In my 13+ years in the digital space, I have had the opportunity to work both in-house, with regards to digital marketing, and also for an agency.
As of late, I am noticing more and more companies developing their internal digital marketing agency (a.k.a., in-house).
Regardless of if you’re developing your own agency or building one within a brand or corporation, there are some similar benefits across the board.
Here are eight reasons why you should start your own digital marketing agency.
1. Hiring the Right Talent
If you’re in charge of building an agency, whether you’re building an agency internally or externally, you have control over hiring the right talent for the right role.
Often in large corporations, people tend to get shuffled around and, over time, take on other roles they are not experts in.
If you’re lucky enough you build your team, then you have the great opportunity of hiring the right people for the right roles.
And if you’ve been in the digital marketing world for long enough to build your network, then you really have a great chance at hiring people in the industry you’ve already built relationships with and know their skillset.
2. Work Remotely Anywhere
Despite the current situation with regard to the pandemic, if you’re in the digital marketing world, you’re in one of the great industries that let you work remotely.
Even if you’re building a team within a corporation, I highly recommend that you consider building a team that can work successfully, virtually anywhere.
Investing in the right tools and building out a remote work culture will have huge benefits in the end.
A new survey showed that there has been a 47% increase in worker productivity as of 2020.
Additionally, there are huge amounts of other benefits to working remotely.
This point also can be echoed in the first point I made, as if you’re team is remote, you’re not limited to hiring talent in a certain geo-targeted area, leaving you finding the right talent anywhere.
3. Doing Work You Actually Love
If you’re in the world for digital marketing, then it may be safe to say you’re really passionate about what you’re doing.
In the many years, I’ve spoken at conferences and networked with like-minded people, you will notice that the digital marketing industry is full of very creative, passionate individuals who actually really like what they do for a living.
4. Building the Right Work Culture
This is probably one of the most important benefits, as building the right work culture is key to hiring and keeping the right talent.
Job satisfaction, employee morale, higher work performance, and low levels of stress are all benefits of a company that builds the right work culture.
Building a positive work culture will have huge benefits for you later on and will keep your employees loyal.
5. You Get to Pick the Industries You Like
If you’re building an external agency, then you’re likely to have experience in a certain vertical.
For example, my network knows that I primarily, for the majority of my career, have been focusing on the healthcare/wellness world.
Being in this industry for so long has given me the opportunity to know in-depth insights into things like rewards and engagement programs, provider marketing, and open enrollment.
Due to the extent of my experience being in this space, I tend to stay in this space and when I do work on the side, it tends to be in that area.
I love the industry, so if you’re going to build an agency I suggest that focusing on a select few industries and build your brand as an expert in those industries.
In doing so, you will grow your business consistently.
6. Creating Jobs for People
If it’s internal or external, the plus side is you’re needing people to do various tasks related to digital marketing.
If you’re lucky enough to be in charge of building a team or a company then you in fact are creating roles for people to fill.
Building out a digital marketing agency is far more productive and beneficial versus having only freelance individuals working for you.
The reason being is that these people won’t be working in siloes, but rather be part of a bigger team.
Additionally, when you’re creating jobs, you’re creating roles that require a certain talent.
Whether it’s SEM, SEO, social media, or content marketing, all of these individuals must work together in a cohesive manner in order to be extremely productive and successful.
7. Build Processes & Standard Operating Procedures You Know Are Successful
If you’re an expert in the digital space, within a certain industry, then you know the intricacies of that industry and know the best ways how to implement various tasks and processes.
Building your own agency or team gives you the opportunity to be at the forefront for spearheading this, thus making the day-to-day work execution more successful.
8. You Get to Be the Subject Matter Expert in Your Area
Finally, one of the reasons for starting your own digital marketing agency is that you get to do the work you like to do and that you’re an expert in.
There’s nothing better than being able to focus on the area of work you’re strong in.
On the flip side, you can hire people to do things you’re neither strong in nor interested in, and again build a strong team with subject-matter experts who excel in their own space.
Conclusion
If you do get the great opportunity to either build your own agency or grow one within a corporation, take note of what a great position you’re in.
Additionally, be warned it’s not for the faint of heart.
It will take long hours, tons of work, and in the very beginning, a few breaks.
But keep in mind that it will pay off at the end of the day and will bring in bigger opportunities down the road.
More Resources:
- 8 Project Management Tools for Scaling a Digital Marketing Agency
- 20 Essential Skills for Digital Marketers
- 4 Easy Steps to Mindful Digital Marketing
Image Credits
Featured Image: Created by author, October 2020
In-post Images: Canva
