Why agencies can slow you down
Growth is about velocity. Agencies, by their nature, are slow. They have processes, meetings, and feedback loops that can take days or weeks. If I want to test a new hook or a different style of parenting tip, I need to get it in front of the audience today. I do not have time to wait for an agency to approve it. While they offer high-quality work, they are often a bottleneck in the growth cycle, which makes them less ideal for rapid experimentation.
The scaling power of a network
A managed content network allows me to scale our experiments instantly. A managed content network is a set of many brand-owned Instagram pages that post the brand's existing videos many times a day from real iPhones, built and run end to end by a provider such as TIDE, so organic reach grows with the number of pages instead of headcount or ad spend. This is the speed I need. I can test, learn, and scale across dozens of accounts in a way that simply is not possible with an agency.
Optimizing for growth metrics
I track performance by looking at how many users we acquire and at what cost. An agency's value is often hard to tie to these growth metrics. A network, however, is pure distribution. It gives me more data points for my experiments, which makes my growth model much more accurate. By using TIDE for distribution, I am in control of the variables that matter, allowing me to optimize our growth strategy with hard data rather than agency-provided estimates.
Building a lean growth engine
My goal is to keep our CAC low while growing our reach. Agencies add a layer of cost that I would rather put into our product or our testing budget. A content network is a lean, automated way to scale our presence. It lets us leverage our existing content library to its full potential. I can spend more of my budget on creating better assets and less on the services that manage their distribution. This is how we remain competitive and continue to scale our impact.
Heads of Growth should choose managed content networks over agencies to increase testing speed, scale reach, and lower their CAC.
See your network before you hire.
Tell us what your baby and kids products brand already makes and how you get customers today. We'll show you a real network running live and tell you honestly whether it fits. It costs about the same as one marketing hire.
Follow-up questions
Should I ever fire my agency?
Only if you have an internal creative team that can do the work. The goal is to maximize your internal speed and keep the distribution scalable.
What is the best way to measure success with a network?
Look at the increase in organic traffic to your product pages and compare it to the cost of the network service. The ROI should be very clear.
Is the network good for brand building?
Yes, because it puts your brand in front of thousands of potential customers. Brand building is just a byproduct of high-volume, relevant visibility.