Have you been thinking of hiring an ethical brand marketing agency or a freelancer to support your brand’s marketing needs but not really know which one would be more suitable for your needs? Digital marketing strategies are often complex and long-term, and therefore it is important to hire a professional to support these strategies. With up-to-date marketing knowledge, experience, and the right approach, your brand has a great chance to grow and reach its goals. However, before hiring anyone to support your business, it is good to think whether an ethical brand marketing agency or a freelancer is better for your needs. In this article, we will be diving into the differences between an agency and a freelancer and providing you insights to help you decide.
Ethical brand marketing agency
An ethical brand marketing agency is a marketing agency specializing in working with ethical brands. These agencies know how to support your values and have the knowledge of how to work while respecting them. If you have a business that is focused on ethically made products or services, it is more than recommended to look for an agency that is specialized in these values.
Advantages of hiring an ethical brand marketing agency
When hiring an ethical brand marketing agency to support your needs, you will get a whole team of professionals with skills and experience to help you with your marketing strategy. There are several marketers with great skills to help you in the right direction. Marketers working in an agency are often required to have a certain set of skills to keep the agency’s quality competitive and therefore when hiring an agency, you know you will get a high-quality service. The advantage of hiring an agency over a freelancer is that agencies have more time and money to execute larger, long-term projects which require more time and tools. A marketing agency also has room to be more flexible as they do have more employees working at the same time, therefore they are often more flexible to work with short deadlines. If you are looking for long-term support, hiring an ethical brand marketing agency is a great investment. Hiring an agency for a longer period, taking care of multiple marketing-related factors is also more cost-efficient than doing the same with a freelancer. Agencies have their monthly fees you pay to cover all the marketing services.
Disadvantages of hiring an ethical brand marketing agency
Agencies often have multiple clients at the same time and because of the number of employees working in the agency, it is possible for them to support more than one client at once. However, it is good to remember that because agencies do have more clients needing attention at the same time, someone else’s project might be prioritized over yours.
Freelancer
A freelancer is an independent contractor, who provides their own services apart from any agency. Most often, freelancers have a strong educational background and they have been working for larger companies in the past where they have gained their professional knowledge.
Advantages of hiring a freelancer
Freelancers often have great skills to provide you certain marketing services and it is easy to find one for your needs online. Hiring a freelancer is a great option if you have certain aspects that need attention but your whole marketing strategy does not need improving. Freelancers are often flexible on their working hours as they normally don’t work office hours. They might be able to help you on weekends and holidays when the agencies are closed. If you are looking for someone to take care of a few specific tasks and not looking for a long-term relationship with an agency, hiring a freelancer is also a more cost-efficient option. This way you only pay for the hours the freelancer works for you. It is, however, good to be aware of the fact that not all freelancers are cheap. Freelancers are often professionals with lots of skills and experience and have high rates. Hiring a freelancer with a high-quality portfolio often guarantees great results. Freelancers in general aim for high results as they do want you to recommend them to others after the contract with you ends.
Disadvantages of hiring a freelancer
If you need a lot of support in all aspects of your marketing strategy, it might be challenging to find a freelancer who has a wide range of skills and all the needed tools to provide you the needed growth. They do work alone and therefore, they are not able to take the same workload as agencies. If you are looking for a marketer to take care of a single project, a freelancer might be the best choice but if you are looking for support for more and more complex projects, it is better to think about hiring an agency.
Conclusion: Ethical brand marketing agency or freelancer?
Before making the final decision whether to hire an agency or a freelancer, you should always think about what you need from them. There isn’t an answer to which one of these is better than the other, it truly depends on your needs and wants. For people looking for a long-term relationship with a high workload, hiring an agency is often a better option. For people who are looking for support on a single project, hiring a freelancer might be better instead. Go through your needs and match them with both options and see which one makes more sense for your brand, often this is the right choice.
Also read our article “When Should You Hire A Digital Marketing Agency For Your Sustainable Brand?”
Author: Oona Yletyinen