Even the biggest, multinational marketing department needs help, but with what activities, and when?

 

With the proliferation of DIY content marketing tools and tutorials, it’s tempting to bring everything in house – especially in big businesses like banks that have more staff and resources. However, with that rapid increase in content making ability, there’s also a huge increase in needed content itself. As industry leaders, you’ll still need outside help to keep up with demand and maintain your presence, as well as a high standard of quality and seamlessness in the content that you produce. 

This cheat sheet gives you some examples of the what and the when of outsourcing to a freelancer or agency help.

 

What to outsource:

Content that requires a lot of specialized equipment and training to produce, like videos, podcasts, animations, augmented reality, virtual reality… the list goes on. It’s more expensive to try and train up an in-house person or team without the experience – not to mention the specialized recording and editing equipment and software you need to produce high-quality video. 

One large financial institution did just that this past year with our production team: we produced a series of videos for them all across Canada and in our studio, meaning that their staff were freed from scheduling multiple dates and ferrying or renting locations and equipment (some that they might not know they needed).

Content for which brand guidelines are already well-established and defined. This is an easy one – outsource that content which you already have clear brand guidelines for. It takes some of the production load off of your in-house team’s plate, so that they can focus their brainpower on more specialized projects.

Strategy and execution for an unanticipated project. Whether it’s an end-of-Q4 spend or a new social network steals the affections of your biggest target demographic, bringing in a pinch-hitter like a consultant to help tackle the unexpected means that the other functions of your department can go on ticking.

When a client of ours found out that their web hosting provider for a dedicated microsite was shuttering at the end of the year, we were on hand to help them re-vision the new site, and work with their vendor to accomplish that vision.

Strategy for a new initiative across departments. In our own experience, being an outsider allowed for a neutral third perspective between two different departments involved on the same project, and helped our client do the best by the campaign.

 

When to outsource:

When you’re over capacity. It’s the obvious answer, but needs to be said. If your employees are working all hours just to stay above water, they’re not going to be very happy. Bring in outside help to share the load, and let your staff’s workload be challenging, not herculean.

During a departmental transition, like when there’s a new hire or someone has left for parental leave, to help ease the way until the department’s back on its feet.

To oversee junior staff when you don’t have the budget for a full-time manager. While an outsider can’t fulfill the HR side of things, a fractional staff member can still give professional advice and guidance, ensuring better work.

 

See yourself in any of these scenarios? If you’re looking for outside help for your next marketing initiative, contact MediaFace and get acquainted with a member of our team.

 

Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.