In-Bound Marketing: Pros and Cons

In-Bound Marketing has become one of the most effective methods in online marketing and has proven to bring leads to franchises. However, one cannot help but feel as though it would be easier, more time effective and less costly to just create content in-house. And that’s a fair point. Some franchises plan and execute in-house content with great effectiveness, bringing great leads to their business while not having to resort to a third party to create content for them. On the other hand, for many others the commitment, the cost and the ability to pull off content marketing projects in-house can be too much of a burden. So if you are considering bringing your content marketing in-house, here is a round up of all the requirements necessary to make it work, and the pros and cons of bringing content marketing in-house.

Skills You Need to Begin In-Bound Marketing

Although it may sound easy, content creation is actually a difficult process. Blog posts and other content pieces need to be informative and eye catching. Boring pieces that seems to be hastily thrown into place and have no relevance can be a recipe for failure for your in-bound marketing strategy. The work needs to be well written, creative and unique. To create impactful content pieces, many important skills are required such as knowledge of Search Engine Optimization to give your blog maximum effectiveness, knowledge of web analytics and copywriting experience. In addition to this, you need the tools and software that can make sure that you put these skills to use in an effective manner. The tools however can have a higher price tag for someone going at it alone in-house as compared to partnering up with an in-bound marketing agency.

Pros and Cons of In-Bound Marketing

Having seen some of the skills required to be an effective in-house content marketer, we can also look at some of the pros of doing in-bound marketing. One of the benefits is the close communication between team members. Creating content in-house allows for quicker sharing of ideas, and a more streamlined approach to content creation from the top down. This means greater control of how to present the business’ brand. Furthermore, another benefit is having the ability to hand pick team members that will be able to create the content that aligns to the brand. This emphasizes the close relationship between the business management and the content creators when creating content in-house. Finally, one of the pro’s is that the sole responsibility for the success or failure of the content marketing is completely on you. If you create high quality content, you will get great leads and create a great brand image. However, if you create throwaway material that is not helpful to your target demographic than your content strategy will fail. It’s as simple as that.

That being said, there are also cons that come along with bringing content marketing in-house. One of the cons that comes along with In-Bound marketing is the higher payroll expenses when compared to the monthly fees that would be paid out to marketing agencies due to the demand of hiring new staff to create content in house. If you do not hire new staff to create the original content, then there is a tendency of existing staff to become overwhelmed with the amount of projects that they have to handle. Also, having a lack of experience in online marketing can mean a shortage of innovative marketing ideas that can really separate your business’ brand from the rest. Lack of knowledge in areas important to content marketing such as search engine optimization can cause even the best written content piece to become ineffective and unable to bring leads to the business. So if you don’t have previous experience dealing with In-Bound marketing online, the best option would be to outsource content creation to in-bound marketing agencies- a cheaper, more reliable and more experienced option.

Outsourcing Content Creation to In-Bound Marketing Agencies

That’s where In-Bound Marketing agencies like ClickTecs come in. One of the biggest issues that face franchises is when they try to take on too much content creation responsibility on themselves is a lack of flexibility. Having a mentality that doesn’t stay head of the curve and is stuck in a fixed campaigns and rigid procedures can be a recipe for failure in this rapidly evolving industry. Unlike in house marketing teams, agencies focus on your content marketing schemes day in, day out. Even though most of the time is spent planning, creating and publishing content that can resonate with the target demographic, time is also taken to see where the content marketing plan is headed next in order to make sure our clients are ahead of the trends. So if you’re looking for a long term solution to your content marketing issues, contact ClickTecs today and let us give you a free evaluation on how we can bring serious buyers to your business.