You have a plumbing problem; do you call the plumber or do you watch YouTube videos to learn how to fix the problem?

I live by the words, “do what you do best, outsource the rest”- Peter Drucker. Time is money and as a business/brand expands, more of one’s time is demanded, therefore, there comes a time when you must decide what to continue handling yourself and what you should outsource. Every team has its strengths and its weakness and in order to be effective, you must recognize what you are good at and what can be done more efficiently by a third party. This decision to outsource is what saves you minutes and hours per week! As people become entrepreneurs, as business becomes more mobile and as the gig economy grows, so does the need for flexible and affordable marketing services.

However, just outsourcing is not the answer, one must outsource to the right people/person- a third party that is competent in delivering what is required. There are some specific skills that are best found in specialized teams or a specialist. Below are five tasks you should consider outsourcing:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – It pays to have an expert in this area. The process of optimizing your website and content even in a blog can be a complex one. In-depth knowledge is required particularly since SEO techniques are constantly changing. A SEO team would be able to recommend what kinds of content you should produce as well as a messaging strategy to reach your intended audience.

Organizing a content calendar – This is a collaborative process but with direction and input from a consultancy or agency, you can plot out upcoming posts, topics and email blasts among other things.

Content Marketing – In today’s marketing world, content marketing plays a fundamental role. Marketing includes spotting trends and developing strategies to reach your key audience; with that said, one has to develop practical content strategies to achieve one’s goals. Therefore, outsourcing strategy development as well as the writing of a blog, content for the website or social media captions frees up a lot of your time to focus on other things.

Graphic design- I will revert to today’s article theme. If you have a plumbing problem, what do you do? Do you watch several YouTube videos to figure out what to do or do you call a plumber because he or she knows what the thingamajigs are for? Calling a professional saves you time and ensures the job is done properly. We are in a world of apps, free ‘builders’ and cheap logo designs but those may not necessarily be suitable for your brand. Similarly, knowing how to use Photoshop doesn’t make someone a designer just as knowing how to use a paintbrush doesn’t make you an artist! Anyone can use a camera but not everyone is a photographer.

Designers make decisions based on elements of design rather than throwing something together because it looks nice; there is a thought process, colour choice, placement and knowing what works best for the client’s message and intended medium. Furthermore, they are innovative and creative and your project is just as important to them as it is to you. When you outsource this task, you are exposed to new perspectives, opinions and styles as well as some exciting new visuals to attract your audience.

Social media – Outsourcing the day-to-day management of your social media is definitely worth it! While posting great content is a key part of social media, engagement is critical; having the time to reply to messages especially during and after a campaign can be time consuming, your team can spend that time developing messaging for the next campaign. You may see it as paying for things that you can do yourself, but think of what other things you can be doing in that time.

Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people at the right time through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions. She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voiceover talent, media personality. Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Phone:784-432-2223. Email: igniteresults@gmail.com