If you’re looking for advice on how to market your business online, finding the right digital marketing expert is essential. But with so many freelancers and agencies out there, it can be hard to know who you should be working with to get the best return on your investment. In this blog, we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of working with a digital marketing agency compared to hiring freelancers.

Digital marketing agency vs. freelancer – what’s the difference?

If you’re deciding between working with a digital marketing agency or hiring freelancers, it is important to be aware of the differences between the two.

A freelancer is an individual who works independently on a self-employed basis, usually working in a specific niche such as content writing or graphic design. In the UK, the number of freelance workers has increased by almost 50% in the last 15 years.

A digital marketing agency, on the other hand, is a team of experts who work to bolster their client’s reputation and sales online, using a range of different techniques. Despite the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital marketing spending continues to rise year-on-year in the UK, as businesses rush to stand out in an increasingly crowded online space.

The cost

Working with a freelancer is likely to be (at least initially) cheaper when compared to an agency. After all, a freelancer is just one person and can undercut a lot of costs that an agency might have, such as paying employees. As a business owner, you are often forced to consider the ‘bottom line’, and if a freelancer is cheaper than an agency, it can seem like a simple choice.

However, cheaper isn’t always better. As we will discuss below, investing in a digital marketing agency is often more cost effective in the long term as well as providing better return on investment for your business.

The benefits of working with a digital marketing agency

Access to expertise

Working with just one person limits you to a single perspective, whereas a digital marketing agency gives you access to a range of different experts with complimentary skills, who can use their combined knowledge to help you achieve your business goals. Agencies also work on a much higher number of projects than freelancers, and can bring their collective experiences to help you to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to your digital marketing strategy.

At Social Chameleon, our team of expert marketeers bring experience from a range of professional backgrounds and have worked across many industries including wellness, travel, legal and financial services.

Speed and efficiency

Freelancers tend to be self-employed individuals, and are often juggling a range of different clients or other work commitments which means that they have less time to dedicate to their clients and work is likely to take longer; after all, there are only so many hours in a day!

Agencies on the other hand, have more time to dedicate to your business and can deliver results much faster as the work is spread across a number of different people.

Working with an agency rather than a number of different freelancers is also much more efficient; not only will you save time, but the work is likely to be of a higher standard as the people providing different services at the same agency will be able to communicate more efficiently.

Ongoing support

The flexible nature of a freelancer means that they may suddenly no longer be able to support your business, either due to having too much work on or a change of circumstances. This can result in you feeling back at square one, and finding someone else to redistribute the work to can be a time-consuming process.

When you work with a digital marketing agency, you enter into a more formal agreement, with contracts which ensure that the agreed work will get done, despite potential issues such as staff illness or people leaving. At Social Chameleon, we ensure that you are kept in the loop with regular meetings and ongoing support, but that you can also focus on other areas of your business, safe in the knowledge that your digital marketing strategy is being taken care of.

Range of services

By choosing to work with a digital marketing agency, you can access a wider range of services and a team who will work holistically to create a digital marketing strategy that suits you.

Generally, a freelancer will have a specific skill in a certain area, and will not be able to provide all the services you might need for a successful digital marketing strategy. However, working with a number of freelancers who are skilled in different areas can also be costly and time consuming.

A digital marketing agency, on the other hand, works like a fully functioning marketing department, with people who are skilled in different areas of digital marketing.

At Social Chameleon, we are proud to be a full service digital marketing agency in London, with a range of services including SEO, social media management, content marketing and more.

Why choose us as your digital marketing agency

As a digital marketing agency in London, we understand the demands of busy city life, and that, as a business owner you may be juggling many things at once. We endeavour to make our digital marketing agency feel like an extension of your in-house team, and will work with you to develop a digital marketing strategy that helps you to achieve your goals.

Get in touch today at contact@socialchameleon.com or by filling out the enquiry form on our contact page.