If you already have an in-house marketing or digital team, you might be wondering: Do we keep it all internal, bring in a freelancer, or partner with an agency?
It’s a smart question, and one that can directly impact your growth, output, and return on investment.
Here’s how to make the right call for where your business is now (and where you want it to be next).
Sticking With Your In‑House Team
Your in-house team knows your brand, business, and internal processes better than anyone. They’re close to the action, quick to respond and fully embedded in your day-to-day goings on. But even the best internal teams can hit bandwidth or capability walls.
When it works well:
- You have a highly skilled, well-resourced team
- Projects are steady, predictable, and manageable
- You’re not looking for new strategic input or an outside perspective
When it’s limiting:
- Your team is stretched thin or stuck in ‘maintenance mode’
- You’re missing specialist skills (e.g. strategy, technical SEO, CRO, automation to name a few)
- You need to scale quickly but can’t hire fast enough
- Innovation and performance have plateaued
Sometimes, internal teams need external firepower… Not to replace them, but to elevate them.
Bringing In a Freelancer
Freelancers are great for small, specific tasks or projects that don’t justify hiring someone full-time, like a campaign landing page, a set of display ads, or a quick video edit. They work best when you know exactly what you need, and someone on your team has the time (and know-how) to manage them.
Upsides:
- Cost-effective for one-off or clearly scoped work
- Access to niche talent on-demand
- Flexible and low-commitment
Cautions:
- Can lack strategic context or brand immersion
- Limited availability, especially during peak times
- Project management often falls on you (or your team)
For short bursts of support, freelancers are solid. But for long-term growth or integrated campaigns, the gaps can show.
Partnering With a Digital Agency
Agencies like Stellar Digital Media offer plug-and-play expertise, cross-functional collaboration, and serious scalability, without the long hiring process or overheads.
And the best agencies? They don’t compete with your in-house team. They collaborate with them.
Why it works:
- Access to a full bench of specialists (strategy, SEO, UX, dev, ads, automation etc…)
- External perspective to challenge, stretch, and strengthen your strategy
- Scalable support during high-growth or high-pressure periods
- Proven processes, performance tracking, and continuous optimisation
- Less risk of burnout or bottlenecks inside your team
When it’s ideal:
- Your internal team is overloaded or out of depth in key areas
- You want to accelerate results, not just manage the status quo
- You’re launching something big, and can’t afford to drop the ball
- You need accountability, performance, and outcomes (not just activity)
So, What’s Best for Your Business?
If your in-house team is thriving, well-resourced, and delivering results, fantastic. But if you’re hitting limitations, missing key capabilities, or simply ready to level up, it’s worth exploring outside support.
Quick guide:
| Your Situation | Your Best Move |
| Short-term overflow or niche tasks | Bring in a freelancer |
| Need to scale fast or improve results | Partner with an agency |
| Solid in-house team, but no stretch | Add an agency to elevate output |
| Don’t want to manage more people | Agency with project management built-in |
At Stellar Digital Media, we work alongside in-house teams every day, bringing strategy, structure, and specialist firepower to help them do more, better, and faster.
We’re not here to take over. We’re here to make your team look like rockstars.
Want to Chat It Through? Whether you’re unsure what support you need or just want a second opinion, we’re happy to talk it out, no pressure, no pitch. Just straight-up advice from people who live and breathe digital.