Content marketing: in an agency, with a freelancer or on your own

Where is the best place to order content marketing? What challenges can you face when creating a content marketing strategy?

Different directions and types of content marketing are not just buzzwords: they are real ways to make a brand known and attract new customers. People are tired of intrusive advertising, but they love articles and posts that fully answer the questions they are interested in. They are more likely to choose a company that gave them something useful and enjoyable than one that persistently advertised superiority in the market and exceptional qualifications.

It is expected that more and more businessmen are turning to content marketing. And the first question: how and where to order it: from a freelancer, at an agency, or try to write articles on your own?

Promotion and content marketing on your own: is one expertise enough?

Few people know a company better than an employee who participates in production and communicates with customers. But if he writes, there will be no time left for direct duties. And, unfortunately, not all experts are able to talk about their industry in a fascinating way, especially in the language of the “user” and in his interests. The hairdresser’s clients are not too interested in the subtleties of dyeing technology. Another thing is more important: to see ideas and look forward to the joy of a future change of image, to know that everything will be comfortable and safe, to feel trust in this particular salon.

Besides, a content marketing strategy is more than just “let’s write copy”. Any free employee can write news to the company blog. Perhaps old customers will look into this section of the site and find something useful for themselves. But this is far from the concept of content marketing.

To promote through content marketing, to attract new customers and increase brand trust, you need a competent marketer. He will take on several tasks at once:

• Analysis of the target audience: its problems, desires, delusions, “habitat”.
• Selecting the right type of content – articles for your own blog and the media differ a lot, as do texts for Zen and Facebook. What is good for Odnoklassniki is inappropriate on Instagram.
• Collecting information, writing texts, designing, shooting videos or finding contractors for all these tasks.
• Combining content marketing and SEO: selection of search phrases, competent use of them in materials.

Related material: SEO and content marketing: SEO and content marketing: 7 steps for developing a content strategy – how to get customers from search engines

Content marketing tools and freelancers: are there human orchestras?

The Internet is full of complaints about illiterate, disappearing freelancers: their electricity and the Internet are constantly turned off, all relatives and their beloved hamster get sick in turn. To avoid surprises, you should look for an author by recommendation or, at worst, review dozens of questionnaires with reviews and portfolios.

Yes, there are freelancers on the exchanges who are a pleasure to work with. Everyone needs them. And of course, they will be constantly invited by other companies, perhaps with better conditions and budgets. The resources of one person are limited, it is possible that after several months of work, he will have to choose between your project and other proposals.

A freelancer is hired for a one-time, narrow task, such as when a single article is needed. If you need complex content marketing on the site and beyond (articles with distribution, videos, illustrations, landing pages with design), you will have to look for and bring several people up to date at once.

Related material: Where to find a good copywriter: 5 ways

Advertising and agency content marketing: what do you need besides content?

There are a lot of agencies offering this service, and the price tags vary many times. It is important that authors do not create texts for the sake of texts, but are aware of the goals of content marketing. Customers want to read and watch something useful and exciting, this arouses interest in the brand without the flair of “advertising”. All old and new methods of content marketing serve this: case descriptions, mailing letters and white papers, blog and media publications, and others.

Let’s name the features of cooperation with agencies.

Content+Management. The agency not only builds promotion strategies in content marketing, but also takes on all managerial tasks. If the freelancer failed or disappeared, the customer has to choose a new one and set him a task. Agencies have specialists in-house and outsourced, and they know how to attract new ones. If one author falls ill, quits or does not fit, the manager will pick up his colleague without missing deadlines.

If you want to join the team of Exiterra.com Digital Agency authors, then click here → We invite authors

Not a solo, but an orchestra. Content marketing tools are not only texts. Often you need illustrations, videos, design, and the services of a layout designer who will beautifully arrange all this on the site. When working with an agency, you will tell the manager about your wishes: and finding the right performers will be his task.

Large scale. When successful, content marketing and advertising often scale up, requiring more and more materials. It is easy for a profile agency to attract new copywriters and designers, it is much more difficult for a company from another field to find and evaluate such staff.

Related material: Content marketing and content creation system in a company: 12 recommendations for maintaining a corporate blog and VK group

It is often easier to conclude a formal contract with a company than with a freelancer. It is unlikely to hide in the prepaid fog, as unscrupulous inhabitants of the exchanges do. But no one is immune from incompetent contractors. Some guarantee of quality is the experience and portfolio of the company.

If you want to get acquainted with the cases and principles of work of the Exiterra agency, write to Alexander in the online form or call us at the numbers listed at the top of the page.

Author: Exiterra.com Digital Agency