Compare
Agency vs consultant
A consultant tells you what to do; an agency does the work. Political creators and campaigns often need both, which is why Erfan Media works as a consulting and services firm: we set the strategy and our editors, designers and writers carry it out.
| Consultant | Agency | Erfan Media | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy and advice | Yes | Sometimes | Yes |
| Does the daily work | No | Yes | Yes |
| Speed on breaking news | Depends on your team | Fast | Daily delivery times |
| Tests ideas on its own pages | Rarely | Rarely | 60+ owned accounts |
| Accountability | For the plan | For the output | For both, with monthly reports |
When a consultant is enough
- You already have editors, designers and writers, and need direction.
- You want a one-time audit or a second opinion.
- You are testing whether outside help is worth it.
When you need an agency
- You can't keep up with daily output.
- You need editing, shorts, thumbnails, posts and graphics, not just advice.
- You want one thread for everything instead of managing several freelancers. See freelance editor vs agency.
When you want both
Most of the creators and organizations we work with start with advice, a channel audit or a plan, and then hand parts of the work to our team. You can stay at the advice stage as long as you like.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Do we have people who can do the work if someone tells us what to change?
- Is our problem direction, output or both?
- How fast do we need to move when news breaks?
- Who will be accountable if the numbers don't move?
If the honest answer is "we need direction and output", you want a firm that does both, and you want one thread for it.
For creators and for campaigns
- Creators: see consulting for progressive creators and the creator agency.
- Campaigns and causes: see Democratic digital consulting and the political content agency.
Book a call to figure out which you need.
Questions
Should I hire a consultant or an agency for my political channel?
If you have a team and need direction, a consultant. If you need the work done daily, an agency. Erfan Media offers both.
Is Erfan Media a consultancy or an agency?
Both. Erfan Media is a consulting and services firm: it advises pro-democracy creators and organizations and has a team of 20+ to do the work.
Can I start with consulting and add services later?
Yes. Many clients start with an audit or plan and add editing, packaging or distribution later.