When it comes to marketing your business online, you can’t hope for success by tossing up a website and occasionally remembering to post on Facebook. Digital marketing campaigns are a huge animal with a lot of moving parts. Outsourcing some (or all) of your online marketing can be the difference between simply existing online and having a campaign that brings in qualified leads.
Here are just a few ways you’ll benefit from outsourcing:
- More time to focus on delivering quality to your customers
- Higher quality marketing efforts
- Access to new tools and trends
- Peace of mind knowing that your marketing is in expert hands
Once you decide that you’re ready to start outsourcing some of your online marketing campaign, your next step will be to figure out which tasks you are going to delegate first. There are a few things that you’ll want to keep in mind so that you can get the most bang for your buck.
Prioritize what areas you should outsource
It’s best to be strategic when figuring out what tasks to take off your plate first. You probably already have a good idea about what you want to outsource (things you don’t know how to do, for example), but that might not be the most effective place to start.
To pinpoint the ideal tasks to outsource, think about the kind of campaigns you are running, what you are great at, and what tasks have the highest impact on your bottom line.
Start With the Essentials
Make sure your site is optimized and offers a great user experience.
You should also check to make sure you aren’t missing any of the essentials. For example, is your website optimized for user experience and conversions? If the answer to either is no, then start with either a UX website audit or SEO expert.
Another huge area is knowing your target audience. Do you have a buyer persona or avatar of your ideal client? That’s going to affect the kind of messaging your marketing copy needs.
What kind of online marketing campaigns are you running?
Do you need a marketing consultant or strategist?
Different digital marketing campaigns require different tasks. Before you start outsourcing, it’s best to nail down the kind of campaign you’ll be running and break it down into each area of work. If you have no idea what kind of campaign to run or your first instinct is to say “all of them”, then the first person you hire should be a marketing consultant or strategist. They can help you learn what campaigns will suit your business the best.
Online marketing campaigns can include:
- Video marketing
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Paid advertising
- Sales Funnels
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Podcasts
After you identify which kind of campaign you’re running, break that campaign down into individual tasks. Ideally, you’ll want to hire an expert, you may find that you’re better off hiring a couple of different people within one campaign.
For instance, a sales funnel includes:
- Landing page copy
- Email copy
- Creation of your offer
- Landing page design
- Graphic design
- Technical set up with integrations
It may even include video production (landing pages video can convert 80% more than those without) and PPC ads to drive traffic. You may be able to find a freelancer who is both an expert at writing copy that converts and designing an engaging landing page, but the more services that a single person offers, the more likely they are a jack of all trades and a master of none.
You may have noticed that some of the tasks for a sales funnel campaign overlap with the other marketing campaigns. When you’ve found someone you like for one campaign, then you’ve got a head start for when you begin a related campaign as well.
What are you good at?
Areas of your online marketing campaign that you might not need to outsource are the areas that you are already good at. You may already be a video editor, so obviously you don’t need to hire one to produce video content for your campaigns. You may enjoy connecting with your audience on social media and have a knack for converting leads into sales there. In that case, you don’t need to outsource your social media management (though you may still want a graphic designer and someone to schedule your content).
However, keep in mind that being good at a marketing task means that you’re seeing results.
If you aren’t seeing results or if the task takes up too much of your time, you’re better off outsourcing it.
Impact Vs. Effort
A great way to determine what to outsource first is by looking at the levels of impact and effort for the tasks on your plate. Effort is how hard a task is and how long it takes you to complete, while impact is the level of direct results (sales and delivery) that the task can create.
For instance, the effort needed for graphic design will be different based on your skill level, but it’s going to have a low impact on your bottom line. It’s not something you want to leave out, but it’s likely not going to directly contribute to sales.
When you outsource online marketing campaigns the sweet spots are:
- Any high effort tasks
- Any low to medium impact tasks
Of course, this only works if those tasks don’t have to be directly handled by you. Please don’t try to outsource your team or client meetings. 😉
By now, you should have a pretty good idea of what you need to outsource for your digital marketing. The next step is finding experts who can take on the work you need done and get you the results you are looking for.
Where to find freelancers who can handle your online marketing campaigns
Throw a proverbial rock into digital space and you’ll hit a freelancer looking for work. Unfortunately, they may not be good at what they do, they may not be good to work with, or they may not be the right fit for your business. Let’s look at the pros and cons of the different ways you can find the best freelancers for your digital marketing needs.
Referrals
It’s entirely possible that you know a guy who knows a guy. If you’re in any Facebook groups for entrepreneurs, you’ve likely seen a dozen or so posts by someone asking for recommendations for a freelancer to help them.
Asking for referrals can get you a list of names quickly, but that’s the only real benefit. While you can find great freelancers this way, you’re going in blind if you don’t have a way to vet them. We’ve heard (and fell victim to) horror stories of freelancers that were hired off recommendation and then ghosted on the buyer or ruined the project they were hired to complete.
It’s also a possibility that the freelancer does great work. However, that doesn’t mean they are a great fit for you.
For example, if you own a med spa and the person that recommended them owns an auto shop, it’s possible that they don’t have any experience in your industry.
Hiring through recommendation can leave you with little recourse if things go poorly.
Freelancing Platforms
There are several websites where freelancers can create accounts and connect with businesses looking to hire. When you use a site like this, you have options if you have a bad experience with a freelancer.
These include sites like:
- Fiverr
- Upwork
- Textbroker
- 99 Designs
Freelancer sites work in different ways. Some you have to post a job brief and some you select from gigs that are offered (although you can get custom offers).
The benefit to using sites like these is that you have a better chance of finding and vetting someone for exactly what you need for a price that fits your budget.
It can be pretty easy to outsource all aspects of an online marketing campaign.
The downside to these sites is that there are so many freelancers to choose from and anyone can set up a freelancer account. Because there are so many choices, this increases the time it takes you to find who you’re looking for and can lead you to a bad hire if you aren’t vetting them properly.
Once you find who you are looking for, you need to make sure you set them (and yourself) up for success with their task.
What Information to Give Your Freelancer
Obviously, this changes depending on the task that you are outsourcing, but when it comes to digital marketing campaigns there is some obvious information that you need to pass along to your newly-hired freelancer.
It’s generally a good idea to send:
- Project brief
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the task (if you have one)
- Style and messaging guides for content and design
- Information on your business
- A breakdown of the product or service they will be marketing
- Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that you are tracking (if applicable)
What’s important here is that you communicate clearly with the freelancer.
Never assume that they are approaching things the same way as you. That’s an easy way to end up with something different from what you wanted.
One thing to keep in mind is to be very detailed. For example, which of these is more clear-cut?
“I need a blog written for my website.”
Or
“I need a 1,200-word blog written for my website. Here are links to past blogs that did well, so you can get an example of my voice and what my audience is looking for. I would like the topic to be on outsourcing online marketing campaigns and the keyword ‘Online marketing campaign’ should be sprinkled organically throughout. Please include links to my relevant service pages and include a call to action about a free strategy session. I would like a first draft by next Tuesday.”
There’s a pretty big difference there, right? Now, some of this may have already been covered if you hired a specific gig (many writing gigs specify the word count and timeline). But it’s always best to set clear expectations and give examples as often as you can.
How to track the results of online marketing campaigns that you’ve outsourced
Like all things digital marketing, you can’t outsource a task and then forget about it. It’s important to make sure your efforts are bringing in results, otherwise you know it’s time to make a change. Some outsourcing gigs may include reporting- this is especially true for items like PPC ads. However, the copywriter you hire for your website is not going to check if you’ve had an increase in leads.
Here are some examples of metrics you should be tracking (regardless of who has done the work):
- Website visitors
- How long do visitors stay on your site
- How many opt-ins to your free offer or email list
- How much engagement you have on a social media post
- How many people have clicked through to your site
- Video views
- How many new followers you have gotten
- Email open rate
- Cost per click on ads
- Search Rankings
- Leads
Data is the best way to see what works and what doesn’t. Keep in mind that with any new campaign, it may take a while for those results to grow, so don’t pull the plug on something right at the beginning.
Make sure you collect this data before your campaign starts so that you can see how things shift over time.
Outsource your Online Marketing Campaigns for the Best Results
Digital marketing can be overwhelming for startups and small businesses who aren’t ready to hire a marketing team in-house or enter a contract with a marketing agency.
Outsourcing part of the campaigns can be the sweet spot so that you don’t feel overwhelmed or commit to an expensive contract that you weren’t ready for.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, outsourcing could be the key. Download our free guide and learn how to scale your business with freelancers.
