8 Reasons Why a Marketing Agency is a Better Choice Than a Freelancer
Agency or freelancer ? That's the question! And a tough nut to crack for most people who decide to invest in promoting their products or services online, and then decide to outsource the task.
Depending on what's most important to them, they'll undoubtedly find both pros and cons on each side. Some will base their choice on the price of the service, others on a comprehensive portfolio and numerous positive customer reviews, and still others on whether the service includes full service, from website creation and content to LinkedIn advertising.
You already know our opinion – the title of this post says it all. Want to know why? We encourage you to read the article. We present the eight most important reasons why, in our opinion, working with an agency is the better solution. All the reasons presented below stem from our experience.
Working as a team, in close cooperation with Google and with clients who have made different choices in their previous journeys, we are convinced that the agency is able to offer more for several simple reasons, and its strengths include:
(The rest of the article can be found below the form)
PEOPLE
The first and most important reason an agency has an advantage over a freelancer is the team of people who support them. Thanks to this staffing, in the event of illness or vacation of a client's representative, the campaign is always under the supervision of someone knowledgeable. Few clients would be happy with a project being left unattended or having to suspend operations during a specialist's absence.
What if a freelancer running a campaign for an online toy store planned a vacation right before Christmas? Human resources allow us to implement extensive campaigns. At Verseo, we've often run projects where, due to the campaign's size, we've engaged more than one specialist.
However, if you were to hand over such a task to a freelancer, there's a high probability they wouldn't be able to handle it – if only because there are only 24 hours in a day. Equally important, freelancers often don't have fixed working hours – they might prefer to work at night and spend the day resting. Most agencies, however, have fixed office hours.
Contact hours are specified at the time of signing contracts, including a maximum timeframe for clients to receive feedback. Even if the campaign manager is temporarily unavailable, the client can always contact someone.
TECHNOLOGY
A huge advantage of an agency is that it has a significantly broader technological base than a freelancer. Due to its greater resources, the agency can invest more in its development, automation, or simply expanding and improving the services it provides.
A perfect example of investing in technology is our proprietary optimization platform – Verseo Campaign Manager.
If Verseo were a freelance project, we certainly wouldn't be able to invest either the resources or the time into building and testing a solution that currently allows our clients to increase their revenues by an average of 32%.
COMPREHENSIVENESS OF SERVICES
A good marketing agency has specialists in various fields within its ranks. This allows them to offer clients a full package of services, such as promotion across multiple channels simultaneously. Of course, many freelancers will gladly build a website, optimize it for SEO, link it, and perhaps even run a Facebook ad.
Unfortunately, this approach—outsourcing various tasks to one person—often proves ineffective due to a lack of specialized knowledge and experience, and only a cursory understanding of the topic. At Verseo, we believe it's better to know your field thoroughly than to know a little about everything.
We all enjoy exchanging knowledge and experiences, but we have separate specialists in different fields – this allows each of us to deepen our specialist knowledge rather than learning everything by heart.
ACCESS TO NEW SOLUTIONS
Marketing agencies affiliated with Google at the highest levels of partnership have access to many solutions that have not yet reached smaller Google Ads account users.
Agency accounts are the first to benefit from new advertising formats, campaign types, and other features offered by Google. They also have access to a specialized support group and training led by experts working directly for the Mountain View giant. Therefore, an agency may prove to be able to offer significantly more than a freelancer.
TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE
An agency specialist working on a client's campaign has at least a few other people in his or her environment with whom he or she can discuss the campaign if necessary.
Whether you need help with a new industry (which your colleagues have certainly dealt with), need brainstorming to determine the best advertising targeting methods, or have a momentary creative hiccup while writing advertising copy, at an agency you can just say the word and someone will always help, advise, or listen.
Often, the agency is overseen by experts with many years of experience, people who have cut their teeth on online campaigns – just like Krzysiek and Mateusz, the fathers of Verseo, who have seen it all and are full of ideas and solutions.
QUALITY CONTROL
Some agencies currently have various quality control systems. At Verseo, newly created campaigns are submitted to a second specialist for review before launch. We also collaborate directly with Google to ensure quality control and campaign improvement, utilizing their recommendations and guidance.
All of this allows us to identify potential errors or suggest more interesting solutions. Larger agencies also have specialized audit departments whose job is to click through accounts and suggest new optimization solutions.
Equally important, agencies also ensure the quality of client contact and monitor client satisfaction with their collaboration. To this end, they send surveys, reports, and provide various forms of contact to gather as much feedback as possible.
Unfortunately, the freelancer doesn't have a colleague nearby who can look over the campaign if necessary. And the client won't be able to contact their manager if any issues arise.
NOT ALL FREELANCERS ARE EQUAL TO FREELANCERS
Choosing the right agency is incredibly difficult (here's some information on what to look for and why you should work with Verseo), but choosing a freelancer is a real challenge. Agency work is easier to verify, mainly due to the larger client base and available reviews.
Moreover, no reputable agency retains questionable specialists. In the case of freelancers, it's significantly more difficult to verify their skills or check their ratings. After all, not every client allows everyone to talk about themselves.
Additionally, it's important to remember that not every freelancer is an expert, or at least a specialist who has given up their full-time job for their own convenience. Students looking to supplement their budget and gain their first experience in the industry also often advertise as freelancers.
FORMALITIES
This is the last, but no less important, reason than the previous ones – a matter related to finances and formalities. Sometimes, freelancers don't pay VAT or don't run a business at all, performing commissioned tasks on the side.
In the case of an agency, however, there's no way for the assignment to be made informally, without a contract, or outside the law. Furthermore, an agency has a much longer lifespan – it won't just pack up and head to the Bieszczady Mountains or even further afield.
Summary of why an SEO agency is better
We hope the above arguments have shown you why it's worth working with an agency. Thanks to their structure, size, and broader capabilities, an agency can offer clients significantly more than a freelancer.
Of course, not every agency offers the same standards, just as not every freelancer is a worse choice. However, an agency has greater human and financial resources, as well as greater access to technology, knowledge, and new solutions. All of this can translate into better results in collaboration with the client.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- Choosing a marketing agency over a freelancer guarantees comprehensive service and greater development opportunities thanks to teamwork and extensive experience.
- An agency outperforms a freelancer thanks to a team of specialists ensuring continuous campaign support and an advanced technological base that allows for investments in development, automation and more effective marketing tools.
- A good marketing agency outperforms a freelancer thanks to a team of specialists offering comprehensive services and early access to new solutions and advertising tools, which increases the effectiveness of operations.
- At the agency, campaigns are supported by a team of specialists and quality control systems, which allows for faster detection of errors, implementation of better solutions, and ensuring constant contact with the client, something that a freelancer cannot guarantee on their own.
- Choosing a freelancer is more difficult than an agency because their skills, experience and reliability can be difficult to verify, and the formalities and stability of cooperation are not guaranteed as in the case of an agency.
