Big businesses earn big profits, which means big budgets for big offices with lots of employees, right?
Traditionally, having a large in-house team has been a viable – and in fact, preferable – manpower strategy for large corporations. The convenience of having someone in the office to shoot queries to and bounce ideas off, at any time of the day, is a treat. It’s also great for checking off those checkboxes in a manager’s to-do list. i.e., “Ask copywriter to send ideas for the new campaign tagline by tomorrow afternoon.” “Check!”
But as technology has brought the world closer together – and with the pandemic having forced managers at large organisations to use, and get comfortable with, technologies like video calls, shared drives, online workspaces, and others – the appeal of ‘having someone at the office to speak to in person’ has diminished from a ‘must have’ into a ‘nice to have’.
With this mindset shift, organisations are now focusing on what really matters at an organisational level – expertise, flexibility, and the bottom line.
In other words, results.
Today, we’re diving into some top level reasons why multinational corporations (MNCs) are choosing to work with freelance copywriters, rather than adding in-house creative writers to their internal teams.
Scalability and agility
If there’s one thing that recent years have taught us, it’s to expect the unexpected. From the global pandemic to stock market crashes, rising interest rates and (following upturns in 2023) market surges, businesses have learnt to expect the unexpected.
This means building systems and a workforce that can adapt quickly – scaling down costs when times are lean, and ramping up advertising and promotion when market demand is high and consumers are ready to spend.
Specialised expertise, on demand
The freelance economy is teeming with professionals who specialise in niche areas of content creation, from SEO-driven web copy to sales-driven direct response copy, compelling storytelling, and more.
Rather than hire a ‘jack of all trades’ in-house writer to cover all these writing styles, or conversely hiring a whole team of internal copywriters, MNCs are realising efficiencies and cost savings by engaging specific freelance writers for each of their marketing and public relations (PR) campaigns.
Global talent and local insights
Global brands are also realising that in the digital age, the physical location of a workforce is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Freelance copywriters from around the world offer MNCs a dual advantage – global talent combined with local insights.
This is particularly beneficial for content localisation – that is, ensuring the company’s advertising messages are not only linguistically accurate, but also resonate culturally with locals in each target market.
Enhancing brand voice through diversity
A diverse pool of freelance copywriters can contribute to a richer brand voice that engages with greater diversity and clarity – resonating with broader audiences, fostering inclusivity, and making the brand more relevant to more people.
Is the freelance economy (with freelance copywriters) the future of creative work?
The move to outsource copywriting work to freelancers is a strategic decision that is influenced by a constellation of factors, starting with those discussed in this article. This considerations can go beyond costs, and extend into the growing need for new ideas, specialised expertise, agility, and forming deeper connections with wider groups of audiences.
This trend underscores the evolving nature of work, and we move forward, it’s clear that the integration of freelance talent with in-house knowledge will continue to shape the future of creative work.
Images courtesy of Pixabay