Another serious decision to make. As marketing director, you have just considered the pros and cons of inhouse production versus a content agency, and decided to work with an external service provider. Now, you’re having doubts: It’s no longer only established content agencies that provide professional support with writing, graphic design, and social media campaigns, but an ever-growing number of more or less experienced freelancers.
Moreover, said freelancers offer their services for a price an agency can barely compete with. Not so fast- take your time before you hand off an assignment. After all, the service offered for the price has to meet your standards. The devil is, as always, in the details. Let’s have a closer look at how freelancers and content agencies work and which requirements each of them might meet.
Although all marketing managers dream of the freelance genius, reality has proven this to be just that- a dream. Freelancers are actually service providers who usually specialize in one particular field or topic and offer their services as copywriters, graphic designers or Hubspot partners accordingly. For (potential) customers, there are a few pros and cons to consider.
Compared to an agency, a freelancer spares you some overhead-costs (e.g. office rent, salaries, softwares for project management) and is therefore, generally, in a position to offer their services at a lower price than an agency.
A freelancer works alone alone, and is therefore both the person in charge and the one directly providing the service.
Agencies cannot work efficiently without defined processes. In this regard, freelancers are more flexible and can therefore adapt to the workflows of their customers more easily. It’s because of this flexibility that freelancers are ideal for ad-hoc support over the course of a larger project.
Freelancers work based on contracts- from one text to the next, basically. If a company is no longer satisfied with their service, it can change the provider without much effort.
Because freelancers are not hired, you can test the quality of their service without much effort. The client sends their briefing and the freelancer returns their finished work- it’s as simple as that.
Because they work alone, it’s common for freelancers to have a lower workload capacity. This usually happens when the service provider is working on other projects simultaneously, but also if they are unavailable because of sickness or vacation time.
Freelancers usually specialize in one field and are not equally qualified for all tasks. A good copywriter with a knowledge of SEO is rarely also a good graphic designer or specialist in employer branding.
With countless freelancers out there, finding an expert for your specific challenges is not easy.
Note: Even for us as an agency, it is often difficult to find the right people. No two content creators are the same. Professional content for a B2B context requires different skills than the B2C-sector. Social Media only adds further challenges and requirements.
Freelancers rarely have a closer look at their client’s company or create buyer personas for them. In order for them to produce high-quality content, the external service provider must receive a detailed briefing, which in turn requires a lot of preparatory work on the company’s end.
Good Agencies employ project managers who monitor deadlines, coordinate appointments, and plan workflows. When working with a freelancer, these tasks stay within the company, which further requires valuable resources.
Ideally, content agencies function as a one-stop-shop for their clients: Apart from support and consultations, they also take over the implementation and analysis of all activities regarding content marketing. Content agencies employ one or more experts for every field, or have a network through which they can include the experts required for specific projects. An agency’s structure bears a set of pros and cons for (potential) customers, which should be considered carefully.
At content agencies, employees specialize in different areas, including storytelling, SEO, copywriting, strategy, graphic design, and channel management. As a result, clients have access to a broad spectrum of services for content marketing through a single partner.
A content agency not only supports companies in the creation of content, but also on an organizational level. Among other things, an agency provides ways to include content production into the already existing company structure.
Due to its higher number of employees, a content agency can execute its projects well even in cases of illness or during vacation times. Additionally, more employees allows for practice of the 6-eyes-principle, which ensures efficient error correction and, as a result, higher quality of the content pieces created. Last but not least, the content agency’s structure makes follow-up projects easier to plan.
Agencies have extensive experience in the execution of projects within professional company structures. They know how to efficiently communicate with experts and partners of different departments, and channel the collected input into one compelling idea.
Ongoing and close cooperation between a content agency and a company facilitate a permanent transfer of specialized knowledge, which a client’s marketing department can profit from even beyond one particular project.
Unlike a freelancer, whose work is generally limited to what was provided in the client’s briefing, a content agency will always thoroughly research the subject required, and never start working without a strategy.
Much like a factory, content agencies stick to established workflows when creating content. It cannot adjust its method and approach to each individual client. Therefore, clients and service providers must first work out whether their respective workflows and approaches are compatible. If this is not the case, it is obviously to the disadvantage of the company.
A content agency and a freelancer have different cost structures. Agencies must pay rent and salaries, provide their employees with professional equipment, and maintain structures for efficient cooperation. Naturally, that also affects the fees they charge for their services.
Good content agencies are sought-after and, as a result, work with many clients. Companies should therefore anticipate slightly longer lead times for the production of their content.
Note: In cases of emergency, we always find a satisfactory solution for our clients. However, this is only possible because we generally practice proactive project planning and avoid knee-jerk operations.
Now you know the main advantages and disadvantages of these two rather different content producers. You could use a guideline to support your decision, right? Look no further than our blogpost! Our tips for finding the perfect content agency can also be applied to freelancers. Use these 6 steps for orientation:
Define your goals
Examine the providers closely
Determine the core competences within your company
Look out for the right mindset
Find a service provider who understands the market and your target audience
Start a pilot project
If you want to fill your website with creative texts or need an appealing design for a leaflet, you will certainly get satisfactory results from a good freelancer. When it comes to professional support in the development and execution of an integrated content marketing strategy, a freelancer will soon reach their limits.
As a rule, freelancers specialize in a specific set of tasks and are not able to cover the entire content creation process with the quality required. Content agencies, on other hand, provide a pool of various skills they can resort to as needed over the course of a project or cooperation. As a result, content agencies bring long-term relief to the client’s internal departments and proactively support the strategic development of its content marketing.