Let's file this one under "Shameless Self Promotion". This post is a pitch to get you to understand why a marketing agency can add real value to your business. We don't write a lot about our value. We spend more time talking about how to push your value out to the market.

The bottomline is we all need to be selling ourselves all the time. Many of us may feel uncomfortable talking about ourselves all the time. But really, the only shame is not doing this and in the end losing business because of it.

So if we have trouble doing it for ourselves, then I know you have trouble doing it as well.  And that's where we can really lend a hand by being your voice, ears and eyes. 

Here are 3 reasons why an agency may be a better choice for your business (small to mid-size businesses in particular) than hiring an in-house team to get things done:

1) You don't need to on-board, train, and manage an agency.

One of the most time consuming aspects of hiring a new employee is the process of bringing them into your company and having them understand their role. Some businesses spend months on the training process alone. Even after all that is done, you'll still need to spend time managing the employee and making sure they stay on task. With an agency, it's a whole other relationship. There is no on-boarding, training, or managing to deal with on your end (they won't even take up any office space) because that is handled internally by the agency's management team. This frees you up to do what you do best-run your business.

2) You'll save a lot of money.

One of the first questions business owners ask when trying to determine whether to hire an agency or an in-house team is, "What's the price difference?" You might be surprised to hear that an agency, over time, will be much less expensive. Here's how:

• You won't need to pay payroll taxes since they are not a W2 employee. They're a vendor.
• You won't need to pay benefits/healthcare costs.
• You won't have to pay for any of the expensive tools that are needed to properly run and track a marketing campaign.

If you're thinking that those are just minor expenses, you will also want to take into account that to get the experience and expertise of an agency you would need to hire premium employees. Here's the average salaries for key marketing roles...

ADVERTISING

• Marketing Manager-$120,000 per year
• Social Media Manager-$50,000 per year
• SEO Manager-$60,000 per year

On the flip side, a marketing company may only charge your small business anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 per month (estimated) depending on your needs.

3) You'll have access to a broad team of experts.

Right now, the job market is doing very well. That's great news for those looking for a job but not-so-great news for those who are hiring. Why? Competition is fierce and companies are willing to pay big bucks to retain top talent. If you're looking to hire an expert to manage your marketing campaigns, you'll need the budget to back it up. However, if you decide to hire an agency, you won't just have access to one expert, you'll have access to a team of experts. The number one benefit to hiring a marketing agency is that they have worked on similar campaigns in the past. This means they know what works and what doesn't especially if they work with clients in the same industry as yours.

In Summary

If hiring an agency is something you're interested in, be sure to do your due diligence. You'll want to make sure you know what questions to ask and what to look for in a digital marketing company to find the right one for your business.