Should I run my own digital ads or hire an agency to manage them?

You’ve been put in charge of running digital ad campaigns. Now what?

Be prepared to face a series of forks in the road on this choose-your-own-adventure; the first of which is this:

“Should I run digital ad campaigns myself, or hire an agency to run them for me?”

Let’s dive into that, but first, let’s make this disclaimer:

ANYONE CAN RUN DIGITAL ADS ON THEIR OWN.

That’s right! Ad platforms like Google Ads, Meta Ads, and others provide step-by-step guidance for setting up and launching your ad campaign. You are entirely capable of taking a DIY approach, but should you?

Let’s examine the benefits of running your digital ad campaigns yourself:

• FULL CONTROL - You don’t have to ask someone else to make changes to the campaign. You can start/stop, adjust budgets, do whatever you like.
• REAL-TIME VISIBILITY - See campaign performance analytics anytime you want.
• NO ADDITIONAL COSTS - Your ad budget is your only cost.
• SPEED TO CHANGE - Since you’re not waiting on someone else to make updates, you can make them instantly.

So, why would you choose NOT to run your digital ads yourself?

• TIME - You might think you have time to manage a digital campaign. You might even actually have the time at the moment. However, if you’re running digital ads, chances are that you have a business or project that needs to benefit from those ads. If they start to drive more inquiries/purchases/appointments, will you still have time to manage your ads? If you begin to ignore your digital ad campaign, or worse, take the “set it and forget it” approach from the start, your campaign may veer off course and quickly waste your precious dollars.
• EFFICIENCY - Unless you have a wealth of experience in running digital ad campaigns, achieving the results you want will likely cost much more time and money than if someone with experience manages the campaign. Time is money, and money is money. If you can’t afford to waste either, you need to recognize that the DIY approach increases the risk of waste, and it may not be the right path for you.
• INFORMATION OVERLOAD - The analytics data provided by ad platforms is easy to get lost in. Determining and finding your KPI (key performance indicator) data may be a rabbit hole. If you make changes based on the wrong data, you will be effectively steering your ship according to the wrong map and can quickly find yourself lost.
• TRUSTING THE PLATFORM TOO MUCH - Ad platforms make it easy to spend money. Too easy, perhaps. This doesn’t just apply to the “getting started” portion of launching a digital ad campaign. In fact, it’s a much larger problem when it comes to optimization. The “suggestions” provided by the ad platform (largely AI-driven these days) frequently result in an increased ad spend. Accepting these suggestions is made as easy as a single click, and if you’re not vigilant, you can find yourself spending much more than you had anticipated.

Many business owners and marketing managers determine that the risks outweigh the benefits and choose to hire someone to manage digital ad campaigns. It could be an in-house staff member, a digital marketing contractor, or even a digital marketing agency, like STORM.

When considering hiring a staff member, contractor, or agency to manage your digital ad campaigns, look for these key factors that minimize risks and maximize benefits:

• VISIBILITY - Your digital campaign manager should provide Weekly KPI Reports, in-depth monthly reports, and be available to discuss strategy further when needed. Real-time visibility can also be made available, but it should be limited to the data you need to see to minimize the risk of information overload.
• CLEAR COST STRUCTURE - When running ads through a third-party, you need to know how much of your ad budget is actually going toward ads. The old-school advertising agency world established a standard 15% agency commission on media buys, but the dawn of digital advertising created a Wild West mentality regarding commissions. Some agencies will split the optimization service into a separate offering and apply the standard 15% commission to the ad budget. Some will lump optimization into the commission and take a larger cut. Be sure you know how the pie is sliced.
• EXPERIENCE - Just as the efficiency risk associated with running DIY digital ads can lead to wasted time and ad dollars, inexperience is likely to do the same. Be sure to choose a partner with a wealth of experience and understanding of digital ad platforms.
• RESPONSIVENESS - Running change requests through a third party will take longer than making changes yourself instantly. How much longer? Be sure to establish a shared understanding and expectation of how quickly your requested adjustments will be tackled. Be aware that some changes take longer than others, but as a general rule, you should hear back within 24 hours that the requested action has been tasked.
• ADDITIONAL SKILLS - Having an experienced digital campaign manager is great. Having access to additional services such as graphic design, video production, and copywriting from a single source expands your toolkit exponentially. Additionally, the time to create and implement the necessary assets can be significantly reduced when a single source manages the entire project.

Yes, you’re capable of going the DIY route for your digital ad campaign, but before you do, acknowledge the risks and consider the benefits of outsourcing your digital campaign management. With the right digital partner, you will save valuable time and dollars.

Learn more about digital advertising with STORM.

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