It’s a race for content right now. Every brand is hustling to produce relevant content in the hopes to draw consumers into their funnel, and everyone’s trying to do it at lightning speed. Not to mention, everything’s getting a lot more specialized. One minute, you might need a TV spot, the next a retail experience, then a CRM campaign, a viral video, and so on. With many agencies specializing their offerings, it seems logical to forego outsourced content and hire an in-house team to churn and burn for you. And since in-house content seems so very de rigueur, why not?
Whether you like it or not, in-house studios are often influenced by internal biases. This leads to misinterpreting which types of content interest your target customer and wasted efforts. However, if you get your hands on a good agency, they’ll help point out areas that need improvement, offer new viewpoints, and spot missed opportunities — all of which are tough for an internal team to identify. Unless you have an enormous powerhouse brand (think: Google), you might not have the bandwidth or expertise to create the kind of in-house studio that can truly get the job done.
Even if you do, you still face the same risks. Remember that 2017 Kendall Jenner Pepsi fiasco (who can forget it)? It was created by their in-house team. We think this SNL reimagining sums up exactly what went wrong: no outside opinion. But that’s not the only reason you should consider outsourcing your content. Check it out:
It goes without saying, new minds bring new ideas. An agency will offer different perspectives that you haven’t seen simply because you’re too close to the brand and/or product.
When you hire in-house, you’re adding marketing professionals to your staff. That means adding salaries, benefits, office space, tech, etc. When you hire an agency, you get that as part of the deal. Also, you get a whole team of people working on your project, rather than one or two dedicated full-time employees.
This is what agencies do. They know their markets, know how to do their research, know what works, and know what doesn’t. (However, if they don’t have the case studies to back that up, look elsewhere). Bringing in an in-house person or two won’t necessarily replicate that experience — especially if it’s a small team.
Here’s where outsourced content can really do some heavy lifting. Media landscapes change on a daily basis. There’s always something new happening, and it’s an agency’s job to stay on top of these changes. They’re able to move nimbly and deftly through different media channels and can react as needed when it’s time to make a change.
If you’re still of the mind that creating quality content is easy, that’s because the brand’s you follow make it look that way. No doubt, there are a lot more moving parts behind the scenes. But if you’re ready to take your brand to the next level (or at least play catch up), hiring an outsourced agency could be the solution you’re looking for.