The essentials: What is a content agency and do you need one?
Unless you’ve been living a Rip Van Winkle existence the last decade or more, you know the importance of content marketing for competitive success.
But you can’t approach content marketing in a haphazard fashion. You have to give it thought, devise a strategy, and implement your strategy over the long term. Faithful follow through is where so many small business owners fall down.
This is where understanding the full implications of the answer to the “What is a content agency?” question is important. We’ll start our overview of what a contact agency is by discussing the services offered by the bigger players in the business.
Content agency services
A full-service contact agency can take care of virtually all aspects of your content marketing program. It would help you:
- Devise a strategy,
- Define keywords,
- Create content,
- Handle social media marketing,
- Do email marketing,
- Oversee website SEO, and more
Major content agencies may be part of a larger advertising agency. They may have in-house talent, including graphic designers, or they may work with contractors.
However, you may only need a small slice of those services. Smaller versions of the content agency specialize in more targeted areas. For example, you can find companies that will do your social media marketing for you, or create blog content.
Frankly, for the small business owner, maintaining some level of personal involvement in your content marketing program is essential. You may not have the time to do all of it, but you need to continue to express your personality and thoughts through your published content.
The small business advantage
The singular advantage small businesses have over larger operations is their ability to create almost personal relationships with their customers or clients. Donald Trump is a good example of this. Whether you love him or hate him, you must recognize that his Tweets are his personal expression. Compare this to other politicians who have their social media posts prepared by a committee of advisors – they never develop the relationships nor do their posts carry much weight.
A quick web search for “companies that write blogs” or “companies that do social media marketing” will give you smaller companies. They might be able to help you by providing additional content you can use along with what you create in-house.
Find a freelance professional
Another good alternative to the full-blown content agency is to find a freelancer who knows content creation and content marketing. A freelancer experienced in marketing and content creation can do as much or as little as you require. You can pick from a menu like this:
- Keyword research and recommendations,
- Blog writing,
- Social media posting,
- Newsletter creation,
- Editing, and
- Training on any of these tasks.
It’s not a bad idea to explore the question of what is a content agency and see what the cost would be. That will give you a quick idea of the “top end” in terms of services and costs. Then you can decide which services you really need so you can begin to find the right fit for your small business and your budget.