It’s a common growth-stage dilemma for most brands: do we contract an agency for our paid media, or concentrate our efforts in-house? Unfortunately, there’s no universal, black-and-white answer to this: if there was, this would be a very short blog.

The actual answer depends on your brand’s goals, the resources you have available, and the expertise at your disposal. It requires a lot of testing, trial and error, and patience, but once you find the right approach, the results will show.

Benefits of in-house paid media

In-house paid media is the approach of choice for brands all over the world. Why is it so popular, what’s needed for it to work, and what are some of the limitations you need to be aware of?

Deep brand knowledge

Going in-house with your paid media means turning to people who know your brand inside-out. From PPC specialists to content experts, their combined knowledge of your brand can’t be replicated by a third party.

Slicker internal comms

Internal communication channels are quicker than communicating externally, too. From Slack to in-person office chats, it’s easier for in-house people to bounce ideas off each other and refine strategies, which can help you get campaigns up and running quicker.

Full focus on one business

If you use a paid media agency, you’ll benefit from their expertise, but you’ll be one of many clients and won’t receive their full attention. In-house, you’ll be able to channel your efforts into your own strategy.

Limitations of in-house paid media

Of course, there are things you need to consider before opting for an in-house approach.

Firstly, there’s hiring costs. If you don’t have the specialists required for developing a paid media strategy, you’ll need to employ them, which can be costly.

This also relates to another potential limitation: skill gaps. It’s likely that your team will have gaps in their knowledge and while these can obviously be filled with training, that takes time, and it can delay the development and implementation of strategies.

Depending on the workload, and the allocation of responsibilities, your team can also be at risk of burnout. Leadership has a responsibility to prevent burnout by allocating tasks responsibly and setting realistic goals for any in-house media development strategies.

Benefits of a paid media agency

You could, of course, turn to the specialists. Paid media agencies are trusted to develop and drive campaigns of all sizes, using their expertise to deliver results for their clients. But why should you consider a specialist agency, and what can they do that you can’t?

Cross-platform and cross-industry expertise

Paid media professionals have honed their skills across different platforms and different industries; they have an excellent idea of what is likely to work and what isn’t. They’ll be able to play platforms off each other to maximum effect - like using social media for retargeting lapsed customers, for example.

Access to specialists

If you’ve chosen the right paid media agency, you’ll have access to specialists across the board. Once you and the agency are aligned on objectives and KPIs, these specialists can get to work immediately, whereas an in-house team might need to familiarise themselves with platforms and strategies.

Faster testing and optimisation

The agency will have tried and tested techniques for optimising and testing paid media strategies, which means more efficient processes and, hopefully, a faster route to the most effective campaigns.

Exposure to trends and platform changes

Any agency worth working with will be fully up to speed with industry trends and platform developments, such as Google algorithm updates and new social media rules - it’s literally their job. They’ll be better prepared to adapt strategies and campaigns, keeping your paid media moving instead of getting left behind.

Lower overheads than building a new team

We’ve mentioned hiring costs already; acquiring a full team of specialists for your business would cost serious money - much more than you can expect to pay experts from an agency. If budget is a key consideration, taking the third-party route will keep your overheads low.

Campaign and account management experience

Established agencies like RKH will have huge experience in managing accounts and campaigns for clients of all sizes, with different ambitions and different KPIs. From short-term local campaigns to major national strategies, top agencies are able to handle account management with no problem at all.

Fresh perspective

It can be difficult to fully evaluate your own work, which is why an external viewpoint can be invaluable. Looking at something with fresh eyes can spot opportunities or shortcomings that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

Ultimately, if you do decide to work with a paid media agency, it’s important that you gain a full understanding of what you can expect from them. They should be upfront about how they work, the approaches they’ll take, and why they’ve chosen those methods.

It pays to combine qualities

A ‘best of both worlds’ approach can often work very well. Merging your knowledge of your industry and your business with the expertise of a paid media agency can generate strong results.

This all depends on the adaptability of each party. Your paid marketing agency should feel like an extension of your own team, not a mysterious external entity that you never see. This makes comms easier, ideation more efficient, and issue resolution much swifter.

Summing up

As we said at the top of this article, there’s no universal answer to the question of “should I hire a marketing agency?” It boils down to your objectives and your resources. Before you stretch your budget for the services of an agency or decide to ignore that route altogether, you need to weigh up your options and speak to any agencies you’re considering.