If you’re reading this, I assume you’re already somewhat familiar with the world of digital marketing and online marketing.

Whether you’re managing a small business’ social media accounts or run a large international company, you’re bound to come across some of the terms and phrases used within the industry.

1. Who Is Responsible For The Online Marketing Campaign?

Traditionally, marketing departments have been in charge of marketing campaigns and tasks including creating marketing materials (like ads, emails, and social media posts), analysing performance, and creating future campaigns.

However, the advent of digital marketing has changed all of that. Today, marketers need to be highly skilled in SEO, content strategy, and social media. While a traditional marketing department might once have been responsible for designing a marketing campaign, today the designer of choice is most likely to be someone from the digital marketing agency.

Decisions like this can be a potential stumbling block. If you’re not used to delegating authority or being less hands-on, this can cause issues. For example, if your designated marketer creates a brilliant campaign but you don’t acknowledge or reward them, you could risk losing their loyalty. This is why the first point below is so important.

2. What Is The Budget For This Project?

Budgets are often a sticking point when it comes to outsourcing, especially when you’re not used to working with a budget. However, like most things in life, this point can be easily overcome with proper planning.

It’s important to establish a realistic budget for this project so you don’t end up spending recklessly. Before you begin any projects, take time to set a budget and plan how you’ll spend your available funds. In addition to establishing a realistic budget, you should also set a deadline for when you need the product or service by. This will help you manage your expectations and ensure that you don’t overextend yourself.

3. How Many People Will Be Involved In The Project?

Unfortunately, there’s no standard answer to this question. It depends on how big your company is, how many people you have, and how many people you need. In smaller businesses with just a few employees, it’s not unusual to see just a single person handle all of the digital marketing tasks including content strategy, research, and social media. On the other hand, in large businesses, it might be desirable to have a dedicated marketing team of 3 to 5 people.

The number of people involved will vary depending on the size of your business. In general, though, you should have a minimum of 2 people and a maximum of 5 people involved in this project. Having fewer than 2 people involved will make it much more difficult for you to track and analyse performance, and having more than 5 people involved can quickly become unwieldy.

4. What Is The Time Frame For This Project?

Establishing a time frame for a project is essential for proper planning and to give you a guide to follow when delegating work. You don’t want to leave your business short-handed for too long, especially if you’re already behind on important work.

There are endless possibilities regarding the time frame for a project. Generally, you want to plan for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six. Longer time frames can be tricky to plan for. If you don’t have a clear idea of how long it will take to complete the project, it can be difficult to establish the proper deadline.

5. Who Will Be Involved In The Project?

This point is probably the most important one. Just because you’ve established a price for the project doesn’t mean that you should automatically start working with the people who you’ve contracted to do the work. You should have a clear idea of who will be involved in the project, what their responsibilities will be, and how long it will take to complete the project.

This will depend on the size of your company and how many people you have involved in the project. In smaller businesses, it might be wise to have just a single person involved in the project. In large organizations, it’s not unusual to see several people being assigned specific tasks, and sometimes the same person is not involved in every aspect of the project.

To avoid any surprises once the project is complete, make sure that you’re clear as to who will be involved in the project at every stage. This also applies to any additional people whom you might want to involve in the project. Establishing a clear chain of command and accountability from the onset will help ensure that your business does not suffer from a lack of direction or accountability once the project is complete.

Hopefully, this article will answer some of your important questions about digital marketing and marketing contracts. Even if you run a small business, it’s important to remember that proper outsourcing and proper planning can still be of great value to you. Being able to outsource some of the work that you don’t want to do yourself can free up more time to focus on what is important to you and your business.