DIY digital marketing vs the professional package – which is better for your startup?
Getting a startup business off the ground isn’t always easy, and it can sometimes feel like the burden will never ease up. Don’t worry, it will. But, initially, you need to put the time in during the early days to allow your brand to grow.
In our digital-based world, this means getting your digital marketing up and running as soon as possible to take advantage of its benefits and to allow your customer base, brand recognition, and profits to grow. But, for startups trying to pay off overheads with limited staff, is it better to take control of your digital marketing? Or, is it more useful to pay the professionals to do it for you? Let’s weigh up the pros and cons.
Is DIY digital marketing the best choice for your business?
Digital marketing is something you can do yourself, providing you have ample amounts of time. If you don’t, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to produce enough content to capture your audience or make your marketing strategy effective. If you have the time, there are many pros to doing it yourself.
The pros
Cost – This is the main reason people decide to handle their own digital marketing. Many of the tools needed to create and publish content for digital marketing are available for free. For example, it’s free to set up social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. There, you can post various types of content to reach your audience and gather attention. You can also cheaply create content yourself. You can write on Google Docs for free, and use free video editing software, or record podcasts from the comfort of your home. This means you don’t always need to pay an agency to complete your marketing. You can spend your money on other beneficial business endeavours.
Knowledge – You have valuable industry knowledge which you can use to make your digital marketing content compelling, informative, and original. These are all the things that consumers want today. Creating content may not be challenging because you’ll know the right places to find reliable stats and new trends to kickstart discussion. This could give you an edge when it comes to getting noticed online.
The cons
Technical knowledge – If anyone could do digital marketing, professional marketers would be out of business in an instant. But, due to the value they continually add to startups, they’re not. This is because of their specialist, technical knowledge in digital marketing. They have studied and gathered experience in the latest digital marketing techniques and strategies. Regularly posting content isn’t always enough to get your brand recognised on saturated social media sites and Google.
You need to know SEO strategies and keep up to date with Google’s changing algorithms. You need to know which sites to use to reach your target audience and the tone of voice to attract them. You’ll need their preferred content types, what strategy to use to make you stand out among your competitors, and how to measure whether you’re meeting targets.
Time-consuming – You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again: in business, time is money. This means your time should be spent doing things that are the most profitable for your company. If you’re not a professional, spending your time on digital marketing is not the most valuable investment you can make.
This is because, without the technical knowledge to back up your digital marketing, it won’t be as effective for lead generation or conversion. Nor will it benefit sales greatly which means less return on your investment. When you use professionals, you do have to pay, but the ROI will be much higher as you’ll receive market research, a detailed marketing strategy, the latest industry knowledge, and someone to carry this load. You won’t have to lift a finger.
The answer?
Like with most things, the answer to whether you should do your own digital marketing isn’t black and white. Sometimes, new startups aren’t in a position to pay for prolonged digital marketing. So, why not come to a compromise?
You can take classes in digital marketing, as an individual or a group, from digital marketing specialists which gives you the knowledge you need to make DIY digital marketing effective. This way, your investment continues to pay off for the lifetime of your business.
More Information
For more information on the latest in Digital Marketing, please go to, 2019 Digital Marketing Strategy that will keep you ahead of the competition
If you need a professional marketing company to steer your business in the right direction, get in touch with KUB today on 0333 050 9053 to see how our services will get you to the top. Alternatively, message us through the icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
