Classic Dilemma: Independent Online Marketing Agency or Consultant?

A dilemma that often arises in companies that want to start running advertising campaigns on the Internet is whether they must work with a media agency or with an online marketing consultant enough to achieve the same results.

Both a media agency and an independent online marketing consultant have different benefits, the choice must be based on the objectives and budget for investment in advertising that the company has.

A media agency with a solid reputation is great for large companies that want to advertise in a very wide range of media, as depending on their reputation and contacts they can get better prices for online versions of traditional media. (We are talking about several hundred thousand dollars a month)

They are also a good option for companies that want to carry out campaigns in CPA format (Cost Per Action: they only pay the agency for each objective achieved), since a well-constituted agency can run that financial risk of charging only for the objectives it meets.

(In Latin America there are still few agencies that work with the CPA format)

However, when we talk about advertising in self-managed media such as Google Adwords or Facebook, the talent and skill of the person in charge of managing the account is worth more.

From my personal experience I would say that the success of a Google Adwords campaign depends almost 100% on the skill, knowledge and experience of the account manager.

For small and medium-sized companies that want to invest in Google but do not have a large budget (20,000US$ / month or more), the best option may be to use a freelance online marketing consultant.

What are the advantages of working with an Online Marketing Consultant?

1) A good online marketing consultant generally manages Google Adwords campaigns personally.

2) The rates of an independent online marketing consultant are more competitive than those of a media agency, not because they offer a lower quality service, but because they have a lower amount of fixed costs in their structure.

The client receives a service of the same quality for a much lower cost.

This is especially true for campaigns in self-managed media such as Google Adwords, Organic Web Positioning services, and Social Media services.

3) Contracts are usually much more flexible than contracts with media agencies.

4) The work is much more personalized, the consultant will generally adapt to the company according to its needs in terms of delivery times, level of information in the reports, etc.

Both online marketing agencies and independent consultants offer different types of benefits, it depends on the company to know how to take advantage of the best of each one 😉