The Communication Dilemmas: How Do I Build Great Content Marketing Capabilities?

June 25, 2021 Rato Communications

No Comments

Every marketing and communication professional has faced these dilemmas when building content marketing specialist skills for their organization or team: In-house or Outsourced? Agency or Freelancer?

We created this story and offer a possible solution here:

Let’s start with defining what is ‘Great Content’?

The 3 Hallmarks of ‘Great Content’ are:

It provides value.
It is aligned to an objective (reader or creator-led).
It is unique.

Also…it is typo-free and grammatically correct.

#1 Adds Value:

Great content tends to get found by the reader, just when they need it. It almost always offers them something that they want…without being preachy or pushing an agenda. It either informs, engages, or entertains.

#2 Objective Aligned:

Let’s be honest, every piece of content that is created today has an objective, even if not overtly visible. From the creator’s perspective, it needs to meet a specific business or individual goal. From the reader’s perspective, it needs to answer a specific question, have something new, or solve a problem.

#3 Unique:

Just like the individual creating it, every piece of content needs to be unique. Originality is debatable, so we will stick to unique. The content creator can take an old idea or concept and give it a new perspective. With due attribution to the original creator.

Now let’s examine the dilemmas…

In-house Or Outsourced?

It is easier to manage the process in-house. You have an understanding of the business and possess the skills. It can get time-consuming.
On the other hand, Outsourcing frees up your time. But the business perspective might get lost.
You have complete control and visibility of the deliverables and timelines in-house. However, you might have limited resources to create additional campaigns.
Outsourcing helps bring in newer ideas and fresher perspectives. But, budgets can be a constraint.

Agency Or Freelancer?

Agencies are easy to work with and credible. Can be expensive and tend to re-hash the same ideas across clients.
Freelancers bring in new perspectives. May not have the same work ethic. Managing them can become tedious.
Agencies can help deliver multiple projects together. But they may not always understand the business objective.
Freelancers can provide deep insight into specific as well as niche topics. Might not work to strict deadlines.

We offer a possible solution…Balance.

What do we mean by balance…

We work with both, a mix of in-house content creators as well as freelancers. This allows us to tap into a vast array of expertise and skills.
Every piece of content is scoped together with your team, to ensure we understand the business and content objectives.
We are flexible with the way we work. Project, campaign, retainer, or even sub-contract as a virtual content specialist.
We take the time to understand your business and industry before assigning a team.