Creative Agency VS In-House Employee
Creative Agency VS In-House Employee - What is the right fit for your business?
Are you looking to recruit a marketing and social media superstar? Take a minute to consider if an in-house employee is the right fit, or if you should instead, consider hiring a creative agency.
Did you know, that the cost of working with a premium boutique agency such as Melbourne Social Co is generally equal to, or sometimes even less than, that of a junior in-house employee?
Melbourne Social Co’s team of fifteen is made up of specialist digital marketers, brand strategists, content creators, social media managers, web developers and PR gurus. Our team is increasingly sought after by businesses seeking a dedicated digital employee – because we’re able to provide the creative skills and expertise of an entire team at rates comparable to a single employee.
In our experience, it's really difficult to find one employee who can cover all aspects of the marketing and social media space, from strategy, through to creating content (photography, videography and graphic design,) managing online communities, running ad campaigns, engaging influencers, analysing results and more. (If you do happen to find this person, hold on to them!)
As part of your monthly package with Melbourne Social Co, you gain access not only to our entire team and knowledge base, but to our industry connections, our software programs, our training platform, our studio and extensive props department and more. We can also extend our service to you well beyond the traditional 9-5 confines, meaning you have coverage across the clock on social media and your brands’ digital assets.
When you engage our team, you work closely with a dedicated Account Manager, who position themselves as an extension of your team. Coffee date? Count them in. A quick text message to run an idea past them? Fire away! Weekly phone catch-ups to discuss progress? Of course! Your Account Manager will get to know your business like it’s their own, and will become a passionate advocate for your brand.
Here at Melbourne Social Co, we don’t waste time. As a creative agency, we know how to work efficiently and productively, as every hour we work is accounted for. We’re used to working in a fast-paced environment, we buzz with creativity and we love to get results. We genuinely love building relationships with our clients, and enjoy nothing more than being a part of, and celebrating their successes.
Because you only pay for the work you commission, what you won’t find us doing on your time is; sitting behind a desk in your office from 9-5, scrolling online shopping sites, taking extended lunch breaks, calling in sick every month – the list goes on! (And yes of course we scroll online shopping sites and we love to lunch in our own time, we’re Melburnians after all!)
Almost convinced? We’d love to shout you a coffee and chat further about why a creative agency is the way to go - reach out to us and we’ll pencil it in.
Is bigger better when it comes to a marketing agency?
Do you believe boutique agencies create more authentic relationships with clients? If so, why?
Absolutely! One of the major perks of business’s working with a boutique agency is that you get a much more personalised experience with our Account Managers as we have a manageable client base so we can really dedicate our time and energy to each and every one of our clients.
At Melbourne Social Co, we pride ourselves on the close relationships we have with our clients – we want them to feel like we are just an extension of their team! This kind of relationship helps us to do our best work, as we’re always communicating with our clients we get to know their business inside out so we can produce content that hits their targets and that we know they’ll love!
Is bigger better when it comes to a marketing agency?
Not at all. In fact, I think it’s very much the opposite.
Working with a boutique agency has many benefits from offering a more personalised service that can be tailored to individual clients and their needs (no more one size fits all packages!), to being more cost effective. We also have an ‘all hands on deck’ approach, which allows senior members of our team to oversee all accounts big and small and lend their input and expertise.
What’s your opinion on boutique agency, versus, one in house employee?
Working with a boutique agency is great way to get the skills of 5 or so people, for the price that’s usually equal or less than a full-time junior employee’s annual salary. When we work on our client’s accounts, we combine the skills of our content creators, copywriters, community managers, Facebook ad experts and account managers so we always have an expert working on the different elements of our client’s campaigns. It’s rare to find an employee who is an expert in all of those areas!
In recent times, larger, more traditional marketing agencies have been seen to use identical and standard marketing approaches. Do you believe that boutique agencies offer a more innovative and unique approach?
Without the confines of a larger agency, a boutique agency can remove the red tape, so we can get creative, try new and interesting ideas without having to get sign-off from various senior staff or board members. This means we can produce out-of-the-box content for our clients that is different to all the other digital marketing content and strategies on the market. This is the best way to get your business to stand out from the rest and get some serious results!
What flexibility does a boutique marketing agency offer?
A whole lot! From our packages (we tailor them to suit you!), to deadlines, to your entire digital marketing strategy. We get that your business is different from any other, and we work with you to offer you a digital marketing service that best works for you.
Do you believe that boutique agencies offer a more streamlined and responsive approach?
Certainly. As we are juggling a lesser client base and have account managers dedicated to managing only a handful of clients at a time, we are always flexible and super responsive to our clients wants and needs.
What is your favourite part of working at a boutique marketing agency?
Our clients are so varied! We have the opportunity to work with clients big, medium and small so each client and each campaign is totally different. Keeps things interesting!
Want to pencil in some time with Rebekah and the rest of our team to chat about your creative requirements? Contact us today to schedule in a session with our team.
Teamwork makes for dream work
Our team here at Melbourne Social Co is made up of a group of amazing, supportive women (and a few men) all with unique skills. Anyone who’s been a part of a great team knows that it’s refreshing to be part of a fun, supportive group where it’s easy to get work done. Below we are detailing some reasons why teamwork makes dream work!
A team that gets along well is the ultimate dream team! There’s nothing worse than working in an environment where no one gets along – this extends to the work itself. If motivation and morale is low, the work done won’t be of the highest possible quality. Holding team building days and catch ups outside of work hours is a great way to build team spirit and foster friendships that transcend to the workplace.
If working as a team is one thing, it should be this – fun! It’s no surprise that having a laugh and sipping a couple of coffees with wonderful colleagues makes the work day that much better. Taking breaks throughout the day to have a quick chat or grab some lunch makes for a much productive day in the end. However, although being able to joke around and have fun is great, it’s important to remember to remain professional in the workplace.
Working together is easy peasy when the team is full of hard working, talented individuals with a mutual goal of creating amazing work! Teamwork really does make for dream work because ideas are bounced off one another and visions are supported, giving each team member the confidence to try new things and do incredible work!
A team with a diverse set of skills and strengths is a team like no other. Teams that work efficiently and effectively will be the best in the biz as they will deliver results on time and in line with expectations.
Want to know how our team of talented strategists, content creators, community mangers and social media experts could help your business get to the next level? Get in touch with us today for a consultation!
Thinking about hiring a digital agency? Read more about the benefits of working with a boutique digital marketing agency.
The Importance of a Digital Strategy
Being a digital marketing agency, it’s no secret we place great importance on digital strategy and planning. This week we're chatting with our Senior Creative Strategist, Michaela Skilney, who gives some insight into her approach to digital strategy and its significance.
- What challenges do you face when developing a digital strategy?
One of the biggest challenges I face when developing digital strategies for clients is reconciling what’s a reasonable and realistic outcome for a campaign, and what the client expects to achieve. It’s essential to set goals and aspire to reach particular objectives, however social media isn’t an exact science.
More often than not, clients are under the false illusion that an agency can guarantee what content will go viral and how many followers they can attract. The truth is, if an agency can guarantee those types of outcomes, they’ll be employing the likes of automated bots, which are completely at odds with all platform’s T&Cs (and I would be running in the opposite direction!)
What a digital strategy can guarantee is that your social media presence is the greatest reflection of your brand, your offering and what appeals to your audience.
- Does your approach differ client to client?
Every client, regardless of how similar their product, service or audience is, will have a unique set of goals, a unique promotional calendar and to be successful, unique selling points. It’s therefore impossible to adopt a one-size-fits-all-approach from client to client. It may be less efficient on paper this way, to view client’s in isolation, but that’s the difference between what you get with a boutique agency like ours versus a strategy template you can download online!
- In your opinion, is having a digital strategy as significant as a traditional marketing plan?
Regardless of what medium you’re working in – traditional or digital marketing – a strategy is essential to give your efforts a sense of purpose. Without strategic thought and planning prior to the commencement of a campaign, you’re essentially setting yourself up to fail. Without the right preparation, you find you’ll always be in reactive mode and constantly behind the 8-ball!
- When developing a digital strategy, what research is involved?
There’s a ton of research involved when developing a digital strategy, predominantly around target audiences and their digital user habits. Most of the time, clients know their brands intimately and can share the history of their business off the top of their heads. What they mightn’t know, where I come in, is who their current digital audience is, and whether that marries with who they want it to be. The purpose – and outcome – of any digital content, whether that be a social media post, a blog or an EDM (electronic direct mail), is that it will reach someone and be consumed. Research at the digital strategy phase allows for your content to be targeted and seen by those you want to engage.
- Where’s the best place to start when constructing a digital strategy?
In order to create a digital strategy – a plan of attack for a brand that truly speaks to who they are and who they want to be – I need to fully immerse myself in what they do so that the end result feels as though it’s been crafted in-house. This usually begins by meeting with key business stakeholders for a complete brain dump on their part (their offering, their customer, their strengths, their weaknesses, their current digital output, their digital likes and dislikes, their projected sales etc.) as well as understanding what pre-planned promotions, product launches and events are in place for the next 3-6 months. These steps are the foundation on which I build my strategies, so you could say they’re non-negotiable!
- Do you believe every business should have some sort of a digital plan?
Embracing all things digital can be overwhelming for some brands and business owners, but it’s unavoidable. Consumer habits have changed from bricks and mortar stores to online shopping, and information gathering shifting from magazines and catalogues to social media and blogs. If you want your brand to thrive, let alone be relevant, you need to have a digital presence – and what kind of presence you have all depends on a solid digital strategy.
Want to chat to Michaela and our team about putting together a bespoke digital strategy for your brand? Contact us: [email protected] to find out more.
