeUp
FreeeUp doesn’t let its clients alone browse the website for freelancers. Instead, they will fill up a request form for their preferred freelancer.
Then, the platform will match them to a qualified applicant whom they can work with for a long-term contract.
Outsourcing companies
The Philippines is one of the most popular outsourcing destinations in the world. Its Westernized culture, strong English proficiency, and cheap labor costs are among the few reasons most countries in the West choose to outsource here.
Outsource Accelerator
Outsource Accelerator is the leading global marketplace for the BPO industry.
We list over 700 companies in our directory and offer solutions from brokerage, and implementation, to co-managed services. All are designed to build your outsourced digital marketing team in the Philippines.
BPO companies in the Philippines cater to different sectors and offer the best digital marketing services.
To learn more about this, check out the list of Top 40 outsourcing companies in the country.