With almost anything in business, you have the option to take a DIY approach or to use a professional service. It's often perfectly possible for you to do something on your own, regardless of how skilled you are. For example, anyone can open a Google Adwords account and use it to start advertising. However, when someone has plenty of experience in a particular field, they are much better placed to do the job. While it might cost more to hire them, it saves time because you no longer have to do the work yourself.
When it comes to creativity, there are many things in business that require a creative touch. They include many of the tools you might use for marketing, from written content to graphics and videos. It's perfectly achievable to do many of these things without any expert skills, especially now that there are helpful tools that make things like graphic or video production easier for amateurs. However, even if you're able to produce something acceptable, you often need an expert touch to create something truly valuable. There are pros and cons to both taking the DIY approach and hiring professionals to help you out. Both can be the right choice in different situations, but deciding which one is best can be tough.
If you're trying to decide whether to go it alone or if you need a professional creative on your side, here are some things to consider in different circumstances.
Written Content and Copy
Writing content and copy is often the thing that people assume they are most prepared to do. They might not have the technical skills to create graphics, but they know how to read and write. It's certainly true that many people can write their own content and copy for various purposes. If you're able to write a coherent sentence and be organized and methodical, you can probably do a lot of your own writing. There are even plenty of tools available to help you with spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. Plus, you can find lots of advice about writing the best content and copy. You might decide to write your own material for a number of things, including blog posts or social media.
However, there are certainly times when it's much more sensible to hire someone else to write for you. Written content is necessary in a huge variety of forms for business, from print media to online content. Each form has specific rules and requirements, and it's tough to be good at writing for all of them. You might be able to write an insightful blog post, but coming up with a snappy tagline for an ad campaign might be slightly more difficult. Fortunately, there are people who have the experience and expertise to do these things for you. Not only can you make sure you get quality results, but it can save you an awful lot of time. In the modern age, content marketing is important, and a good content marketing strategy can be extremely time-consuming.
There are also several technical skills that can be linked to writing good content and copy. While you can learn them, it takes expertise to combine them with good writing. For example, online content needs to be optimized for search engines. Writing compelling content for your website while also ensuring that you get the SEO elements right takes practice and skill.
Graphics and Visual Content
As well as the words needed to promote your business, you need to think about the visual elements. Some people might immediately think that they're not very creative, and seek out a graphic artist to do anything remotely visual. However, you don't necessarily have to work with an expert all the time. There are ways that you can create or find graphics you can use, without spending money on a graphic artist all the time. There are tools like Canva or Adobe Spark that make it easier than it has ever been to create custom graphics. You can also find free images or pay for stock images when you need them.
These methods can be very useful for a variety of things when it's not necessary to have completely custom, tailored graphics. For example, perhaps you want to create individual header images for each of the blog posts you public. You don't need to pay a designed to do that every time when you can use simple drag-and-drop tools or even learn a few easy graphic skills to start making basic images. However, there are times when you certainly need to go to a professional, instead of trying to make something yourself.
You need to work with professional graphic designers when you're creating official graphics and images for your business. For example, your logo should really be designed by a professional designer. It's something that you're hopefully going to use for a long time, and it should be a huge part of your brand. You can't start off with a poorly designed logo. A professional graphic designer not only has the technical and creative skills, but they can also understand your brand, what you want it to say, and how they can express that visually. You need a designer for marketing materials, packaging, and other highly visual business elements that need to promote your brand and attract customers.
Video Production
The use of video has grown a lot as online content has become more popular. Many businesses are now going beyond written content and images to create videos that their customers will love. Videos can take on a variety of forms, from product demonstrations and reviews to commercials and tutorials. A lot of people might look at poor attempts of self-made videos from some businesses and decide that they would rather not risk it. When they go wrong, they can go really wrong. However, you can make professional looking videos without too much trouble. With the right lighting and a well-written script, you can even make videos using a smartphone.
However, there are definitely times when you need professional video marketing production. If you want to do anything more than a short video, it's worth looking into hiring professionals. Anything that you intend to use for a long time needs to have a professional look and feel if you want it to have staying power. Speaking to the experts will help you produce a video that improves your sales. Some things are best left to people who know what they're doing, such as animated videos. If you want to use animation, it would take you a long time to learn how to do any of it yourself. But a professional firm already has the necessary expertise.
TV and Radio Ads
Online media might have come to prominence, but more traditional advertising methods are still important. If you're going to put anything out on TV or radio, it's always best to enlist professional help. You don't want to launch a campaign on regional or even national media channels without first ensuring that the materials you have produced are worthy of being seen or heard by their audiences. Whether you need a radio jingle or a television commercial, using a professional marketing firm to produce what you need is the better route to take. In addition to having a creative team at hand, you also need the people who can get you the airtime you need.
There are some creative elements of business you can manage on your own. But eventually, you're likely to need professional help for a number of things.
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