The legal industry in Greenville, SC, is becoming more competitive. Digital marketing is one strategy that plays a significant role in the growth and success of a law firm. A digital marketing agency could be a serious feather in a company’s cap.
Lawyers need to understand the position they aim to take in the market and what services they can provide to attain this position. Hence, firms should focus their time and resources on their marketing efforts.
Your law firm will not succeed if it is not properly marketed to your target audience. Therefore, it is important for law offices to use digital marketing strategies to set themselves apart from increasing competition. This is an effective way to consistently attract and retain your clients and improve your brand awareness and credibility.
Digital marketing allows lawyers to express their firm’s qualities, values, and work culture. So, a firm’s marketing plan should involve digital marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, digital ads, blogging, and other tactics. Unfortunately, most Greenville lawyers struggle with how to market their firms.
Lawyers can rely on their internal marketing team or invest in the services of a digital marketing agency. In-house vs. agency marketing is a critical decision for law firms. This article discusses in-house marketers vs. digital marketing agencies and which one is beneficial to your firm’s goals.
What Is Law Firm Marketing?
Law firm marketing involves promoting your legal services to your target audience using paid and organic strategies. Again most attorneys don’t understand how to strategically plan their marketing tactics to help them reach and persuade their audience.
They are forced to rely on referrals and traditional means of advertisement to get new clients. Sadly, these methods can be unsustainable in the long run. With the right approach, lawyers can develop and execute a marketing plan to improve their financial performance. You need a working marketing strategy to improve your marketing efforts.
When considering your marketing strategy for your firm, you must create a well-thought-out marketing budget. Then, depending on your goals and budget, you can invest in marketers.
Understanding the Difference Between In-House Marketing Vs. Digital Marketing Agency
We’ll examine what makes both options the best and not so attractive.
In-House Marketing
In-house marketing involves relying on your internal marketing team to market your firm. You don’t use a third party to manage your marketing efforts. This approach is more common among small to relatively medium-sized law firms.
The marketing team you hire will be able to understand your firm and help build your brand. In addition, they will develop, manage, and maintain your digital marketing strategy. In deciding whether your firm should invest in internal marketers, you must consider the pros and cons.
Pros
Benefits of keeping your marketing in-house include:
- Your team will properly align with your firm’s vision, goals, and mission. Also, they are familiar with your brand, which informs all their marketing decisions.
- Law firms do not have to share their digital control and other vital customer information with third-party agencies.
- Working with in-house marketers can be cost-effective for some law firms.
- Communication will be streamlined as the team will be working together regularly.
- Hiring a team lowers the risk of experiencing a conflict of interest as they share a common goal and interest.
- There is accessibility and faster decision-making.
- Your marketing team is more likely to take creative risks for your marketing needs.
- Finally, your internal team has more creative control over the content they generate for the firm.
Cons
Just as there are advantages to this approach, there are also disadvantages. For example, maintaining an internal marketing team isn’t the cheapest investment. You have to pay full-time salaries, buy tools, etc.
Other disadvantages include:
- Hiring and establishing the right internal marketing team can be tedious and time-consuming.
- Skills and experience are limited when prioritizing what you want for your team.
- Besides hiring your team, you must also consider your marketing software expenses. This ranges from SEO tools, web development, graphics design, etc.
- Finally, losing team members can slow your marketing efforts and result in poor performance.
Digital Marketing Agency
Digital marketing agencies specialize and have expertise in online marketing, from websites to social media advertising. This external marketing team employs various strategies, tactics, and online tools to help you attain your marketing and sales goals. This involves using digital strategies that are measurable, targeted, and interactive.
The marketing strategies used by digital marketers include the following:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Pay-per-click ads (PPC)
- Strategy development
- Content development
- Website design
- Data reports
- Planning and executing a successful digital marketing campaign to reach your audience.
Consider these pros and cons when deciding whether to invest in a digital marketing agency for your marketing needs.
Pros
Digital marketing agencies are equipped with the resources to meet your firm’s marketing needs effectively.
- Digital marketing agencies have skills and capabilities that in-house marketers cannot match.
- Digital marketing trends constantly change. As a result, digital marketing agencies are always on top of the latest marketing trends.
- A good and professional marketing agency is reliable and accountable for its digital marketing strategies to sell your firm.
- With digital marketing agencies, your law firm gains advanced insights from advanced tools without paying for them.
- Working with an experienced company can help your firm get the most value and return on investment (ROI) from digital marketing.
- An agency is your best option when considering the best use of your investment and marketing budget.
- Your law firm doesn’t have to worry about purchasing or researching marketing tools. Instead, they have marketing software to help track and measure your marketing campaign.
- Finally, marketing agencies are familiar with industry standards, advertising and marketing rules, regulations, etc.
Cons
Like in-house marketing, relying on digital marketing agencies also has drawbacks. This includes:
- Sometimes, working with an agency can lead to opposing judgments and conflict of interests.
- Your firm can feel neglected as marketing agencies deal with alot of clients. Thus, it may be difficult for them to devote their full time and attention to your marketing project.
- It takes longer for them to get familiar with your brand and target audience.
- Agencies prefer to work with freedom, so you may not have complete control over your marketing campaign.
Hire a Full-Service Digital Marketing Agency for Your Firm’s Marketing Needs!
You are not alone if you are wondering whether to use your firm’s in-house marketing team or hire a digital marketing agency. It all depends on your goals and the budget you are willing to spend for your marketing purposes.
Whichever approach you take, ensure to evaluate the return on your investment. However, we recommend you outsource your firm’s marketing strategies to full-service digital marketing agencies. Contact EverConvert today for more information.
