Investing in the right marketing channels can return a significant investment for your business and boost profitability exponentially. However, it takes initial investment to begin seeing those returns. If you’re a small business owner, you’ve likely already faced the dilemma of having to figure out an effective yet affordable marketing strategy that doesn’t overstretch your budget. Hiring a new full-time employee, although it can have its benefits, comes with significant costs, and it’s difficult to find one or two valuable employees who can perform the full range of services that comprehensive marketing requires. That’s why many small business owners choose to outsource their marketing needs to a third-party agency that can do it all — within budget.
Monthly Cost
One of the biggest benefits of choosing a third-party marketing agency over an in-house employee is the overall cost. For a pre-approved rate, you can get all of the social media, graphic design, SEO, or other marketing services that you need. You know that you’re only paying for the set amount of hours it takes to complete your deliverables, nothing more and nothing less. When you hire a full-time employee to handle the workload, you’re paying them a set monthly minimum regardless of how much (or how little) work they do. If it only takes 30 hours a week to complete the required deliverables, you’re practically throwing away 10 hours of pay each week; that adds up to thousands of dollars each year spent without a return.
Taxes and Benefits
You’re also taking on additional financial obligations when you hire an in-house employee in the form of taxes and benefits. In the state of California, most companies are required to provide all full-time employees with benefits such as social security matching, paid sick leave, health insurance coverage, and workers’ compensation insurance. In addition to state requirements, the recent shift in workplace culture across the country has put pressure on companies to implement above-and-beyond benefits like mental wellness programs, gym memberships, and unlimited PTO in order to retain quality talent. Third-party agencies and their staff are hired as temporary contractors, however, so they don’t qualify for any employer benefits. This applies even if you work with them on a continuous basis. No matter whether your agency works 5 hours a week or 60 hours a week for you, you’re not required to offer healthcare, paid time off, or any other benefits which could be a drain on your resources. Third parties come with no surprise costs or expected benefits — just your agreed-upon rate in return for the completed work.
Range of Services
Think about your most competent, well-rounded employee. How many roles could they fit into at the company? Two? Three? No matter how stellar your in-house marketing candidate is, they still won’t be able to provide the range of services that a third-party agency can. They may be incredible at SEO and PPC, but do they know anything about graphic design? Can they take professional photos that elevate your brand image? A great social media manager candidate should know how to create high-quality visual content, stay up-to-date on trends, research hashtags, copywrite captions, and perform reputation management. Even if they check all of those boxes, that still only makes them a good social media manager — what about website design, logo design, blogs and copywriting, print materials, paid advertising, and SEO? When you outsource to a third-party marketing agency, you’re getting a team that specializes in all aspects of marketing. Rather than hiring a “jack of all trades, master of none,” a marketing agency enables you to utilize a diverse team that has mastered each unique aspect of digital marketing. And since you’re only paying for the exact number of hours the team is working — no downtime, taxes, benefits, PTO, etc. — you can hire a team of seasoned, specialized professionals for the same or less cost than a full-time, in-house employee.
Marketing can be a complex field to navigate if you’re a small business owner, but luckily digital marketing agencies like TW Media can help you get the most efficient and effective results possible while staying within your budget. If you want a team of proven marketing professionals that can maximize your return on investment while minimizing your operating expenses, outsourcing your digital marketing needs to a third-party agency is the ideal choice.
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