It’s no secret that content marketing plays an increasingly integral role in modern marketing strategies. More than 88% of businesses utilise content marketing, and this is a trend set to become even more prominent in years to come.
According to Forbes, content marketing campaigns receive three times the number of leads of paid search per single dollar spent.
It’s evident that content marketing can be incredibly lucrative, but how do you go about ensuring your campaigns are effective, and what can you do if you haven’t got the time to design and implement a content marketing strategy?
If you’re asking these questions, it’s wise to consider outsourcing.
If you’re toying with the idea of outsourcing your content marketing, it’s crucial to think about your options carefully. Outsourcing is a concept, which basically involves hiring individuals, such as freelancers, or external agencies to take care of elements of your business for you.
Outsourcing is a brilliant option if you lack certain skills on your team, or you need to free up time to focus on core aspects of the business. If you don’t have a marketing team, or your employees are already working to full capacity, rather than hiring new members of staff, you should consider outsourcing your content marketing. If you’re keen to pursue this avenue, here are some key considerations:
We hear the words content marketing and straplines like ‘content is king’ bandied around all the time, but what does content marketing actually entail? Content marketing isn’t just about writing a few blog articles and posting them on your website and social media platforms once a week.
To succeed, you have to have a strategy in place, which will ensure that your content reaches the right people. An effective content marketing campaign should focus on:
Planning: if you’re new to content marketing, and your considering outsourcing your content marketing, an agency can work with you to discuss ideas, gather information about your target markets and research content topics that are likely to appeal to your audience.
Delivery: once you know what kind of content you want to produce, it’s time to think about how you’re going to deliver that content to ensure you target the right kind of buyer. Outsourcing your content marketing gives you access to people who have the skills and experience to help you do this.
Evaluation: if you’ve got a content campaign up and running, it’s hugely beneficial to analyse your performance and monitor your progress. This helps you identify potential shortfalls and make improvements. When you outsource, an agency can take care of monitoring for you.
Content marketing is an umbrella term, which includes several different aspects. The main elements are content creation, planning and strategic development, and performance monitoring and analytics.
As a business owner, you have a choice when it comes to what you want to outsource. Do you want to outsource the whole lot, or are you keen to keep some elements, for example, strategy management, in-house?
If you’ve got the time, the skills, the talent, and the budget to keep some elements in-house, it makes sense to do this, but if you don’t have employees with an expert insight into content marketing, or you’re struggling with time constraints, it’s advisable to consider outsourcing your content marketing.
If you choose to outsource content creation, you have two avenues to explore. These include:
Outsourcing content creation to freelancers
Hiring an agency with experience in content marketing
It’s worth noting that 90% of consumers find custom content useful. The quality of content is something that should never be compromised, so it’s worth investing in external skills if you don’t have people who have expertise in creative writing, writing for SEO, and conjuring up original, fresh ideas on your team.
Outsourcing offers the best of both worlds. Not only do you get access to valuable skills and save time you’re also fully involved.
Even if you outsource every element of content marketing to an agency, you’ll still have a role to play, and it’s important to keep communication channels open and to be actively engaged in what is going on.
It’s particularly important to collaborate and communicate with freelance workers and outside agencies if you plan to manage certain elements in-house. If you’ve outsourced graphic design, but you’ve kept strategic planning and monitoring in-house, you’ll need to work together with the content team to achieve the best results.
Establish systems and processes to work efficiently, and get together on a regular basis to discuss ideas. If you are hiring freelancers, make sure you issue clear instructions about what you want. Clarity is incredibly helpful for freelance writers.
If you’re overseeing a project at work, one of the first things you’ll do in your team meeting is set out the objectives, and to let everyone know what’s expected of them.
Apply the same rules to outsourcing. Even if you’re working with freelancers or external agency staff, it’s crucial to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals, and that every person understands the end goal and the standard expected.
Performance monitoring is also beneficial, as you can track progress, make sure you’re on course to meet deadlines, and identify issues at an early stage.
If you’re disappointed with work ethic or you’re not happy with the standard of content you’ve received, hold the person or people in question accountable, and suggest improvements.
Content marketing has become a staple feature of modern marketing strategies in recent years. Most business owners know this, but if you don’t have experience in marketing, or you’re not familiar with more modern techniques, you may be wondering where to begin.
If you’re short on time or you don’t have people on your team who have the necessary expertise, and you want to embrace this modern trend and drive your business forward, outsourcing your content marketing is an option worth considering.
If you choose to outsourcing your content marketing, you can enjoy the following benefits:
Gaining access to professionals who have experience and expertise in this specific area of marketing and the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver an effective, targeted campaign. Sixty-four percent of B2B marketers outsource writing to experienced professionals.
Investing in strategies that are proven to work. It will cost money to outsource your content marketing, but it may work out less expensive than hiring additional members of staff, and it should increase your profits. In the long-term outsourcing can represent a great investment.
Freeing up time for core elements of your business and enabling employees to focus on jobs and tasks that match their skill sets.
Eliminating time pressures and stress related to a content production schedule.
Access to the latest analytics and performance monitoring tools.
If you run a business, you might have come across stories about content marketing successes, or you may have stumbled across infographics or articles about the value of content in the modern age.
It’s all very well reading about the influence of content marketing, but if you don’t know much about marketing, or you don’t have marketing experts on your team, you may be wondering how to harness the power of this concept without adding to your wage costs.
The answer is outsourcing your content marketing. If you don’t have time to work on content creation and strategising, or you lack the skills needed to deliver an effective campaign, now is the time to explore the benefits of outsourcing.
You can gain access to people who have the industry experience, the know-how and the insight to create relevant, targeted content and execute projects at the same time as being able to focus on tasks that are fundamental to the day to day running of your company.
Outsourcing your content marketing can also save you money on wages and boost your profits.
