Should you hire a digital marketing agency or have it in-house

 There are many facets to digital marketing such as social media management, email marketing, SEO, brand awareness and blogging, to only mention a few.   Not to mention the other soft-skills that -go along hand-in-hand with digital marketing, for example, attracting new customers, constant nurturing of existing customers, business profile building and raising brand awareness.

Does your business have the capacity to execute effective digital marketing campaigns?  Or is your marketing department swamped with existing marketing demands?

It’s a tricky decision about whether to hire a digital marketing agency or have it in-house.  And this decision should be thought out carefully, weighing up the pros and cons carefully.  Every business and brand today needs a digital marketing strategy, but the debate rages on whether to hire a digital marketing agency or have this job done in-house.  Most organisations are not completely sure which route to take for their business.  And as digital marketing evolves it’s becoming more involved and complex.

So, which route is right for your business?

This question cannot be answered in one straightforward easy answer.  Each business requires its own specific approach to digital marketing.

Digital marketing overview

 There are benefits of having someone inhouse to handle your digital marketing and also benefits to opting to outsource to a digital marketing agency.  But before you sign on the dotted line and commit, it’s worthwhile delving deeper into the many aspects that make up digital marketing.  The aim of today’s marketer is not only to market to those who matter but to also make sure their brand, product and service retain a solid online presence but it’s also vital to constantly keep their digital marketing strategy up to date, in fact, you could say it’s a never-ending task.

The effective and successful promotion of your brand, products and services online is a definite skill and absolutely has to be part of an organisation’s marketing strategy.  There are two main aims of all digital marketing strategies, which are increase website traffic and to monetise this traffic to increase overall revenue.

Digital marketing trends are constantly evolving

Digital marketing strategies are constantly evolving alongside the new technology that is being introduced.  The market is being flooded with smartphone devices and increased internet connectivity around the world demands that digital marketing keeps up with this fast-changing pace.  Digital marketing trends are never stagnant, which means your business has to keep up.

Benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency

The size of your business doesn’t necessarily determine whether it should outsource its digital marketing requirements or not – even a small business may desperately need the specialised services of a digital marketing agency.   For this reason, many factors that need to be taken into account.

Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of hiring a digital marketing agency, which are:

• Long term plan – Keep in mind that it takes time to get a new employee up to speed with your digital marketing strategy. A digital marketing agency deals with varied clients so they’re more likely to already have a strategy in place to suit your needs.  Hiring an employee means long term commitment therefore this decision shouldn’t be taken lightly.
• Abundance of knowledge – Digital marketing can be a tricky affair. A digital marketing agency has specialist knowledge of all things digital which is great news whether you’ve just begun your digital marketing journey or are seeking to increase your online presence.
• Capacity shortage – You most probably have serious objectives for your digital marketing campaigns and oftentimes there is a lack of capacity within a business to reach these goals. Hiring a digital marketing agency means you don’t have to waste money and time on training.

Benefits of having in-house digital marketing

Just as hiring a digital marketing agency has great benefits, so too does having an in-house digital marketing solution.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these benefits:

• Company values – It makes sense that a full-time employee is much more likely to understand and embrace your company values and more invested in the company’s digital marketing success.
• Focussed training – Competition is tough, and your business needs your inhouse digital marketing person to be focussed on best digital marketing practices that align with your brand.
• Constant communication – It’s easier to communicate with an inhouse person than an outside company, which is great for those last minute digital marketing initiatives.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

If you would like to find out more Digital Marketing courses or perhaps even signing up for a course. Then contact us at the Digital School of Marketing.