In the technology industry, developing the right service is a lot like being in a rock band and finally catching your big break.

You’ve done the market research, studied your customers and listened to their pain points. Now, you are confident you have developed one of the best services possible for your niche in the technology industry. With the right timing and marketing, your business is poised to increase significantly. You are convinced you’ve got a hit.

Is your marketing department ready? Does “the band” have the chops to go the distance?

When industry changes happen in the blink of an eye, your marketing team needs enough agility to respond. They must be able to tailor content marketing efforts to each situation, and remain nimble enough to respond quickly to consumer demands.
Your marketing team needs to:

• Create content that resonates with your audience.
• Optimize that content for search.
• Strategically distribute content for maximum visibility.
• Drive quality leads to your website.

Can your marketing department do all of that alone – and as quickly as the marketplace demands, for a reasonable cost?

If not, that’s OK. You’re in the same boat with a lot of other businesses. Here’s your solution: To remain as agile as possible, outsource your content writing.

“But wait!” you might be thinking. “How could a bunch of strangers help my marketing efforts stay agile?”

Very valid question. Lead singers probably ask a similar question when they’re asked to work with session musicians.

The feeling of apprehension is completely understandable. After all, no one knows your business the way your employees do, and no outside agency can fully comprehend the intimate day-to-day details of your organization. BUT – that level of intimacy also has its disadvantages:

Internal bias. When you REALLY love your company, your writing can become too promotional, which limits its value. An unbiased content creator is better at identifying challenges and opportunities in this regard.

Fixed headcount. Do you have the budget flexibility to bring on lots of new employees for seasonal efforts, then cut them loose when it’s over? Not many companies in the technology industry do. That means when a big effort is underway, you can only move as quickly as the number of people on staff you have helping out.

Time wasted on recruitment training. If you insist on bringing on new employees, you’re going to spend a lot of time and money trying to find them. When you do find them, you’ll then need to spend time training them.

Lacking skills. Does your marketing team include specialists with deep knowledge of SEO or web copywriting? Does anyone on your team know what common sense marketing is? If not, they will need to brush up on these skills first, which further delays the speed and quality of your efforts.

A better solution is to work with an outside agency that at the very least can supplement your team’s efforts and help your team collaborate on content smarter and more efficiently. Here are the advantages to outsourcing content:

Implement quickly. If you do everything in-house, you will save money, but your employees will need time to bring themselves up to speed on content marketing best practices and develop targeted content. With help from an agency, you can hit the ground running more quickly.

Spend money wisely. As previously stated, doing everything in-house will save money, but not long term. If you need to ramp up your content marketing in a hurry, it will cost more to hire in-house, then bring employees up to speed.

Create more content without headcount. With the flexibility of an agency, you can follow the ebb and flow of the tech industry without having to hire new team members, or lay them off when a big campaign is over.

Experiment wisely. An agency can try different content marketing methods on an experimental basis to help your business find what works and take advantage of the right trends. Further, the agency’s expertise will ensure you spend time and money on the right cutting-edge trends.

So how much should you spend?

How much you spend with an agency will depend on where your business is on the content marketing spectrum. Are you just getting your feet wet, or are you an old pro at implementing content marketing best practices across your organization, then measuring the results? An external agency can tailor its offerings to where you are on the content marketing spectrum and deliver measurable results for your money.

Outsourcing content to an agency doesn’t replace or undermine your employees. In fact, working with the right “session musicians” actually helps your “band” become the rock stars they truly are! Whether you’re just dipping your toe into content marketing waters or need help to keep an already sophisticated program more agile, the independent expertise of an agency offers the edge you need to remain agile.