Customer support, IT support, payroll distribution, data entry, property management and human resources remain the most outsourced tasks industry-wide. Virtual assistants are also gaining headway. You only have to check out job search websites to see the growth in the sector. It’s hard to determine which role is currently on top and besides, it’s not a competition right..? But if it was, the creative sector would be the dark horse, rapidly closing in on the front of the pack.
Graphic design, animation, video editing, photography, web design, blogging and copywriting are just some of the creative services you can outsource to professionals overseas. Most start-ups and SME businesses these days are not sold on the idea of hiring an entire creative team. Marketing is always a tough one to identify ROI and particularly in smaller business. There are so many other places that need the commitment of cash resource now. Like now! But of course, creative strategies are essential for efficient marketing and directly reflect on business growth. Are you reluctant or completely against the idea of a creative team? Consider this as food for thought.
Perfect for Positioning
According to a book by the University of California, Berkeley, positioning should “be a differentiated, motivational and sustainable thought.” Basically, you want to position your business into something that stands out and that doesn’t necessarily mean to be unique – standing out and being unique are two quite different things.
A creative team will be able to build a brand identity that tells the story of your business from A to Z. We’re not only talking about core values, company background and founder stories. A creative team can also design a brand guideline to help the business and its employees with their messaging, social media engagement, channels, client experience and more. In short, positioning is how you want to present your business, not just your services. You want to send a message out and know people receive it loud and clear.
Social media management & engagement
According to Hootsuite’s global social media report “Digital in 2018,” there are over 3 billion active social media users in the world. Facebook remains at the top as the most popular social network in the world according to a statistics report by Statista last October 2018. Alongside Facebook are Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Social media is a marketing haven for both providers and consumers.
Social media distribution and management, if done right, can be a game changer for your business. You need to know what to post and you’re going to need quality visuals and well-positioned content to do it. Understand your audience and deliver value rather than just trend-jacking your way up the rankings.
Most social media sites have an analytics feature. You can then record user engagement ie. likes, followers, post reach, page views and other insights. These numbers and reports will help you determine what’s working and what’s not. You can execute and accomplish all of these with a creative team. A creative team is no longer just about design. It’s an opportunity to create, navigate and provide cut through in a world that is saturated with marketing delivering an overwhelming number of messages to the population.
Email marketing
EDM or Electronic Direct Mail is a great marketing channel for business. When you post something on social media, there are no guarantees that your audience will see your content let alone will react. Well, unfortunately, the same goes for EDM, some recipients won’t even open your message let alone read it.
This is where a creative team can be a gamechanger. To paint a picture – are you familiar with Spotify? The music streaming service provider sends out email campaigns to all of their subscribers to update them of promos, discounts, concerts, new artists and more. These emails are not your regular text-based emails that scream “boring.” Spotify makes use of great visuals and branding to hook people up with content tailored to them as an individual.
EDM’s don’t just work in product and services promotion. You can use this platform to connect with your existing and potential clients. If you want to share some amazing content, you can do so, with help from a creative team, your creative team.
Consider the OFFSURE “Try Before You Buy” creative option to get a taste of the experience of having a full capacity creative team at your fingertips for 8 weeks and just see the opportunities that open up to you and your business.