Having an outsourced marketing team can help you grow your small marketing business especially with outsourced digital marketing.
Outsourcing your business’ marketing campaign helps you reduce costs and takes a lot off your plate. You can focus on other aspects of your business while digital marketing experts generate your leads and improve your brand awareness.
How to manage your outsourced marketing team.
According to a survey conducted by Clutch in 2019, 24% of businesses said outsourcing allowed them to manage more projects efficiently.
In addition, Deloitte’s 2020 Global Outsourcing Survey reported that cost reduction is the main drive for outsourcing.
Those are among the many benefits of outsourcing your marketing team.
Having an outsourced marketing team can help you grow your small marketing business. #marketing
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Outsourced Marketing
That said, you still have to put in a considerable amount of work to make sure your marketing campaign is successful. It’s not enough to farm out that aspect of your business to an outsourced marketing agency or freelancers.
Despite their experience, you know your business best and what you want to achieve. You have to understand how to manage team workload and delegate properly if you’re hiring a team of freelancers.
If you’re using an outsourced marketing agency, you should know how to pick the right firm and collaborate with them.
This article covers tips on managing digital marketing professionals, whether you’re using an agency or freelancers to outsource digital marketing.
If you’re using an outsourced marketing agency, you should know how to pick the right firm and collaborate with them. #marketing
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Tips on Managing Your Outsourced Marketing Team
Managing your outsourced digital marketers starts from the hiring process. First, you must do your due diligence to ensure you’re using the right people.
Evaluate everything—from your budget to what you want to achieve.
Looking for freelancers, look at that portfolio and client testimonials. Ask others in your niche who they have used successfully to help market their businesses.
It would also be a good idea to test their knowledge on different aspects of your marketing before you bring them in fully. Choose outsourced marketing professionals who are conversant with the channels and leads you’re targeting.
Make sure you pick the right people for your outsourced marketing needs.
Also, knowledge about your project management and communication resources are advantages you should not ignore.
When considering a marketing agency, look at their client portfolio to ensure they’re the right fit. Sometimes, a huge agency will mean your work will be handled generically, and you might not get results.
Next, watch out for firms with high turnovers, so you’re not hung out to dry in the middle of your project.
Sometimes, a huge agency will mean your work will be handled generically, and you might not get results. #marketing
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Create Defined Goals and Outline Clear Objectives
The first step in successfully managing your remote team is laying out what you want them to achieve in clear terms. Everyone has to understand where the project is headed and what’s required to get there.
From team goals to individual goals, you must ensure each remote worker knows precisely what they have to do. It would be best to set the team objectives before assigning tasks to individual workers.
Next, make sure the objectives are measurable. That means creating milestones and metrics. This way, you’re able to understand each person’s input and how far the team has gone at any given point.
It’s not enough to say you need to increase your leads and boost traffic—let them know by how much. Use specific numbers, KPIs, and metrics for your outsourced marketing team.
If you’re onboarding a marketing agency, you can iron out the fine details in the contract. Then, cooperate with them to identify and set achievable goals. It doesn’t end there. Stamp a timeframe on those goals and be clear about when you want things to happen – and how fast.
This way, you can easily schedule check-ins and project briefs to get updates and assurances that the objective will be achieved in time.
From team goals to individual goals, you must ensure each remote worker knows precisely what they have to do. #remotework
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Define Roles and Ensure There’s Adequate Synergy
One of the beauties of outsourcing is that you get to determine how you integrate your outsourced team into your business.
Keeping sensitive areas of your business closed off for security reasons is understandable. That said, you don’t want to hurt your marketing campaign as your team needs essential business data to make things work.
So, the first thing you should consider when defining roles is defining your team’s access.
It’s important everyone knows their role to work together.
Next, assign roles according to each team member’s strengths. It’s easy to know areas where freelancers excel. That’s because most of them are specialists, and their portfolios will give you insights into their skills.
It’s easier when you outsource digital marketing to an agency. All you have to do is lay out your objectives and collaborate with them. However, make sure there’s a healthy level of synergy between the agency and your in-house team in this case.
You can task a team member to liaise with them regularly. Make sure there’s a primary point of contact in the firm that you can always reach out to.
However, make sure there’s a healthy level of synergy between the agency and your in-house team in this case. #marketingagencies
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Draw a Hard Line on Micromanagement
One of the reasons you’re outsourcing your marketing campaign is to reduce your workload. Micromanaging your remote team defeats that purpose. Not only does it cause stress, but it also breeds mistrust among your workers and hinders their capacity to perform.
Make sure you’re not hung up on continuous check-ins that disrupt their workflow.
This is one of the reasons you have to hire the right professionals for the job. And when you do, trust them to execute it.
Your team will do better when you give them decision-making powers regarding their jobs. This way, you’ll cut through the red tape of always signing off on minor procedures, making things run smoothly.
You can arrange well-defined schedules for project briefs and task updates. But make sure you respect those meeting arrangements.
If you’re worried about no-call no-show excuses, employ employee monitoring solutions. For example, introduce them to your time-tracking application if you’re going to be paying them hourly. Also, ensure they understand the consequences of skirting their responsibilities.
It would also be a great idea to take regular feedback to understand how your team feels about your management. Making the process anonymous will allow them to express themselves without fear of retaliation.
You can arrange well-defined schedules for project briefs and task updates. #marketingteams
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Communicate With Your Outsourced Marketing Team
A virtual workplace comes with communication challenges that can break synergy and collaboration. The principles of communicating in a traditional work environment might not all apply here. So, you have to respect the reality of your arrangement when handling your outsourced marketing team.
Make sure you use the right communication tools and make them available to your workers. Keep those lines open, assuring them they can reach you anytime.
Be sure to communicate with your outsourced team in a way that makes it easy for all.
What’s more, diversifying your communication channels removes the tedium that comes with monotony. For example, Zoom fatigue is common when workers are inundated with constant video calls.
So, encourage them to use other channels like text and emails. Or try the old fashion phone call, I love hearing from people on the old phone!
What’s more, diversifying your communication channels removes the tedium that comes with monotony. #communication
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Provide Resources to Outsource Digital Marketing
Freelancers are known to be independent and equipped with all the tools they need to get any job done. This is one of the reasons why outsourced marketing tools are a great idea. You can save on providing basic resources such as laptop computers, data, and other allowances.
However, you still want to make sure your outsourced marketing team is set up to excel. For example, if you use certain in-house tools, such as data analytics and project management solutions, make sure they are available to your outsourced digital marketing team.
You should also train your remote workers to use these programs if they’re yet to learn the ropes.
Most marketing agencies already have every tool they need. All they’ll require from you is data. For example, a marketing campaign could include telling behind-the-scenes stories about your firm and conducting interviews with staff and customers.
Your job is to make sure the materials and data to put these together are available to your outsourced marketing team.
A marketing campaign could include telling behind-the-scenes stories about your firm and conducting interviews with staff and customers. #marketing
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Pay Them Well and On Time
With the ever-changing labor market today, you will find yourself in need of a well compensated and timely outsourced digital marketing team.
I know that when clients pay me early or before their deadline they’re pleased with my work so it only makes sense for them and me to stick around!
Therefore, if you want to keep your outsourcing partners happy and on-time, then pay them well. It’s that simple!
If you want to keep your outsourcing partners happy and on-time, then pay them well. #outsourcing
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Keep on Winning with Outsourced Digital Marketing
How you manage your marketing team also determines your campaign’s success. Use the tips above to create a winning management formula and keep improving it.
Remember to plan for the worst and keep contingencies in place so the project doesn’t stop for any reason. Members of your team may get sick, move or move on to new opportunities, as the great “reset” in labor is upon us.
Be ready to have others in your pipeline if needed!
Have you outsourced marketing for your blog or business? I’d love to hear about your experience with it here in the comments below.
