Agency, freelancer or in-house person: which suits me?

When marketing stops fitting into the owner's spare hours, the doubt arrives: do I hire someone, call a freelancer or work with an agency? It is a good question, but the answer depends less on who is "better" and more on the work you have to deliver.

What each format does well

• Freelancer. Works well for a defined task and for someone who masters a single area: a website, a set of ads, video editing. It is flexible and the cost follows the work. The limit is depending on one person (holidays, availability) and having to coordinate when there are several.
• In-house person. Knows the business from the inside, is available every day and replies quickly. The limit is the fixed cost and the range: rarely does one person master brand, content, ads, website and numbers all at once.
• Agency. Brings several skills under one lead, gives continuity and arrives with tested processes. The limit is that it needs a good brief and some start-up time, and it is an outside supplier: it is not next door every day.

Four questions to decide

1. How much work is there per week, and is it regular? Constant work justifies someone dedicated; project work suits someone who comes and goes.
2. How many different skills are needed? If it is only copy, one specialist is enough. If it is strategy, design, ads and website, putting it under one lead saves you work.
3. How much time do you have to coordinate? Each extra person is one more to brief, review and pay. If you have no time, it helps if someone coordinates for you.
4. Do you need to know the business in detail, or an outside view? Whoever is inside knows the cases; whoever is outside sees what the insider no longer sees.

Combinations that tend to work

• An in-house person for the day to day and a one-off freelancer for what they cannot do.
• An agency for strategy and the foundations (brand, website, profiles) and an in-house person to maintain them.
• A freelancer per project, with a quarterly review of what is working.

What applies to any choice

• One lead on the company side, who approves and replies.
• Written goals, however simple: what you expect to see and when it is reviewed.
• Accounts and access in the company's name: website, domain, profiles, ads. Whoever works for you uses them, but they are yours.
• Simple reports that explain what was done and what changed.
• An easy exit. Being able to take the materials and continue with another format, without redoing everything.

We have already covered what to ask before hiring in Digital Marketing Agency in Porto: the SME guide. If you want to see how we work in Digital Marketing, the page explains it plainly.

A half-hour exercise

List the marketing tasks of a normal week. For each one, write three things: whether it is regular or occasional, whether it needs a good knowledge of the business and whether it needs a specialist. The regular ones that need knowledge of the business tend to work better in-house; the occasional ones that need a specialist, with someone from outside. What is left in the middle is for discussion.

In short

• Each format suits a situation: a defined task, the day to day, or several skills together.
• Four questions decide: volume, skills, time to coordinate and an outside view.
• Combining formats is common and works.
• Accounts and access always stay in the company's name.

Quick questions

Is an in-house person cheaper?

It depends on the volume. An in-house person is a fixed monthly cost; a freelancer or an agency is a cost tied to the work. Work out what you spend today on all the tasks, counting your own time too.

Can I change format later?

You can, as long as the accounts, files and access belong to the company and are documented. That is what makes switching simple.

What if I only have budget for one thing?

Start with what blocks you most. If it is lack of time, help with execution; if it is lack of direction, strategy first.