Get a Contractor or In-house marketer for when you can’t DIY Graphic Design

At some point you will need to get a contractor or a team member to help promote your business. Marketing is a visual process and it is rare that a transaction occurs product sight unseen. One of the ways brands can stay on top of their game is to use great photography and cool videos. They use these to churn out the thousands or more posts they publish on their social platforms. Inbound marketing also requires visual investment which assists in higher conversions than text.

However, it is not always cost effective for your new or small business to have a photographer or videographer ready to capture some good angles and B-roll. Such services are costly and are often billed by the hour.

Graphic designs offer a great substitute for developing everyday content. You can can produce plenty of posts to keep your budget and brand top of mind with good design. The graphics may include pictures you take using a smartphone instead of a DSLR camera. Or they may be text with graphic art. The options are endless.

To do this, your small business may hire contractors or an in-house marketer who knows how to handle a graphic design platform.

There are 3 main options for this and each involved getting a contractor or a permanent helper.

1. Hire a graphic designer and social media manager duo

This combination is common among businesses that can afford to hire two positions. The marketer will look at her editorial calendar and determine what she needs. She will then tell the graphic designer what kind of creative art is expected. If photos are included, she will hand these over to him so he may manipulate them as necessary. Once complete, the marketer works on the caption and voila, a super branded post!

Pros of having a graphic designer work with a social media manager

• Each party excels at what they do best
• Higher quality of visuals not limited to basic, template designs or 2D designs
• You can let them handle the production work for you

Cons

• Requires a larger budget than some small businesses can manage
• Each party must be good at communicating and following instructions
• Good time management and structured process is necessary
• High level of teamwork and good working relationship required

2. A social media manager with design experience

This is the most common arrangement for new businesses. You can contract freelancers who DIY their own marketing and sub-contract their work.

These freelancers can be found on Fiverr, Upwork and similar gig economy platforms. Facebook and Instagram are also good places to find them or get referrals from friends.

When searching, know that there are many different titles that the person you need may use. Some titles are virtual assistant, social media design expert, social media marketer/manager, digital marketing manager/marketer. They may even use a platform specific title such as Instagram manager, Facebook manager and Canva designer.

The digital marketing space is full of overlapping duties such that two people may not do the same work. When hiring your marketer, ask whether they create the designs or use templates. Will they provide captions to go with the artwork?

Some will create, caption and schedule content for you. Others may expect you to do part of the work depending on their skills and your budget.

Also discuss who will pay for any stock photos and graphic design software or templates. In most cases, the client covers these costs. However, some marketers will have their own specialized subscriptions and add the cost to their service fee.

Pros of hiring a freelance social media manager

• They have experience doing this for themselves and may have worked with others in your industry already
• Some have a corporate background and will bring good work processes to your arrangement
• You can develop a lasting relationship with contractors from Instagram and Facebook
• You can ask them to handle your other marketing
• They are more affordable as they do not have overhead expenses such as payroll

Cons

If using templates, you must make sure they customize them to match your brand
Their style of work and communication may not be what you are used to
If hiring from Fiverr and Upwork, your relationship will begin and end with the transaction
Skill levels vary so you may have to go through a few before you find a permanent marketing partner

3. A Small marketing agency

Different sized agencies specialize in different marketing functions and as many platforms. When small, you will likely hire those created by freelancers like us for founder-operators like you. These agencies often develop when one or more freelancers partner or when a contractor hires from larger agencies.

Such agencies tend to have quick turnaround times and better customer service as they have less red tape and less bureaucracy than larger ones. They are often more affordable as they understand the plight of smaller businesses and tend to want to give back to the ones who gave them a start in life.

Pros of working with a marketing agency

• Agencies provide specialized services and can recommend or sub-contract reliable people for what they do not offer
• Small enough to provide personalized customer service but big enough to handle larger projects
• Can approve flexible payment and work schedules
• They provide extra services to maximize your marketing budget

Cons

• Some specialize only in one thing and you may need to hire and pay other subcontractors
• They may be more expensive than individual freelancers

Can you trust contractors more than in-house marketers?

This question is often why clients often ask for guarantees for marketing services. However, it is not an easily answered question.

Whether you bring in someone in-house or outsource your marketing you are taking a risk. A person working with you in the same office may still share your company secrets with someone else or make branding mistakes same as someone outside.

I trust contractors more as they rely on recommendations for future business. If they mess up my account I will not refer work to them. I may also leave a detailed review why it did not work out. I believe this is why most contractors are trustworthy. They operate in the service industry which is dependent on relationships and word of mouth. And no contractor can change negative reviews without much effort.

Tips when choosing a contractor for your graphic design work

1. Deal with any trust issues in the very beginning of your contract.
2. Be clear how much access they have to your internal processes and accounts.
3. Have them sign a non-disclosure agreement or a non-compete clause if they could become a competitor.
4. Make sure you set up some security measures such as a good password manager
5. Know how many people will have access to your account while they work on it.

A client of mine once had 4 other people gain access to her platform during the website development phase. She was under the impression she was working with an individual when she decided to get a contractor but he had a team. This is not a problem until you are doing a security audit. It is also a problem when clearing old access keys from your platform and do not know who is still on your team and who is no longer with you.

For this reason you need to be clear who gets access to your sensitive information. Practice safe habits such as changing passwords every few months. Always change them when a contractor leaves for extra security and peace of mind. This should be part of your administrative processes regardless of how tech savvy you are.

Do you really need someone to help you with your social media designs?

Marketing can be handled at every budget and skill level. You can DIY your graphic design with Photoshop or Canva. Or you can outsource or hire someone permanent.

Who you choose to go with depends on your needs, time available for interfacing with contractors, whether you want to be involved every step of the way or want a hands-off approach.

The size and capabilities of your current team will also help you decide who you need. If you are a solopreneur, hiring an agency will be a cost-saver in the long run. They will bring in the other team members you need.

If you have more time to manage your marketing or have some skills of your own, get a contractor who will do the heavy lifting. You can handle tasks like posting or taking your own photos. Gone are the days when you had to leave everything to the experts as you had no clue what was going on after you paid for a service.

Which approach do you prefer for your marketing? What’s stopping you from hiring a contractor for your social media management?