Outsourcing your marketing allows small-business owners to access specialised skills, reduce overheads, and drive growth so they can remain agile and focused on their core strengths.  

If you’re looking to outsource your marketing, where do you start? What are the options and how do you decide between them? 

Well, it depends on your goals, budget and requirements.

Freelancers = cost-saving

Freelancers are self-employed professionals working individually. Since you’re employing one person, and freelancers typically offer their services on a project or contract basis, they can be a cost-effective option –especially for short-term, specialised tasks.  

These professionals are ideal for project-based work – think graphic design, copywriting or web development.  

Let’s use web design and development as an example. Generally, it takes approximately 3 months (on average) to: come up with a strategy and plan, write copy, design, develop, review, test, and launch a website. This estimate assumes the business provides timely feedback and content approvals. More complex sites (i.e. e-commerce or custom integration) can take anywhere between 3-6 months or longer.  

In-house employees = control

Hiring in-house, whether full- or part-time employee/s, provides great control over workflows and output. It also allows consistent collaboration and communication.  

Unfortunately, hiring in-house employees also mean high ongoing costs (salaries, super, training, etc).  Plus, the hiring and onboarding process can be time consuming. 

If you’re hiring in-house, you might have any of the following: Head of Marketing (salary between $100k – 160k ), Digital Marketing Strategist (salary between $70k to $100k), Copywriter (salary $60k – $90k), graphic designer ($65k – $90k), Social Media Manager ($65k – $90k), or Marketing Coordinator (salary $55k – $70k).  

Other costs to take into consideration are software, tools, training, and employer on-costs like super, leave and insurance which is typically an extra 20-25 per cent.

Agencies = capability

Having the right marketing agency equates to high-quality execution and strategic guidance.  

Agencies offer access to a team of professionals with specialised knowledge – strategists, writers, designers, SEO experts, ad managers, and analysts – without hiring each role individually.  This means your brand benefits from the collective expertise and current industry best practices.

It is also more cost-effective compared to building an in-house team and delivers a fresh and unbiased perspective, new ideas, creativity, and strategy.  

Using agencies also offer access to premium tools.  Many agencies already subscribe to advanced marketing tools for SEO, automation, analytics, and design, which can be expensive and complex for individual businesses to manage.

A good agency is performance-driven.  They track metrics, report on KPIs and continue to refine efforts to meet goals.  This transparency fosters accountability and ROI focus.

Hiring a marketing agency allows SMEs to punch above their weight. It means leveraging expert talent, strategic thinking and execution power without the burden of full-time salaries.

Making the right choice 

My recommendations depending on your marketing needs:

• For one-off tasks like designing a logo, writing blogs or website design and development, use a freelancer.
• For ongoing growth marketing campaigns, use a marketing agency.   
• For long-term execution and brand control, use a small in-house team + agency support.

Generally, the hybrid model is most effective for SMEs. This could mean having a lean internal team (i.e. one Marketing Manager) and using a marketing agency to support with other marketing requirements.  This allows you to balance out cost, control and capability.  

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