The current era is the one that allows for digital marketing to assume a significant role and when a business owner can take his business to heights by hiring a digital marketing agency. Right from your website to managing social media networks, all can be handled perceptively by an agency. Yet, there are opinion leaders who opine that a freelancer is best when it comes to executing a digital marketing strategy. And, there are many who struggle with this dilemma of whom to hire, considering the fact that there are hordes of websites who allow freelancers to post their work profiles in the best manner possible.
It is for the above reason I chose to write this blog after reading which will help you clear out your confusion.
Here are the Pros and Cons of hiring a digital marketing agency and freelancer.
The Pros of Hiring a Freelancer
Cost-Effectiveness
Compare the two in business size and then calculate the costs. A digital marketing agency is always a team of more than one professional and which is managed through a hierarchical network whereas a freelancer is an independent professional who’s free from the liabilities of any organizational framework. A freelancer who may have prior experience of working with a social media marketing agency based in USA will charge usually less for social media marketing services in comparison to an agency that will always charge more, especially if it’s too big in terms of number of employees and is a brand in itself.
With more than 56.7 million freelance workers in the United States, one can predict the size of digital marketing freelancers alone, given that no business can survive today without an effective digital marketing strategy. And, so there comes the supply-demand ratio when if there’s a significant number of freelancers to do a single job and there are less job-providers in the market, it’s certainly the freelancer who enjoys the hot cake more than any digital marketing agency.
Greater Control and Flexibility
One of the best things you get while working with a freelancer is the flexibility in timings. A freelancer can work in odd hours, beyond the regular shift timings, whereas an agency mostly works according to a schedule. A freelance worker acquires the name as a freelancer because he does not have a fixed schedule and can take up work whenever he wants to. And, given the fact that a business owner might be struggling to get things done fast, say, in the weekends, because he has something else coming up in the next week, he would like to hire a freelancer.
At the same time, beyond the crisis of moving along the time, a business person may have a better control over a freelancer than an agency because you do not need to transcend the barriers of hierarchy. You also get a dedicated individual who can offer a tailor-made project to meet your unique business goals and requirements.
The Cons of Hiring a Freelancer
Skilled Freelancer Not Always Accessible
It isn’t necessary that a freelancer may always be the most knowledgeable and skilled professional even though he might portray himself as the one in his profile on job networks. Of course, a little bit of both background research and questioning before hiring the freelancer might help but there’s no certainty. Too often, it may seem like picking a card from a standard deck of playing cards and you never know which card may be out after the first or second shuffle.
Besides the above, background research may take up a significant time of yours which would hamper your time and dedication towards other business needs.
The Pros of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency
All in One Basket
Hiring a freelancer might serve your purpose when you need to get a specific job done. If you want to handle multiple projects at a time, you will then need to hire multiple freelancers because no one person can handle too many projects at a time and no matter how much of an all-rounder someone is. It is here that a digital marketing agency comes to your rescue. A digital marketing agency usually hires the top-notch professionals to handle every aspect of digital marketing, from social media marketing expert to SEO expert and from a best-in-class graphic designer to an avid and experienced blogger.
When you decide to hire an agency and search in google for digital marketing agency the USA, you may come across dozens of agencies on the first page of google, but a talk with the first few on phone or in the face will let you arrive at the best decision. The agency thus chosen can then chalk out a customized digital marketing plan for you after studying your company’s goals, values, mission and vision.
Quality Work
The kind of work you can expect from any digital marketing agency would be tough to come by if you decide to move ahead with a freelancer on any project. An agency will do best to come up on performance because it’s a subject of an organization’s credibility and goodwill.
Also, an urgent need to stay in the market for a long time is what keeps the agency always at its toes. It will make every effort to come up with an effective marketing campaign and work from start to finish to give your business goal a magical shape. An agency can provide you with a brand identity of which you might have never imagined and achieved all by yourself.
Less Biased Reporting
With reputed agencies, you will come to the realization that they will always stay in touch with you as an entrepreneur to understand your business goals clearly. They may come up with a different digital marketing plan if one does not work in the first place. The agencies would put the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in place and then work on them to get your business objective accomplished. Therefore, there is a lesser chance of any biased reporting because more than one individual from an agency would normally be involved in the decision-making process.
However, it’s advisable that you do a background research even when you decide to move ahead with an agency.
The Cons of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency
Safe but Expensive
A digital marketing agency is best for you when you are looking for growth and expansion. You may get spectacular results when you decide to hire an agency for long-term. Most big organizations take the help of digital marketing agencies when they have assigned a budget for growth and expansion and when such agencies design strategies based on past historical data and future estimates.
As a start-up though, it may not be that desirable as your budget may be low and you will want to keep your expenses as low as possible.
In Conclusion
After going through the pros and cons of both digital marketing agency and freelancer, you should get a clear picture of who must be hired when posed with a marketing challenge. No one option can be ruled out as it all depends on your current business scenario. However, one thing is very clear that a freelancer might be the best option when you are under budget and looking for specific and short-term solutions to a marketing problem whereas an agency might work best if you are looking to build up on your brand and have no budget constraint.
