The complete set of marketing tactics is so broad and varied these days that it is essentially impossible for one person to have every skill needed. Even a comprehensive marketing department will occasionally need to outsource for a particular talent to implement their plans. But finding good outside help can be difficult. Even if you have successfully hired numerous people over the years, outsourcing is different.

What if you thought of marketing outsourcing as a competitive advantage? In that case, if you are not taking advantage of this resource, you are not using every tool in your marketing arsenal for securing additional expertise or lowering cost.

Here are a few of my favorite outsourcing options to tap when hiring:

Upwork Freelancing Network and similar networks

These networks offer literally a world of choices: some are gems and some are not. Take your time and make sure you find someone who really knows what they are doing.

Virtual Assistants

This option is exploding in terms of number of choices. Again, they can be hit or miss. Do your research and avoid signing a long term contract until you are certain.

Marketing Interns

Hiring an intern with two or more years of college may bring the latest in technology to your business, but this is a short term solution since by definition they are temporary. Be prepared for turnover.

Try these 5 tips below to get better results no matter which source you decide to tap.

1. Know what you need. Are you hiring someone because they have more time than you or are you hiring for a specific expertise? What exactly do you want them to do for you?
2. Ask a few questions to determine knowledge level (unless you are mainly needing time and have detailed instructions for the hire.)
3. Start with a small project, if possible. This reduces your risk dramatically. You can determine if the potential hire is aligned with your sense of urgency and your expectations for quality.
4. If a bigger project, take the time to get more information. Read what they say about themselves online or in their resume. If available, look at their ratings. Does your project fit soundly in their area of expertise and completed projects or is your project a “stretch” or an outlier for them? Then ask them few specific subject matter questions, including a more difficult one. You can always ask them for a referral or two.
5. Make sure the payment structure and deadline you agree to encourages quality work and finishing on time and not the opposite. Give this step the time and attention it deserves instead of speeding through it and don’t be afraid to ask for adjustments.

Like anything, outsourcing marketing has a learning curve. The more you access this important source of marketing competitive advantage, the better you become at verifying talent. Imagine all the new avenues that would open for your company if outsourcing was truly one of your super powers.

At Small Biz Brands, we created an easy-to-use app to help companies at the stage right before they are ready to spend the resources to outsource a marketing tactic. The founder or CEO is often doing their own social media marketing at first, so we designed a social media scheduling app specifically for this use. If this sounds like you or someone you know, take a look.