top of page
Writer's pictureCara Konowalchuk

As a Startup, Should You Choose DIY Marketing or Hire an Agency?

From making your own sourdough bread to home renovations, we get it, the DIY movement has taken the world by storm. But, taking on home projects or learning a new hobby for fun is very different from launching a successful and profitable marketing campaign. If you burn your bread, no big deal. But there is too much at stake when it comes to building a startup.


To raise capital and grow business, startups must have a strong marketing strategy established and the means to execute it well. Marketing, if done right, can earn investors, increase brand awareness, and help your business claim the title of industry pioneer.


Image of a team working on their computers

Here are 3 reasons you should consider hiring a marketing agency to grow your company:


1. ​​Agencies have established relationships


An agency will already have prime access to the media because it’s part of their job is to maintain mutually beneficial relationships with industry sources. It's much more likely that when an agency member reaches out to their media contact, they will get feedback because the source will recognize the email or phone number and trust that they have something valuable to share.


Getting in touch with the media from an email they don’t recognize is much more challenging and the message is likely to get lost. To help paint the picture, understand that 1 in 4 journalists receives over 100 pitches per week, with most ending up in the virtual trash due to irrelevance. A media contact of ours recently shared that they have approximately 30,000 unread emails in their inbox at any given time. When you work with an agency, you’re getting access to these professionals and their marketing channels for your business.


In addition, agencies have existing relationships with analysts, ad experts, content marketing pros, and design gurus that you can leverage. Having an agency will help your company make connections and increase your likelihood of getting in touch with the right people, faster. This ultimately saves you time and money, and helps build your brand more efficiently.


2. Teamwork improves efficiency


Marketing is a true team effort. No one person can have every skill necessary for a successful marketing campaign: strategy, copywriting, design, social media management, analytics, data tracking, and performance optimization.


Agencies have a team of professionals ready to tackle each element of a campaign right away. Collectively, the agency's knowledge covers all aspects of marketing, including different advertising channels, social media strategies, and SEO tactics that are going to get your content successfully resonating with your target audience.


Plus, working with a team of professionals from outside your organization offers a fresh perspective and new ideas to help your business grow. Have you ever felt stuck trying to get traction on your ads? Is your social media following stagnant instead of growing? It might be time to bring in an outsider's perspective on how you can change it up. Sometimes, the people closest to the project have the hardest time seeing the big picture.


A great team can take you a long way, so it's worth doing your due diligence to make sure the marketing agency you choose to hire is a good fit for you. If it's a good fit, you should feel like the agency isn’t just a group of people doing your work to get paid - but truly partners that are adding value to your organization, who care about the work you do, and want to see you succeed.


3. Agencies know the market & marketing trends


Startups are often doing their marketing on a time crunch and working within a limited budget. That's why it's even more important to make sure you are spending your resources wisely. An experienced marketing agency can help.


Professional advertising agencies have their thumb on the pulse of the latest trends in advertising. Other marketing agencies leverage their expertise of content marketing, social media, or website strategy. Rest assured, when you work with an agency, you can be confident that the marketing techniques the agency will use are trending in the industry and will get your unique offerings in front of the right people. Agencies will also understand which channels and mediums are going to work best for your particular products and offerings.


What makes marketing and advertising effective is knowing your target audience's likes, desires, behaviors, and objections inside and out. It’s an agency’s job to understand how to create and funnel leads through advertising, branding, and content strategies that are crafted to meet the viewers exactly where they are and convert them to quality business leads.


You get more bang for your buck because you can dedicate your time to growing your business instead of catching up with the latest marketing best practices and trends.


4. Still need convincing?


At Wheels Up Collective, we know that the task of hiring a marketing agency can be daunting, especially as a startup. How can you make sure the agency is a good fit for you? How can you be confident the money is worth it? Luckily, in today’s digital era, there are plenty of resources available to help you make an informed decision, as long as you’ve established clear goals and understand your needs. Once you have a short list of agencies established, be sure to explore the candidates in detail before making a commitment.


Want some help determining your needs? We’re standing by. Request your free

marketing assessment to get started.



Comments


bottom of page