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A business cannot survive without customers, and marketing is key to attracting them. Any company that markets digitally has to create content – no matter what methods or tactics they use. Creating content is at the core of digital marketing. There are two options for content creation, either you deal with it in-house, or you can outsource. Both options come with their own set of pros and cons; read on to find out more.
Outsourcing Content
When you decide to outsource your content, you rely on a third party to create the content for your business. The third-party could be a freelancer or a company like 303 London, a digital marketing agency in London that is well-versed in all things digital. After a consultation, they can help create the content on your behalf to ensure that it is in keeping with your brand.
There are several benefits when it comes to outsourcing. Firstly, the act of outsourcing offers you more options. You can shop around until you find the right agency for your brand. It is often faster and easier than creating it yourself too. You can provide deadlines and have your content ready to publish by that date. You can also scale your content order up and down as needed. If your platform or your customer base grows, your need for content could increase, and outsourcing allows you to accommodate this growth. Outsourcing doesn’t mean compromising quality either; if you haven’t got the time or the know-how to create your content, outsourcing could bring you better content than you would have created yourself.
Where there are pros, there are cons too. Outsourcing does come with its own drawbacks. Firstly, while having options is great, it can be a pain too. How do you choose? Weighing up your options can take time can delay your content schedule. It is also difficult to estimate how much outsourcing your content creation can cost, especially over time. It could get pricey. Finally, depending on whether you use an agency or a freelancer, you may encounter some troubles with the reliability of your content creator. An agency is far more likely to be reliable than a freelancer who works alone; unforeseen circumstances could delay the arrival of your content.
Keeping it In-House
Businesses that produce their content in-house often have dedicated staff to do so. However, small businesses may not; it may simply be a minor part of someone’s job role. However, if you plan to keep your content creation in-house, it is highly advisable to have someone whose role revolves around it, as creating good content can be incredibly time-consuming.
Producing your content in-house comes with its own benefits. First and foremost, it eliminates your dependency on third parties. Using a third party does come with risk, the content might be late, or you might not like it, it might need editing or rethinking completely. All of this can take time. This is removed when it is taken care of in-house, the content can be approved at each stage, and there is no middleman, which means fixing problems is quicker and often more accessible. You have a better idea of what it costs to produce the content, and you can manage the expenses more closely. Outsourcing content costs, these businesses need to make a profit too, don’t forget that. Finally, by keeping your content in-house, you diversify your team’s skillset, meaning they get more innovative, which can be great for your business.
As previously mentioned, where there are benefits, there are also disadvantages. You might not have anyone who has the time to take this job on, or you might not have anyone who knows how to produce content. This means that you might have to consider hiring a new staff member or maybe even a team. In addition, making your content in-house often requires a more significant initial investment to get the ball rolling. Training your staff and purchasing the software and tools that they need to produce the content can be expensive.
Which is Better
This question is not easily answerable. It depends on several factors, like the size of your business and the capabilities of your staff. For example, if your current content creation strategy is working, there may not be a need for you to mix things up. However, if growth has been slow or customer engagement is down, you might need to revise your approach.
Wrapping Up
Marketing well is vital for the survival of your business. Digital marketing is all but a must in today’s technology-driven world; even companies that don’t really operate in the digital space have an online presence. Online content is king. It can be the difference between a consumer choosing you over your competitors. The content that you create matters. Use the information above to assess your strategy and its efficacy. Adjusting your system could do wonders for your business.
