Agency vs. Freelance : A Good Guideline for Developing a Content Creation Strategy

Today’s marketers have a challenge like no other. The limited resources available within reach, the cuts in budgets, limited personnel, and lack of knowledge comes to mind as the top constraints they have when producing engaging content for their marketing efforts. Producing web video, corporate video, infographic, catalogue, training or website materials is a full time job that not many companies embrace or budget for. If you also consider the short shelf live that content has nowadays, and the total amount of materials you need in order to fulfill demand generation, presentations, promotions, and events, you will realize how important is to have a plan and a budget for content creation.

That is the main reason why large and small companies are outsourcing their content creation to dedicated teams that can put the effort to come up with results within time and budgets. Instead of hiring dedicated writers, designers, producers, and project managers, companies opted for outsourcing to either agencies or freelancers who can tackle the tasks. Now, what are the pros and cons of either option? Before you take a decision on who will create your content, you must not only make sure you have the right partner, but also make sure whoever you hire can work with your budget and quality expectations.

Freelancers are usually less costly because they work from their own

spaces and you do not have to pay for their downtime. The cost of a freelancer varies and depends on their availability, location, and expertise in the subject. Agencies charge on a retainer fee or a commission based on the total cost. Usually large companies depend on an ad agency to create their content. Small and medium business owners are looking for the most affordable option and might have a list of freelancers who could help if available.

For large companies cost is usually not an issue. They hire top agencies who at the same time hire top talent with expertise, creativity and the know-how of the business. These experts study the client’s needs, and learn the details about their brand, image, market, customer base, tone and manner of the brand. They produce so much content for so many outlets that they become experts in the brand and produce highly consistent products. For small companies is difficult to find partners who know all the details of the brand and can execute flawlessly. Freelancers need to be managed constantly in order for them to become sort of an expert in a brand, and the learning curve could be steep and costly. Also their availability could be an issue since they serve a larger pool of clients and might be busy with other projects, and might not be able to attend your needs.

Still, what is the best option?

I will try to narrow down your

options and sources by examining how well they can manage time, how resourceful they are, what their availability is, their infrastructure and cost. Lets explore multiple scenarios.

Time is key for most marketers. Project timelines change, new projects pop up constantly, other projects get canceled at the last minute and flexibility is important when tallying cost. Freelancers tend to be less flexible and impatient when changes occur. They feel their time is money and will charge you for changes, cancellations, postponements, and at the end you might end up with a bill higher than expected.

Agencies that charge a fee are more flexible about last minute changes because they are paid the same amount based on a retainer fee. Their cost is usually high and fees are based on the need of the client throughout the year or term. You might need 1 writer, 1 account manager, 1 project manager, 2 designers, etc. All those resources are charged to your account no matter if you use them or if you dont.

​Cost is also key. Freelancers might cost less but be careful about extra charges when changing or adding to the scope. With fees peaking at $75 to $100 per hour, and art director could end up costing you a large amount of money for the work, plus the time you had to invest in managing the workflow, phone calls, and deliverables. Marketers with good project management skills will find this easy to do, depending on their workload. If you are not good at multitasking and managing projects, don’t try to hire a freelancer. You will pay the consequences later on. Building outlasting relationships with your freelance talent might not work that well, especially if the results are far from acceptable and communication is not flowing.

In regards to expertise in multiple areas, agencies tend to have an advantage. They have writers, producers, designers, project managers, account managers, and printers all under one roof. It would take lots of freelancers to do all the services that one agency can provide. In this case, I recommend you analyze your needs, your budget and plan your yearly content well in advance so you could do a good cost evaluation and comparison. Planning ahead of time could potentially be the most successful cost control technique.

When talking about cost, the balance could lean either way and it all depends on your company’s budget, amount of content needed, strategic and planning needs. For small and medium companies with a restricted marketing team, cost is highly important. They might have a small budget for content creation but they also might have last minute needs that could demand moving money away from planned activities, damaging the overall budget. Small and medium companies need partners that can understand and maximize their money.

Process and technology also is an important area. Freelancers might not keep their personal computers up to

date with the latest upgrades and software. Incompatibility could potentially be a deal breaker if one freelance starts a job, but another freelance has to complete it. Access to high speed internet could be an issue when uploading large files at the last minute for print or video. If your freelancer is traveling or working from home, these issues will deeply hurt your work relationship and will make you think twice before hiring them again. Agencies tend to have reliable infrastructure, up to date equipment, and are better with workflows, process and procedures. Agencies also have better long term planning and more strategic approaches to clients needs. Marketers should make sure their agencies have enough work to cover the fee, their planning teams have year round strategies, and avoid out of scope items that could cause the fee to spike from month to month.

A well structured content marketer should also consider the benefits of working with highly creative team of people. The synergy that could be created with a content marketing supplier could very well be the difference. Sparks fly when you have a team of creative people who care about your brand, come up with strategic creative ways to portray your services and elevate your branding and content to a new high. A new hybrid is now offering the best of both worlds. Kontent Kreators is the perfect example of a hybrid business that offers the best of both worlds.

Kontent Kreators offers a strategic alliance full of resources that can create that magical synergy, but can also maximize your budgets offering flexibility, breath of services, project management know-how and the strategic thinking your brand deserves. Built from the ground up by ex agency members, we know how to keep a balance between budgets, client service and strategic results.

Here we start with the premise that project management should be a crucial part of the creative machine. No matter if you are creating print collateral, video content or web design, Kontent Kreators includes a project manager as part of the hourly fee for all services. For example, if you are creating a brochure, the fee will indicate the amount of hours for design and that fee already includes the project manager as part of the team that will serve you. This allows you to concentrate in your tasks as a marketer, while knowing that your project is managed properly and deliverables will be ready as planned. Marketers appreciate this service because it is a highly reliable “trouble free” structure. Usually this represents up to 60% in savings of an agency cost and only a minimal amount over a freelancer. This structure also provides marketers a one stop resource pool because the project manager will take care of issues like designer availability, compatibility, scheduling, communication, other resources and cost management.

If you are looking for a reliable, cost effective, creative partner for your content creation, I suggest you take a look at Kontent Kreators and allow them to participate in the procurement of creative services in your company. They can partner with you to supply the most comprehensive services and content your company needs, without shattering your budget.

Cheers and let's start creating content in 2016!!

Robert Feliciano is an awarded Broadcast Production Manager and Content Creator who works for agencies like Saatchi, FCB and Lopez Negrete recently. He has worked with blue-chip companies in the US and internationally, and his clients include MillerCoors, Mazda, Bank of America, Walmart, Dell, Wendy’s and many other recognized brands. He is bilingual, works General and Hispanic markets, holds an MBA and is certified in SCM Scrum Master and CompTia Project+. He has consulted teams about international productions, tools, processes, technology adoption, etc. More at www.robertfelicianoproducer.com.