Outsourcing isn’t new to digital marketing or business in general. In fact, it is a relatively common practice, with a report from Deloitte claiming that outsourcing could reach roughly $731 billion in spending from companies. That’s no number to laugh at!
Outsourcing enables companies to get help from people with skills outside of their expertise, whether with SEO, PPC, or content creation. In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the growing trends in outsourcing and how you can tap into the market and find good specialists yourself.
At CJAM, we partner business owners with contractors and agencies that specialize in the different facets of marketing. We have carefully vetted hundreds of partners to evaluate their competency, reliability, and effectiveness. If you’re looking for help finding the right partners, don’t hesitate to book a free call and let’s get started today!
What is Outsourcing in Digital Marketing?
To put it simply, outsourcing is a business practice that implies hiring a party from outside your company to perform a service or create a good. In digital marketing, this could mean hiring a specialist to perform any number of roles. Here are a few typical roles and digital marketing functions that might be outsourced:
- Pay-per-click (PPC) specialist: Manages and optimizes online advertising campaigns to drive targeted traffic and achieve specific goals through platforms like Google Ads.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) specialist: Enhances website visibility on search engines by optimizing content, keywords, and technical elements to improve organic rankings and traffic.
- Copywriter: Creates persuasive and engaging written content for various marketing materials, aiming to capture the audience’s attention and convey key messages effectively.
- Content writer: Develops informative and valuable content across different channels to educate and engage the target audience while aligning with the brand’s voice.
- Digital marketing manager: Oversees and coordinates all aspects of digital marketing initiatives, including strategy development, campaign execution, and performance analysis.
- Social media manager: Curates, schedules, and monitors social media content, interactions, and campaigns to build and maintain a brand’s online presence.
- Marketing analyst: Gathers, interprets, and analyzes marketing data to provide insights and recommendations that inform strategic decisions and optimize campaigns.
- Graphic designer: Creates visually appealing designs and graphics for marketing materials, helping to convey the brand’s identity and message.
- Public relations (PR) specialist: Manages the communication between a company and the public, crafting positive narratives and managing crises to maintain the brand’s reputation.
Any of these roles could fill a vital space in your marketing strategy, and outsourcing is an excellent option if you don’t already have an in-house team or specialist. Additionally, by outsourcing some of these tasks, your business can focus on its core operations and other important projects.
What Are The Benefits of Outsourcing?
The benefits of outsourcing are vast, which is why so many businesses and even agencies choose to outsource some of the work needed. Nonetheless, here are a few benefits to note when deciding if outsourcing is right for you:
Cost Effective
Outsourcing is typically more cost-effective than having to hire and pay the salary of a full-time employee or team member. For example, you can choose to outsource based on the project. If you plan to launch a new product for your brand, hire a freelance copywriter to craft the ads. You can find contractors and agencies available for both long-term and short-term projects, making it easier to manage a budget and find help that fits within it.
Save Time
If you have a successful or growing business, you likely don’t have enough time or hands to complete everything that needs to be done. Content creation can be tedious and time-consuming if you need to get those 10 TikToks done before next week. Outsourcing enables you to delegate some of this work to other parties, which can help to keep your timeline on track and productive.
Benefit From Specialization
Let’s face it. Despite what you might hope, no one can do everything. Outsourcing helps combat this issue by opening doors and providing access to professionals with differing skill sets from your team or your own. Many businesses outsource more complicated tasks, whether data analysis, product design, or coding. Ultimately, outsourcing provides you with a larger talent pool without the need of increasing your business’s labour costs.
Scalability
Opting for outsourced digital marketing offers a valuable solution for enhancing scalability in your business. For example, outsourcing digital marketers typically presents a more budget-friendly alternative than assembling an in-house team. The availability of a remote team of experts also helps to eliminate concerns about scheduling conflicts.
Speed!
You’re not bound by a single contractor or agency but you can opt to hire multiple parties to work on the same project or different tasks. By outsourcing, you can tap into a network of professionals skilled in their craft and with a deep understanding of the complexity of their fields, meaning they can get the job done better and faster.
What Are Some Negatives of Outsourcing?
Unfortunately, outsourcing isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. There can be some hiccups when finding the right people for the job. Here are a few issues that people have faced in the past when outsourcing work:
Quality Issues
Not all contractors, freelancers, and agencies are as good as they might claim. If you’re not careful, you may end up in a contract with a partner that does more harm than good for your digital marketing strategy.
Poor Communication
Communication is always a worry when working with someone outside your company. It could result from timezone issues, poor email and SMS response times, or even laziness.
Company Culture
It’s important to be attentive to the feelings and needs of your team when it comes to outsourcing work. A positive working environment is more likely to enhance productivity than a negative one. Outsourcing can be an excellent way to scale and move along projects, but check in with your staff to ensure they feel they’re still being replaced and that you’re working with freelancers or agencies that are respectful and attentive.
CJAM Marketing specializes in finding out clients the best contractors and agencies, carefully vetting each partner to ensure they have the skills and dedication needed to take your business to the next level.
What Are The Growing Trends of Digital Marketing Outsourcing?
The landscape has changed dramatically since the development of tools like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard. With that in mind, here are a few statistics we were able to dig up on how outsourcing is and may continue to change in the near future.
- Industry Decline: A general understanding is that there will be a major decline in outsourcing over the next few years, and we have already begun to see evidence of it. According to Statista, 80% of businesses surveyed do not plan on outsourcing any of their sales or marketing roles. According to Gartner, 60% of outsourced financing and accounting contracts will also not be renewed
- IT Services Dominate Outsourcing: According to the ISG Index, IT services hold a whopping 72% of all global outsourcing contract values.
- Content Marketing Outsourcing is Falling: Outsourcing of content marketing has fallen in ranks over the years, with the top outsourced tasks being writing, graphic design, video design and animation.
Here Are Some Tips for Outsourcing
By now, you may have a better idea of whether outsourcing is the right decision for your business, so here are a few tips for finding contractors, freelancers, and agencies that have what it takes!
Agency or Freelancer
Whether you decide to work with a freelance or agency depends on your project’s scope and needs. Some key differences between the two include:
- Freelancers will typically charge by hour or project, and agencies will likely charge monthly
- Working with freelancers means communicating with one individual, and an agency may mean many
- Freelancers may have unusual availability depending on time zones, and schedules and agencies will generally follow typical business hours
Determine Your Budget
Having a budget in mind can make negotiations and the search process much easier. For those with a smaller budget, working with freelancers is typically less expensive than an agency. Either way, make sure to discuss the price openly with your potential partner and have a clear understanding of how much is owed for the work.
Write Out Goals
Clear goals are a great way of keeping tabs on progress and ensuring that the agency or freelancer knows your expectations and project scope. A good partner will make suggestions, help set KPIs, and update you on progress. However, we recommend having a general idea of what you want to accomplish out of the partnership before signing any contracts.
Begin Your Search
If you’ve decided to work with a Freelancer, then you have several online platforms and sites you can use to try and find a good fit. Some popular examples include Fiverr, Upwork, and LinkedIn. If you’ve decided to work with an agency, we recommend searching on Google and carefully evaluating their website and any case studies provided.
Let CJAM do the Heavy Lifting
Finding a good freelancer or agency is not easy, and it’s not unusual to get stuck in a contract with someone who’s not a pleasure to work with or isn’t providing the quality of work they promised. CJAM was founded to solve this problem by helping business owners connect with partners who understand their industry and needs. Get started today by booking a complimentary phone call where we’ll discuss your business and its goals before connecting you with one of our top-notch partners!
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