Some businesses are do-it-yourself by choice, but others are forced to be industrious by circumstance. Limited budgets and resources make it difficult for many businesses to outsource as much of the services they want. This can affect a wide range of functions, from accounting to payroll and so on. Many times, marketing also becomes a casualty.
It’s always ideal to have a professional marketing agency managing all of your various campaigns designed to generate business and revenue. And businesses also need to view marketing efforts not as an expense, but an investment that should turn a profit. If you’re running a good campaign, you should be generating more revenues than you’re spending on that marketing.
Still, some businesses simply don’t have the funds to pay for a comprehensive approach. When forced to choose between services–or to simply take it all upon themselves–those business leaders have to figure out what can be done in-house, and what simply isn’t possible without some professional help. Depending on your marketing goals, that can depend on the skills you have in-house and how well you understand digital marketing opportunities. Here’s an overview of cost-effective inbound campaigns, as well as whether or not you can handle these on your own.
Managing Your Social Media
There are billions of personal accounts set up across Facebook, Twitter and other major social networks. Not only is this a massive pool of consumers, but it’s also free to access by setting up a business account. Managing a company’s social media is considerably more complex than running your own social media profile, but if you’ve done your own personal account, you likely have the familiarity needed to handle at least a basic social campaign.
The keys to social media marketing aren’t only posting regularly and building a following, although those are important. Social content should be highly relevant to your audience and engage your base of followers while establishing credibility and trust. A professional agency will optimize these posts to get the best results, but when strapped for cash, a small business can do a decent job on their own.
For Email Campaigns, Use a Service
Email is a great way to connect with consumers and keep them informed, but managing email on your own can get messy. At best, it will be a time-consuming affair where you have to manually enter possibly hundreds of email addresses on your own. At worst, you’ll send the wrong emails at the wrong time, and to the wrong customers, while your target audience misses out.
Even if you try to manage email campaigns on your own, don’t pinch pennies when it comes to an email marketing service. These inexpensive services will automate a lot of steps for you, all while keeping your campaigns organized and effective. They’re more than worth the marginal cost.
Your Company Blog: To Write or Outsource?
Businesses need their own company blog to stay visible online, and to establish authority in their field. The challenge? Writing blogs is a business on its own, and most companies are in industries where writing is not a primary skill. Some businesses do try to write their own blog posts, and this usually ends up being a mistake: content is poorly written and riddled with errors, fails to make its point clearly, and struggles to maintain consumer interest.
If you have someone in your office that has strong writing skills and experience writing online, they might be able to manage your blog passably–at least in the short term. But the odds are likely that, by doing your blog in-house, you’ll only damage your reputation while failing to capitalize on this unique online opportunity. Outsourcing this service should be a high priority.
Of course, if you have the funds, it’s always smart to hand all of your inbound marketing over to a trusted professional agency. If you’re ready to get better results from your online campaigns, contact DBC Digital today.
