Making words work for your business is one of the most powerful marketing strategies at your disposal. The right words not only boost sales but engage your customers, strengthen your brand identity, and champion your unique selling points. But when it comes to finding the right wordsmiths, where should you turn? To an agency or in-house?
Take a peek at the ins and outs of the in-house vs agency debate, learning the pros of each to help you decide if you should hire an agency or nurture an in-house marketing team.
Pros of in-house marketing vs hiring an agency
Working at the coalface, who could be better placed to market and tell the story of your brand than an in-house team? There are certainly several pros to keeping your marketing “in the family”, including:
- Accessibility
- Brand expertise
- Workflow
- Autonomy
Accessibility
An obvious pro of marketing in-house vs agency marketing is having your team readily accessible. In practical terms, this means ease of communication and seamless collaboration between departments. With your team on-site, you’ll have a condensed communication chain. Think face-to-face chats and ad hoc team meetings vs calls and emails between you and an agency.
Brand expertise
An in-house team lives and breathes the company. From brand values and product knowledge to tone of voice, they start with a level of brand familiarity and an understanding of their customers that an agency will need time to build.
Workflow
A key benefit of in-house vs agency marketing is the silky-smooth workflow. Focused solely on the company’s marketing needs, tasks can be completed quickly and plans can be altered easily. Plus, the team’s access to other departments means the end-to-end process should be relatively seamless.
Autonomy
When you keep your content marketing in-house, you maintain complete control of the entire process. You have autonomy over the marketing strategies and their execution, whereas an agency will take more of a collaborative approach
Pros of hiring an agency vs hiring in-house
A content marketing agency lets you tap into a readymade team of marketing and copywriting professionals, offering a level of expertise that is hard to replicate in-house. Consider the following benefits of a marketing agency vs in-house:
- Expertise and technology
- Skillset
- Scalability and flexibility
- Cost
Expertise and technology
The expertise of agency copywriters vs in-house marketers is a strong draw for a lot of companies. An established agency will have decades of invaluable industry experience under its belt and already have subscriptions to the software and tools needed. Hiring such a knowledgeable in-house team is time-consuming — and expensive.
Skillset
An agency’s marketing skillset can be a real boon. Hire an agency and you’ll harness a variety of specialist marketing tools alongside copywriting, like SEO, social media, and campaign management. Creativity also comes into play when you’re choosing between a freelance agency or in-house marketing. An agency offers a creative collective who can bring new ideas and think outside the box.
Scalability and flexibility
An agency has the ability to scale your content marketing requirements. What’s more, there’s workload flexibility with an agency. If your company’s content needs fluctuate, an in-house team could be left overworked and burnt-out or twiddling their thumbs and unmotivated during seasonal lulls.
Cost
If the cost of maintaining an in-house content marketing team feels prohibitive for your business, an agency is a cost-effective solution. Hiring an agency could cost your business less than recruiting, training, and retaining an in-house team.
Should I hire a content agency?
Is a digital marketing agency or in-house team a better fit for your business? Well, that really depends on the unique nature of your company. Here’s what to consider:
Do you want to retain control or hand over the reins?
If you’re happy to hand over a little (or a lot!) of control to a content marketing agency, you’ll free up time to focus on other aspects of your business. While you will need to get your agency up to speed at the start, once they’re up and running, there can be limited involvement from you.
Do you want financial flexibility?
Though an in-house team may work well for one business, it may become a financial burden for another — particularly in small and medium-sized companies. A business must think carefully about its content marketing budget and consider whether it may achieve better value for money and financial gains from the niche skills offered by a good agency.
What level of expertise do you need?
An in-house team may lack the experience needed to understand and act upon the nuances of your industry’s marketing dynamics. Agencies are right on top of the marketing game, and they can use their insider knowledge to offer the best strategies, content, and campaigns for your business.
Are you looking to scale your content marketing fast?
When you’re choosing between agency vs in-house, it’s time to appraise your short-term and long-term content marketing goals. Would an in-house team have the knowledge base and people power to achieve your long-term goals? Will the company have the finances to sustain a team while those are met? Alternatively, would the strategic prowess of an agency, with its flexibility for short- and long-term projects be the better option?
An in-house team is right where you need them, facilitating agile communication and a fast turnaround of smaller projects. This comes at a cost and your team may lack expertise. Though an agency initially lacks the depth of company knowledge of an in-house crew, they have the skillset, technology, strategy, and scope for successful marketing and scalability.
Scribly is a specialist content marketing agency
If a content agency feels right for your business, it’s time to find one that’s as keen to see your marketing succeed as you are…Scribly has entered the chat. Our content managers are strategic wizards. By taking the time to get to know your company, they’ll ensure a bespoke, results-driven approach that meets your goals. With our diverse team of freelancers, we’ve got an expert ready to go who knows your industry inside and out. We know we’re good…and we’re super excited to show you what we can do for your business. Get in touch today and let’s see what we can do together.
