Back in the day, when kids wanted to make some pocket change for the summer, all they needed was a jug of lemonade, a Sharpie, a piece of cardboard, and their adorable little smiles. Talk about a slice of Americana. Unfortunately for little Billy, times have changed. If he’s looking to make enough for that new bike, he’d better be on top of his social media game. Where’s the Instagram account for Billy’s Lemonade Stand? Is he even paying attention to the Yelp reviews? What’s going on with his analytics? Does he have the slightest idea about SEO best practices?
Maybe you see where this is going.
Digital marketing and advertising in the Information Age is a new playing field. If you’re looking to get in on the game, you may be considering an outside inbound marketing agency, and there are several reasons why that might be the best call.
1. Time is Money
Outsourcing your inbound marketing campaign will free up your most valuable asset – time. When you turn to a marketing agency, you skip the learning curve. You don’t have to study the ins and outs of digital advertising. You don’t need to learn new software. You don’t need to hire, train, and manage a team. You agree on a strategy, sign a contract, and get back to the daily grind at your office. Time that would have been spent on your ambitious new campaign is now free to dedicate towards the efficiency, expansion, and management of your business.
2. It’s Cost Effective
In comparison to hiring an in-house expert, inbound marketing agencies cost you less. With a good marketing agency, you can expect a return on your investment. The point of bringing in a team of experts is to increase leads, traffic, and – ultimately – revenue. An agency that knows what it’s doing will be sure to deliver on its end of the bargain.
3. Agencies Offer Fresh Insight
When you’re looking to hire from within or searching for an in-house expert, it’s important to remember that any given individual has specific strengths and talents. Your pick for marketing manager may have a knack for SEO or maybe she dabbled in video production back in college. One way or another, she is going to have preferences to push her own skillset. One of the great things about a diverse marketing agency comes in the form of a diverse pool of talent. An agency is objective. They don’t have a preference for any particular medium, and their judgment isn’t clouded by the day-to-day events at the office.
4. Scalability
Once you launch that winning inbound marketing campaign, you’re going to want to make some adjustments. Your marketing efforts need to keep up with the expansion of your business. Alternatively, you may find that your vision was a bit too ambitious and it’s time to scale back. Another strength of marketing agencies is that they’re dynamic. It’s easy for an agency to scale efforts based on your needs. When you’re working in-house, expansion puts you back in the hiring and training process, whereas scaling down means downsizing.
5. It’s Competitive
Modern advertising is no walk in the park. Everyone is trying to be heard. Everyone is selling something. Channels and new media are constantly evolving, and everyone is looking for an edge. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that many companies are turning to outside inbound marketing agencies to help them navigate this new landscape, and, in terms of your own interests, your consideration boils down to staying competitive.
