Digital Agency vs. Freelancer: Which One Should You Hire?
The benefits and drawbacks of working with a freelancer and a digital agency are discussed in this blog post. Also, it will assist you in deciding whether to work with a freelancer or digital agency.
Pros and cons of a digital agency and freelancer
Both hiring a digital marketing firm or a freelance marketer has benefits and drawbacks. For starters, while the rates for freelancers are less expensive than those of digital agencies, you benefit from the agency’s access to the aggregate knowledge of many digital marketers.
Digital firms, on the other hand, might have a variety of expertise on staff, but you don’t get to pick who you’ll work with. You get to choose the freelancer who will work with you based on their experience and degree of skill, as well as the professional who best understands your objectives.
The following are some key areas where digital agencies and independent contractors diverge:
- Skills and expertise
- Flexibility and structure
- Communication
- Network and resources
Digital agency vs. freelancer: Skills and expertise
Let’s examine how the advantages and disadvantages of a digital agency versus a freelancer are different first.
Freelancer
Pros: Professionals with experience who have worked for various companies generally operate as freelancers. They have various viewpoints on marketing and conducting business as a result. They typically possess specialised skill sets and industry knowledge. For instance, a former press release author in the travel and hospitality industry may later do freelance content writing for hotels and resorts.
Choose a freelancer who can meet your needs when hiring them. A freelancer with experience working in your field is another option.
Cons: While working with a freelancer, you are only able to draw upon their knowledge and experience. Also, although freelancers are multifaceted professionals, they frequently possess specialised knowledge of particular marketing techniques. Your ads can be created by a graphic designer, but they might not have copywriting experience.
But it’s hard to find independent contractors with a wide range of abilities. For a project needing a variety of abilities, you might need to hire more than one freelancer.
Digital agency
pros: Working with a team of marketers who are specialists in their professions when you hire a digital agency will make you feel as though you have an expanded marketing team.
Consider the scenario where you’re introducing a new product for your medical equipment company and require experience with pay-per-click (PPC) and search engine optimisation (SEO). A digital agency that provides both services is an option. Even full-service digital marketing organisations are an option.
Cons: While most digital agencies have experience in your niche, not all of them have. Although a digital firm may have some expertise working on marketing campaigns in your industry, not every team member may have that experience.
That’s not to imply you should avoid a digital agency that has no prior experience working in your industry, either. In fact, choosing a firm that hasn’t worked in your sector can result in the introduction of novel concepts. Choose a company that is eager to work with you to get outcomes while learning a new field.
Talk to the digital agency you hire about your needs, wants, and expectations. Although most digital firms do their clients’ research, it’s still a good idea to inform them on your company, industry, and rivals.
Digital agency vs. freelancer: Flexibility and structure
In order to manage several tasks at once, do you need the flexibility of a freelancer or the organised procedures of an agency? The advantages and disadvantages of a digital agency vs a freelancer in terms of structure and flexibility are as follows:
Freelancer
Pros: The flexibility of a freelancer’s schedule is one of the key benefits of hiring them. Later in the day, if you run into a problem or crisis on social media, you can rely on your freelancer to assist you in resolving it and developing a crisis communication strategy.
Cons: Freelancers work as a one-person team and may have several clients. Hence, even though they give you a flexible schedule, they can be balancing the needs and demands of several clients.
Digital agency
Pros: Digital agencies have built procedures and organisational frameworks. It is not to mean that they impose them without consulting their clients about the workflows.
Similar to freelancers, digital agencies also provide flexibility, but they do it while supporting your requirements with specific procedures. Digital agencies, as opposed to freelancers, are teams of professionals who may offer support as needed. Also, they are more likely to provide flexible payment options for your one-time assignments.
Cons: While an agency might provide you some freedom, it won’t be as responsive as a freelancer. One is that certain digital businesses might only permit you to modify the project specifications after paying a charge and setting a new deadline.
Also, when you collaborate with an agency, a group of digital marketers are part of your team. It may be more difficult to establish a consistent schedule with all of them than it would be with a single freelancer to begin a new job.
Also, digital agencies usually only work during regular business hours. If something goes wrong with your marketing during the weekend or throughout the night, you might not hear back from the team until the following day when they are in the office.
Digital agency vs. freelancer: Communication
Now let’s look at how freelancers and digital agencies differ in terms of communication with clients:
Freelancer
Pros: Because they strive to give exceptional service and deliverables to keep their customers and forge relationships, freelancers are typically effective communicators. To make sure you comprehend and that you and your partner are in agreement on your strategies, they will explain technical topics to you. Freelancers can interact more casually by using messaging services or chat.
Cons: Some independent contractors work from various locations and may be in a different time zone than you. Moreover, certain updates could get missed due to the less formal style of communication used by chat apps.
Freelancers typically use messaging applications to give new updates and comments on a campaign because they lack organised processes in place and possibly fewer resources than digital companies. Little nuances might easily be missed in extended chats when there are too many updates and messages to read through.
Digital agency
Pros: Client communication with digital agencies is frequently simplified and made easier for them. The project managers that agencies appoint to their clients serve as their exclusive point of contact for all issues.
A customer should communicate with the project manager if they need to brief an agency on a new project. The project manager completes the task on behalf of the team when it comes time for the agency to present a deliverable for their client’s review. As a result, businesses only need to communicate with one important individual.
When it is required or when larger projects demand that everyone on the team participate from the beginning and see the project through, project managers may include more team members.
Cons: While a project manager makes the process more efficient, some companies prefer to work directly with the digital marketer involved in their projects, such as the graphic designer developing their digital ads.
Digital agency vs. freelancer: Network and resources
This is a comparison of the networks and resources of various freelancers and digital agencies:
Freelancer
Pros: Freelancer If they’ve worked for a digital firm before, they may know other marketing experts that they may recommend to their contacts in the business world.
Cons: Because they work independently, freelancers invest in their technology and software, but they probably have fewer resources and tools than a digital firm. As a result, in comparison to organisations that have the resources to automate specific operations, they could complete some tasks more slowly and inefficiently.
For instance, data mining for a performance report may be simple for agencies with the right personnel and resources. While waiting to submit a report, independent contractors could conduct some manual effort downloading data from various sources.
Digital agency
Pros: As digital companies have time to network at seminars and training sessions, their marketers are always informed about the newest developments. Agencies have a large network of contacts thanks to their many connected workers. Additionally, they spend money on tools, programmes, and resources to increase productivity.
Cons: Because they have access to greater resources, digital firms frequently charge more than independent contractors.
Digital agency vs. freelancer.
Whom should you hire between Digital agency vs freelancer.Here are some tips to help you choose between a digital marketing agency vs. freelance marketer:
1. Identify what you need.
Do you require an extra pair of hands for a one-time task that solely calls for a particular skill set, like copywriting? Instead of signing a one-year contract with a marketing agency, you could choose to work with a freelancer.
You’re better off working with a full-service digital agency if you want to execute a long-term campaign and need the assistance of many experts, such as web developers and SEO experts. Your workflow is streamlined and you have a team of professionals working with you when you hire a digital marketing agency.
2. Confirm that a freelancer or company has experience working in your specialised industry.
Does the independent contractor or firm have prior experience working in your field or a relevant one?
Let’s imagine, for illustration, that you hire out heavy machinery. One of your potential contractors or organisations has experience working with large pieces of machinery. They are a strong prospect because it’s likely that they have experience in your sector. They presumably also know about your company!
3. Examine testimonials from previous or present clients.
By reading testimonials from their previous or present clients, you can learn more about possible digital companies and independent contractors. Learn about the working relationship with a possible contractor. Do they offer top-notch support? Do they answer politely?
4. Request their performance evaluations.
Ask agencies and independent contractors about the outcomes they’ve provided to their clients during your exploratory conversation. Did they generate sales and income from their digital marketing campaigns? Did they produce outcomes that boosted brand awareness and consideration if top-of-the-funnel initiatives were required to be run?