If you know my professional opinions at all, you know how much I hate outsourcing.
By now it’s a pretty common story: Lots of marketing agencies outsource their clients’ web designs. Instead of having professional designers on staff—ie doing it themselves—they offer a contract to a third party. And then they pass along the results—and the expense—to you.
Worse still, lots of so-called local “web designers” turn around and outsource their designs, too! What’s up with that?
Well, guess what. It’s not just web design. Marketing agencies of all sizes are outsourcing their social media content, too. And it’s still a terrible idea.
You know I never outsource my web designs. Here are five reasons why I don’t outsource social media either.
1.) The Best Social Media Content in 2023 Relies on Original Copy and Graphics.
Maybe back in the early days of social media 30 years ago, you could get away with reusing (or outright stealing) content.
But these days, social media moves too quickly. Everyone in the world is seeing so much content every second of every day that even good ideas get old fast.
Outsourced content makes your brand look stale.
2.) Outsourcing to a Third Party Inhibits Clear Communication.
When digital marketing agencies outsource to a third party, it creates an old-fashioned game of telephone.
You tell the agency one message. > The agency tells the third party another message. > The third party interprets that message in whatever way works best for them.
And you won’t know how well this third party understands your needs or your intent.
And then the game of telephone goes back: The third party sends their work to the agency. > The agency sends the work to you. > And then if you have notes, the game starts all over again as you give those notes to the agency, they give them to the third party and so on.
Now imagine this game for social media posts that have to go out three or four or seven days a week!
3.) You Don’t Know Who You’re Paying for Outsourced Content.
An agency that outsources its social media has found cheaper labor somewhere else. Where that labor is, and who is performing it, will always be a mystery to you.
In fact, you won’t even know how much that third party is being paid. The agency will simply charge you whatever they want, just so they can be a go-between. The third party could be getting pennies from your dollar.
4.) Social Media Content Relies on Precision.
The great part about social media is that it acts as an immediate conduit between you and your customers. You can get the message just right, and send it out at the exact right time, to talk to the people you want to talk to.
But the more people who are involved in your social media, the less precise it is. And that precision goes way down if there’s are giant barriers between you and the person doing the actual work.
When it comes to outsourced social media content creation, those barriers can include
- The lines of communication (as we illustrated above)
- Language
- Cultures
- Time zones
Not only do all these barriers inhibit the quality and accuracy of your content, but they cause delays in when that content can be posted. Delayed social media misses the whole point of social media!
5.) I Like Being in Control of My Own Products
Yeah, I’m a small business owner because I’m proud of what I do, and I want to sell my work directly to the people who need it. In fact, I’ll bet you feel the same way about the work your small business produces.
I don’t want to pass off someone else’s work as my own—especially if that work isn’t very good! And that goes for social media, too.
My boutique digital marketing agency churns out a lot of social media content for a number of my clients. It can be a lot of work, but I’m happy knowing that all of those posts are original content that represents exactly what my clients need, when they need it.
When you work with my boutique digital marketing agency, everything stays in-house. You see exactly what I’ve done, and if you need a change, you’re talking directly to the person who fixes it for you. My prices cover my time and expenses—that’s it.
