The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Content Creating
Everyone agrees that content marketing is a huge part of the current marketing scheme of any really successful company, and many experts say that importance will only increase over time. What does that mean for entrepreneurs? That if you don’t have a content marketing strategy, it’s time to get one. But should you start up your own blog and social media accounts, or outsource the work to a freelancer or agency?
The post, Why Outsourcing Content Creation Is Good for Corporate Communications Teams, states, “[Outsourced writers] bring technical expertise, passion for writing, and fresh thinking to your company’s communications functions that will improve the quality of your products, save you money, and help your overworked staff.” But outsourcing isn’t necessarily the right choice for every business. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons.
The Pros
New writers mean new ideas: Whether you’re an agency or a business owner, it’s all too easy to get into a predictable rut when it comes to marketing tactics and content ideas. When you hire writers from outside your own agency or department, you have access to lots of novel ideas and perspectives that can breathe new life into your content and other aspects of your marketing plan. In fact, this is one of the major benefits of outsourcing content creation.
The convenience of a quick & easy start: The success of any content marketing campaign heavily depends on how easy, fast, and fuss-free it is to drive business. Outsourcing the content creation process to a third-party is a simple process. Here, you just need to share the details of your target audience profile along with a general outline of the expected content, and you will have your website content written and ready in no time.
Scalability: There’s a reason some enterprises leverage outsourced content creation –It works well at scale. With thousands and thousands of writers available, it means that multiple pieces of content can be worked on simultaneously. Your resource is seemingly unlimited.
Expert knowledge: Cutting through online clutter with well-written, authentic content is more important than ever. By outsourcing to an inbound agency partner with a solid understanding of SEO, you can also guarantee good quality content that ranks on Google. A great content writer can take your industry knowledge and craft it into a flawless blog post, rich in keywords and optimized for search. They know the right questions to ask and will dig deep into a technical subject, always with your buyer personas in mind.
The Cons
You may lose some agility: When a time-sensitive event occurs that affects your business or industry, having an in-house content team means you can turn around content with lightning speed. Likewise, if an event requires local on-the-scene coverage, an in-house team offers obvious advantages. But by outsourcing some of your content creation needs and handling more emergent needs with in-house staff lets you capitalize on the advantages of each – kind of like having your cake and eating it too.
The outsourced marketing company doesn’t know your culture: One of the biggest downsides to outsourcing is that an outside expert doesn’t know your company like you do. It’s easier for a member of the team to create ideas related to your business than it is for someone who barely knows what your business does. If you decide to outsource, it’s important to find an expert who takes the time to learn about your business and your company culture. You want all of your marketing and PR campaigns to reflect your company’s values. Hiring a marketing firm or public relations agency is as important as hiring an employee. Take the necessary measures to ensure they can do the job well. If they’re representing your business, you want to make sure they portray your brand accurately and professionally.
Cost variables: Despite it being a lower initial investment, outsourcing can become difficult to forecast exactly what you’re going to spend over time. As your need for content increases, so too do your outsourced expenses. You may start with outsourcing blog articles, but that can expand into newsletters, social posts, historical blog optimization, and landing pages. Consider also that as Google continues to rewrite its algorithm, favoring longer, more in-depth content, you’ll be forced to spend more for articles of a higher word count. Additionally, with some freelancers and writing platforms, you can be charged for additional revisions. Finally, if you happen to be working with a marketing agency, you’re paying a healthy mark-up for them to outsource the work on your behalf.
Greater risk of plagiarism: This is real – more often than many realize. The good news is that many of the top writing platforms have integrated tools that scan the work of their writers for plagiarism. The increased risk, unfortunately, is more specific to individually contracted writers from LinkedIn, Upwork, or other unregulated sources. You can, however, leverage free online plagiarism detection tools from companies like Grammarly to scan work you’ve received from hired contractors.
Content today is an effective lead generator and sales driver for businesses. However, taking a decision on whether to go for custom content development by outsourcing it or keeping it in-house requires serious consideration.
You should ideally decide this based on target audience profile and individual business requirements. Whether it is in house, outsourced, or a mix of both that works most effectively for you, finding the right balance without making the quality of work suffer should be the priority.
That being said, both approaches have their own advantages and downsides. It is important to keep in mind that no single approach suits every company and hence identifying your content marketing needs with the final aim of delivering high quality, compelling, and exciting content to your audience can only give you the best results.
Featured image used by permission from Cheril Clarke
