Your company has to make a decision: either develop an in-house content marketing team or outsource. Or, perhaps you currently have an in-house or outsourced content marketing team and undecided about whether switching one for the other would be better at keeping in line with your company goals.
Making that decision will require knowledge of the pros and cons of each approach, and then following which arrangement benefits your company the most.
Table of Contents
What Is a Content Marketing Team?
Your content marketing team should be a unit of individuals committed to all the facets of content marketing associated with your company. It doesn’t matter about the size of your organization; however, more than likely, the larger your company, the more content will be needed.
How Does It All Work?
According to research, a majority of marketers maintain that they can boost ROI or increase a brand’s presence with a highly-skilled content team. In fact, nearly 70 percent of content marketing is no longer leaving a paper trail but carried out digitally, which changes the game tremendously and gives content marketers more flexibility.
As a standard, you should hire a competent staff or agency that works best with your company’s budget. After reading the various pros and cons of each approach, you will be better able to make an informed choice about the direction of your content marketing strategy.
In-House Content Marketing Team
PROS
• Brand Familiarity
An in-house content marketing team will have comprehensive knowledge of your company’s history, objectives, ethics, and competitors. Because of this, your team will be better equipped to deliver content that suits your company brand, your target customer, and company goals.
• Inside Proficiency
Creating your own content marketing team means having hands-on direction of a skillful group of individuals, making it easier and quicker to create or modify content when necessary.
• Coordination Between Co-Workers
Because your team is in-house, communication is nearly instant and team members can coordinate to arrange meetings and tighten-up any loose ends of your content marketing strategy.
• Familiarity With Company Customs
An outsourced content marketing team will be less familiar with your company and may not “grasp” the essence of your organization’s rationale. Your in-house team is more in sync with your company’s culture and goals.
CONS
• Expertise Issues
According to a number of blogs and employment sites, the demand for content marketing skills has increased – due to ever changing marketing technologies – but finding talent has become an issue. As a consequence, you may encounter problems finding or putting together an in-house marketing staff with adequate up-to-date skills required for the task.
• Down in the Dumps
Though your in-house team will have a consistent amount of work, eventually quality may suffer. Hiring fresh talent may be unavoidable in order to drive motivation. Monster.com offers insightful advice on how to address poor work performance.
• Lack of Perspective
It’s the old “can’t see the forest for the trees” syndrome. Your in-house content marketing team may lack objectivity and vision which may culminate in less than stellar content. One big reason for this is the inability to think objectively about the company brand.
• Overhead
Employing staff can be expensive. It’s not simply a matter of finding the right people. Investopedia lists a number of factors that will come into play when hiring an employee like training, salary, benefits, workplace integration, and more.
Outsourced Content Marketing Team
PROS
• Expert Marketing Skills
A content marketing agency will bring a wealth of talent as they, in most cases, work with clients across a variety of verticals. In addition, they may offer tidbits and different approaches that can boost your content marketing effectiveness.
• Outside Perspective
A key advantage of an external team is a broader perspective, the ability to tackle difficulties from multiple angles, and being up-to-date on the latest marketing trends and strategies that result in favorable outcomes.
• Lower Costs
Outsourcing your marketing content will cost you considerably less than an in-house team. You will either be billed by-the-hour or put on a retainer, much like a pre-paid arrangement where you both consent to a specific amount of services.
• Access to Diverse Talent
Usually if you want to accelerate the production of your in-house team, hiring additional employees is the conventional way to do it. However, outsourcing will give you access to an unlimited network of workers and contractors with flexibility and diverse expertise.
CONS
• Lack of Immediate Access
One reason you might want to dismiss the idea of outsourcing your content marketing is accessibility. It’s refreshing to be able to call a meeting at a moment’s notice to chat about a project or to boost employee morale. Which can only happen with an in-house team.
• Product Unfamiliarity
Your chosen outsourced help may not be familiar with your company brand at all or if so, only minimally. You’ll have to show them the ropes of your company’s convictions and goals. Things that an in-house team would already know.
• Communication Standoff
Outsourced teams are usually contacted by email, phone, or some type of communication app. So, if you need to discuss an issue, you might have to wait. Nothing beats walking down the corridor to speak with your marketing content associates in the flesh whenever the need arises.
Conclusion
There are pros and cons to both in-house and outsourced content marketing teams. Both strategies are completely viable. What’s important is to diligently research before making your decision. This way, you’re more likely to select the approach that suits your company’s needs best.
