Head-To-Head Hiring: In-House Marketing vs. Agencies vs. Freelancers

It’s no surprise that marketing is a critical part of owning and running a business. What many business owners don’t know is the time and energy that needs to be put into marketing efforts to grow your business. At some point, running the business and managing the marketing is going to be too much for one person to accomplish. That’s where hiring comes in. The issue is deciding who to hire that will be best for your company. Between marketing agencies, freelancers, and in-house marketing specialists, the options can be overwhelming. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each hiring decision.

Freelance Digital Marketers

Freelancers are individuals who offer services for pay by the hour, day, or job. Freelancers often don’t have regular hours, and they may work for several people/businesses at one time. Freelance work is typically done in an individual’s free time, or as a job that gives them more freedom to make their own schedule. Freelance work is usually associated with graphic design, blogging/writing, photography, editing, and things of that nature.

Pros : You will just about always pay bottom dollar for a freelance digital marketer. So long as you understand that the freelancer’s schedule is not usually very consistent, you can get work done for a very reasonable price. Since they are not a full-time employee, you do not have to worry about salary or benefits for them, and you can get work done on an as-needed basis.

Cons: You will pay bottom dollar for freelance digital marketers, and you’ll probably get bottom dollar work. Freelancers are often working for many clients at a time, meaning their attention is not 100% invested in your business. How can someone put out marketing material if they don’t have the time to get to know your brand? Furthermore, freelance digital marketers do not have to have any sort of degree or certification, so your company’s marketing could end up in very unqualified hands. Freelancers’ relaxed schedules can prove an issue because your marketing needs may continue to be pushed to the wayside in favor of personal plans. In fact, in a 2018 study, the work schedule flexibility was the second most popular reason people became freelancers. If someone wants flexibility that badly, you can be certain they’ll take advantage of it when they have the chance. Furthermore, according to WebsitePlanet, 52% of freelancers are under the age of 29. This means that the odds of having a young person fresh into the industry is very high. Your brand and business are not things you want to hand off to just anyone, especially newbies in the field. Mix a young and inexperienced individual with the desire for flexible work hours and you’ll get a recipe for disaster.

Marketing Agencies

Marketing agencies are teams of people who specialize in marketing your business. Since 2014, the annual growth for the marketing agency industry has grown 4.0% to a total of 71,131 agencies in the US alone. These stats include all kinds of agencies, but it is clear that it is a stable and healthy industry. The stats are on the rise for a reason! Agencies tend to have multiple clients at once, but because of the team aspect, your business won’t fall off the radar. Someone on the team will be in charge of handling your account on a regular basis. The great thing about a marketing agency is that when the client list grows past their capacity, they usually grow the team with it. For example, here at BusySeed, our team has been growing a lot since we opened our doors. We have grown from a start-up of two people to a team of eight. As we bring on more clients, we search for new team members so that the workload is evenly distributed with no account slipping through the cracks. But enough about us, let’s talk about marketing agencies in general.

Pros : When you higher a marketing agency, you are hiring an entire team of experts in the field rather than just one person. Odds are each member of the team specializes in one area of marketing and can help your business in their area of expertise. If you have ads to run, there’s more than likely a team member designated to keep an eye on them. Have blogs to be written? There’s a team member for that too! Another great thing about marketing agencies is that you know you are hiring qualified people. No marketing agency in their right mind will hire any Joe Schmoe off the street; you know that marketing majors, business majors, graphic designers, writers, etc., are all on your side. One last benefit we want to mention is the stability of marketing agencies. When you hire an agency, you can be confident that they will post for you consistently, will be there when you need them, and will adhere to a set schedule. Personal plans can’t interfere with your business like they can with freelancers.

Cons: Unfortunately, the higher-quality work and full team of experts will cost you more than a freelancer will. In addition, you should understand that communication expectations will be set when you deal with an agency. As we mentioned, marketing agencies have multiple clients to handle, so they can’t drop everything to take a call with you because you want one right away. Most agencies use scheduling systems so you will have a blocked out timeframe for communications, just be aware that spontaneous calling likely won’t be well-received.

In-House Marketing Managers

The final option we want to cover is hiring an in-house marketing manager. This would be a person that you hire as an employee. They will work in your company specifically for marketing. The in-house marketing manager would be responsible for everything including social media marketing, email campaigns, newsletters, blogs, press releases, etc. You can choose to hire a new employee or bring someone that has been with the company into the new position.

Pros: Particularly if you choose to promote a current employee to the role of in-house marketing manager, you can be sure that they know your brand. If you promote an employee that has worked for you for years, they will certainly know a thing or two about who you are and what you do. Even if you opt to hire a new person, their complete attention will be on your business, so they can learn the ropes pretty quickly and dig into the job. Another great thing about in-house marketing manager is free communication. If you have a request for a post or a question about ads, you can head to the marketer’s office and ask them right away. This means there’s little to no delay before you get answers or solutions when you need them.

Cons: Hiring in-house marketing personnel is going to cost you a pretty penny. This new employee will need a salary and benefits. While this isn’t an issue if you’re just shifting a current employee over, if you’re hiring someone new, it’s good to be aware of. After some research online for average annual Marketing Manager salaries, it’s clear that companies pay vastly different amounts for the same job. While some sites named salaries in the mid $40ks, others went well into the six-figure range with everything in between. Even if your company pays towards the lower end of the spectrum, you’re still paying exponentially more than you would for a marketing agency or even a freelancers to do the same work.

Another thing to consider is the amount of work being thrown at this person. Much like with freelancers, expecting a single person to handle all aspects of your marketing is risky. The more you ask them to do, the more likely it is that something is forgotten and money is lost. Even if the person can get everything done, there could be design or grammar errors because no one else is there to check your in-house marketing manager’s work. Finally, if you choose to hire in-house, you will likely find yourself with a marketing manager with a limited skill set. Unlike a marketing agency, an in-house marketing manager will not be able to excel at all of the aspects of successful marketing.

We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of the three main types of marketing hires. If you’re looking for a marketing agency that can do it all, contact BusySeed today! We specialize in all things digital marketing including social media, blogs, websites, newsletters, automation, and more! Our team is ready to help your business grow, so get in touch at (888) 353-1484.