Your Marketing Dream Team—Without the Full-Time Costs
What if you could have a world-class marketing team specialized in your vertical—without the overhead of hiring in-house? That’s exactly what a fractional marketing department offers. Suppose you’ve ever hired an accountant to handle your books or a lawyer to navigate contracts. In that case, you already understand the concept: You get expert-level support only when needed, without the cost or complexity of a full-time hire.
For growing organizations — especially nonprofits, mission-driven groups, and businesses looking to scale — this can be a game-changer. Here’s why.
What Is a Fractional Marketing Department?
Think of it as an on-demand marketing powerhouse—a team of strategists, designers, writers, data nerds, and digital experts who function as your fully built-out marketing department. Instead of hiring multiple full-time employees (and managing all the costs and logistics that come with them), you get a ready-to-go team that seamlessly integrates with your organization, scales with your needs, and delivers results without the overhead.
At Electric Fork Media (EFM), we don’t just create marketing campaigns—we become an extension of your team. We meet with your staff regularly, identify opportunities, leverage your existing assets, and develop custom strategies to hit your goals efficiently. Then we execute.
It’s like hiring your dream marketing team—except you get them as a single, fully functional unit from the get-go, ready to integrate with your existing team if and when you need them.
Why Would You Want One? Hiring In-House Sounds Great… Until You Do the Math
You want to ramp up digital advertising to attract more donors. You hire an in-house digital ad specialist to ensure you’re targeting the right audience, optimizing your spending, and maximizing results. It sounds like a solid plan, except digital ads don’t exist in a vacuum.
You’ll also need copywriters to craft compelling messages.
You’ll need designers to create visuals.
You’ll need a data scientist to analyze targeting trends.
You’ll need a strategist to align ads with a broader marketing funnel.
And you’ll need a web specialist to optimize landing pages.
Now you’re either stuck with an overworked generalist (who can’t be an expert in everything), or you’re looking at a whole marketing department with a massive payroll.
Here’s the alternative: A fractional marketing department gives you the best talent in each role, but you only pay for what you need. You get:
A team of specialists instead of relying on one person
Scalability—use the team as much or as little as needed
No overhead costs—no salaries, benefits, sick days, or PTO to worry about
A strategic partner—not just someone executing tasks, but a team focused on results
“Turnkey” Sounds Nice—But Do I Need to Do Anything?
A fractional marketing department isn’t magic—but it’s close. We handle strategy, execution, and optimization, but we need open communication with your team to get the best results. Think of us as an extension of your staff—the more we understand your goals, challenges, and priorities, the better we can tailor marketing to drive real impact.
What we’ll ask for:
Regular check-ins to align efforts
Openness about your goals and challenges so we can strategize effectively
Access to key decision-makers when approvals are needed
We promise to make the process as hands-off as possible — just don’t be surprised if we come to you with new opportunities you hadn’t even considered.
Is Your Organization a Good Fit?
Not every organization is ready for a fractional marketing department, but here’s a simple way to tell if it might be right for you.
You’re probably ready if:
You want to take your marketing to the next level but aren’t sure where to start
You need better fundraising, donor engagement, or audience growth
You have a small or mid-sized team and need expertise without hiring full-time
You’re struggling with messaging, outreach, or digital strategy
You’re doing great work—but not enough people know about it
You might not be ready yet if:
You’re a super tiny organization
You’re not yet sure what you want marketing to achieve
You don’t have time to communicate with an external team every couple of weeks
If you’re unsure, let’s talk. We offer free consultations to see if this is the right fit. There is no pressure, no sales pitch—just an honest conversation. Pick a time and chat with Tracy. It’s free, and we’d love to hear about your challenges and opportunities.