3 Ways Outsourced Content Creators Pave the Way for Marketing Success

Outsourcing content creation is the new norm. According to the B2B Content Marketing 2020 report from MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), around 84 percent of B2B marketers in the United States are already working with outside content creators, and 31 percent are outsourcing their content distribution.

It's a trend that's only picking up steam, but it begs the question: Why are marketers increasingly turning to outside experts for their content needs? We're taking a look at some of the reasons behind this trend, as well as sharing the top benefits of outsourcing content creation.

Outsourcing Lets You Flexibly Scale Content Creation

Content marketing teams are typically lean: Even within large organizations, it's rare to find more than five full-time employees dedicated content marketing, the MarketingProfs and CMI report noted. Relying on internal resources means asking already high-performing content marketing teams to squeeze extra deliverables onto their crowded plates. This makes it harder for them to meet deadlines, achieve content objectives, and ensure quality—all of which can negatively impact the brand and employee satisfaction.

It's essential to flexibly scale content production to accomplish your more ambitious goals and guarantee adherence to quality standards. Outsourcing content creation gives you the kind of agility you'd be hard-pressed to come up with when using solely internal resources. If you need to quickly increase content production to support a seasonal campaign or industry event, having an existing partnership in place means you've got the resources needed to get efforts moving stat.

Outsourcing also gives you the flexibility to scale production up or down as your business expands and contracts, letting you address rapidly changing business requirements without missing a beat and without causing disruption to existing marketing processes.

Image attribution: Anna Shvets on Pexels.

Content Partners Give You Access to Specialized Talent

Outsourcing content creation doesn't just help you keep up with production, it also gives you access to a larger pool of industry experts, practitioners, and influencers who lend authority and credibility to your content. Authenticity and audience trust are critical to content's success, so you'll want to have the right talent behind your brand's messaging.

In a 2019 survey by Demand Gen Report, 95 percent of B2B buyers said they prefer credible content from industry influencers. Working with a content partner gives you access to an infinite pool of highly qualified talent, allowing your brand to easily produce effective content at scale. If you wanted to hire a single person with multiple content specializations, it could be costly to bring them on board—not to mention, difficult to find someone who fits the bill.

Outsourcing eliminates the need to bring on a content unicorn, letting you instead give the right assignment to the right creative every time. This capability can be especially helpful with global content operations, as it can connect your brand with local specialists who possess intimate knowledge of the markets and audiences you want to engage.

By outsourcing content production to a trusted agency partner, your team can also save time on:

• content research and writing
• editorial review
• assignment creation and tracking
• contributor recruitment
• contributor payment and management

Outsourcing Content Creation Is Cost-Effective

All of these advantages are compelling, but let's get into what really matters: budget. Outsourcing content creation is incredibly cost-effective, particularly when compared to the costs of hiring and maintaining an in-house staff to carry out the same responsibilities. Freelance writers deliver comparable talent and expertise to that of full-time writers but cost about 33 percent less per hour.

For example, a full-time U.S.-based content writer with five to nine years of experience typically earns about $38 per hour, including benefits, according to Forbes. This hourly rate may even be a bit conservative since it doesn't include the extra time required to hire, train, and equip a full-time employee. By contrast, a U.S.-based freelance writer with the same level of experience earns an average of $25.41 per hour, according to Payscale. There are no additional overhead costs, and they can be activated almost immediately.

Working with a content partner is especially beneficial from a cost perspective as you scale production. Outsourcing allows you to negotiate competitive rates, offer repeat work at manageable rates, and accept multiple bids for services that fit your budget. This lets you access the right talent to execute your strategy when you need it, all with a more flexible financial investment.

Achieving Content Success by Outsourcing Creation

The benefits of outsourcing content creation are considerable. You can scale content production on demand without sacrificing quality or overtaxing your team. You can also access a massive talent pool on demand, ensuring your content is authoritative and credible at a time when audiences demand and expect it. Perhaps most importantly, you can tap these capabilities in a cost-effective way by partnering with a content agency, giving back precious time to your content team.

By calling on outside content creators, your team can focus their attention on strategizing for the future and making shifts to achieve already defined marketing goals. This approach gives your brand more bandwidth to capitalize on new opportunities and to assess content quality, ensuring everything that audiences see is always top tier.

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