If you go it alone and stay in house for advertising and social media keep these 3 Benefits in mind:
Benefit #1: You know your business and by extension, your market
You also know your current business plan for that year, that part of the year, your position in your industry as opposed to your competitors, etc. No one has to be brought up to speed, there doesn’t have to be downtime, and you have a clear idea of who is responsible for what and when. Basically, to be corny, no one knows you like you do.
Benefit #2: There will be (hopefully) no miscommunication
Or at the very least, everyone in house can meet quickly to solve any small missteps or misunderstandings. When you’re just starting out this can be pretty key, because no one wants to be set back at the beginning of any project.
Benefit #3: Location, location, location
Having everyone on your team being people you can see face to face, as well as being individuals you’ve known for an extended period of time is a major benefit in handling social media in house. You know your team, you know their skills, and you know their habits. There are other benefits to handling your own social media and advertising in house: you directly interface with your audience/customers, you hear your customers complaints as first-hand experience instead of having it travel down the grapevine, etc.
Of course there are also very real risks to handling social media and advertising in house.
Keep these 3 Risks in mind when you consider in house advertising and social media over choosing a dedicated Digital Advertising Agency:
Risk #1: Chances are the Digital Ad Agency is proven in advertising, and you are not
Unless you’re experienced with social media and digital advertising, you haven’t felt the difference between print and digital ads. Not to mention how social media interacts with advertising. A Digital Ad Agency dedicates all of their time, experience, and effort to helping business owners such as yourself. Chances are, yes, they have a proven track record of clients they’ve helped. If they’re successful enough they’ve even got partnerships and awards for their efforts.
Risk #2: Digital Ad Agencies know the quirks of social media and digital advertising, but do you?
Let’s be honest. You’re running a business which is your livelihood and taking up the vast majority of your time. Are you going to have the time to learn an entirely different medium of advertising, or if you’ve never worked in advertising, take on the advertising side of your business as well? Digital Ad Agencies are basically waiting for prospective business owners to help and to utilize their experience and effort to its greatest extent.
Risk #3: A Digital Ad Agency has an established Social and Digital presence and network, which takes time to build
You already know this: a successful business takes time to build, which comes from trust, consistency, and time. This is hard enough to do with a brick and mortar business, so imagine trying to get attention, gain trust, and being consistent in the digital world. Oh, and it’s all done through a computer or phone screen. Make no mistake, Digital Ad Agencies understand this and realize how difficult it can be; they exist to use this to your advantage.
There are also other risks involved in opting to do advertising and social media in house as opposed to a dedicated Digital Ad Agency doing the work for you: do you have the time in a work day to divide your energy, do you have the contacts and connections online to make the most of digital advertising, etc.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of whether or not you’ll handle digital advertising for your business by yourself, or you’ll seek the help of an agency.
We know of one that would be happy to help you today!