In-house digital versus freelance or agency

By Liniar’s Simone Sangha.

This is a topic that has crept up quite a lot in the past, and it seems many people have strong opinions on the matter: the way in which you build, host and manage your website.

There are definite pros and cons to both in-sourcing and outsourcing, so I thought I’d dissect these in this article to help you decide.

Let’s delve a little deeper into how each of the options may work (or not) for your business.

In-house

In-house means the marketing staff are directly employed by the company. This could cover a wide range of roles and responsibilities, from general digital to content creation and copywriting, graphic design, video, social media, and others depending on the size of your company.

Pros:

More control and autonomy of your own brand.

More reactive, helping to stick to deadlines more closely.

Know your business objectives better than anyone external could.

Cons:

It can be difficult to find the range of employees with enough specific skills – and even if you do, the workload may be too much work for one person or small group to handle.

Adds to your overall headcount and ongoing employment costs.

Freelance
Freelance usually means using an expert on a contract or ad-hoc basis. For example, you may wish to use a freelancer for an initial website build or need help on one-off projects.

Pros:

More cost-efficient and flexible than either of the other options.

Great for projects, and to gain unique perspectives.

Freelance beginners often have more time to get to know your brand well.

Cons:

A freelancer may not know your industry, leading to you having to provide more of the content yourself.

Some freelancers can take on more work than they have the capacity to do, especially in the beginning. This can lead to periods of missing deadlines and being difficult to get hold of.

Agency
An agency is composed of experts – usually specialists in particular disciplines, industries or sectors – giving you a wide pool of skills to draw from for both online and offline marketing.

Pros:

Access to experts and specialists in specific fields.

Helpful as an additional resource to marketing teams juggling multiple hats in-house.

Great for fresh ideas and highlighting the latest concepts.

Cons:

Ongoing commitment of a monthly retainer fee.

You will need to invest time to keep the agency updated and work closely with them, which can take time away from other projects.

I would always recommend doing due diligence on anyone you decide to work with, but apart from this, there is no right or wrong approach. Don’t forget, you can always choose a combination of the above to suit your business needs in a more tailored way.

Bonus tip. Start by looking at your marketing strategy and overall business objectives. This should give you an insight into what may work best for your company and help you determine what you need from your team.

Note: Simone has been writing our Digital Marketing column for more than two years but, sadly, this is her last Glass Times column. Simone is leaving the industry to develop her career in the software sector. Thank you Simone, and we wish you all the best for the future.