The case for outsourcing content marketing at a time of supply chain disruption

Too busy? Don’t want to invest in-house? Here are 4 prime reasons organizations opt to outsource content marketing.  

No other lead generation tactic is more important to technology marketers than content assets. The new Gartner research — trade shows come in second place — shows the importance of paying heavy attention to how your organization positions itself online. If the Covid-19 repercussions left you no choice but to cut back on marketing or if you have been juggling more than ever, consider the case for outsourcing content marketing to stay competitive and excel.  

At a time when some of the biggest supply chain trade shows have been either canceled or postponed, count on content assets to grow in significance. Is your organization up to the task? 

In our work with both supply chain startups and multi-national corporations, we have noted a few returning reasons for outsourcing content marketing.  

Do you recognize yourself or your organization in any of the following? 

Outsourcing content marketing: 4 reasons organizations decide to seek outside help 

Too much to do 

When content marketing is the umpteenth task on an endless to-do list, the results will suffer. This scenario is particularly common among startups where everyone is wearing as many hats as possible in anticipation of the next round of funding. The haphazard approach to what is being published on social channels and on the blog does the company no favors and leaves the person in charge — frequently with limited marketing experience — feeling frustrated. Instead of letting keyword-optimized content carve out a brand niche and build website SEO, the effort goes nowhere although the will to succeed is strong.  

The alternative: Partner with a content marketing agency and turn the focus on your core expertise.  

No consistency 

The effectiveness of content marketing relies on consistency. But being consistent is a major challenge for supply chain companies, especially when trying to recover from months of unprecedented disruption. As we explained in this post, consistency feeds SEO. Let it slip, and you lose in the online search race. In this case, sudden trade show cancelations may have forced the in-house marketing team to a quick pivot, from executing the company marketing strategy to pouring all efforts into making trade show contingency plans. Add a product launch to the mix and chances are content production will come to a standstill.  

The alternative: Keep SEO humming and your online presence strong with an outsourced marketing team invested in your success.  

Desire to scale but costs are too high 

Needs can arise quickly. There may be a trend that a company wants to jump on or a sudden change in the business environment that warrants the need to scale up content marketing quickly. Several of our clients have sought out Fronetics because they lacked certain marketing capabilities and did not necessarily want or have the resources to make the investment in-house. That is particularly true under current circumstances when some organizations are battling budget constraints and disruption. If an organization wants to capitalize on video marketing, for instance, it can be both time-consuming and costly to train team members or go through a rigorous hiring process. 

The alternative: Leverage a team out outsourced content experts to fill the gap without adding fixed costs.  

Lack of analysis 

The motions of content marketing are repetitive — researching, strategizing, executing, analyzing, revising — but they are so for a reason. Even the most well-intentioned content strategy can fail when an organization does not act on analytics. But for busy organizations, it is not uncommon for those last pieces of the puzzle — analyzing and revising — to be left undone.  

What types of content worked well this quarter? How did the email messaging fare? What was the click-through-rate? During the past few months, when disruption ruled, it is hardly surprising if not every step was optimally performed. Yet, it can all the same be damaging to the overall success of the marketing effort if the metrics are allowed to go unnoticed for too long.  

The alternative: Let content count with an outsourced marketing team that constantly needs to prove ROI.  

Considering the significance of content assets, it pays to do it well. Is outsourcing content marketing right for you? 

Read more: 

• Key step to moving beyond survival mode: Revising B2B buyer personas
• Cancellations call for trade show contingency plans (It’s urgent)
• Covid-19 messaging strategy for supply chain companies: Get the basics right