Is In-House the Future of Digital Marketing and What are the Benefits?
The future of digital marketing is heading in-house with brands worldwide discovering the benefits of keeping their digital close to home. The shift from agency to in-house digital marketing has increased rapidly over the past couple of years, with a recent study finding that 91% of brands have moved a part of their digital marketing operations in-house.
So, is in-house the future of digital marketing? Have brands started to realise their internal potential? And, how can your company benefit from taking your digital marketing in-house? All of these questions will be answered in our helpful guide below.
What is in-house digital marketing?
The term ‘in-house’ is defined as work that is done within an organisation or company by its employees, rather than a third party. In terms of digital marketing, an internal team would lead online campaigns to enhance the brand instead of hiring an agency to do the work for them.
There is no set approach to running an internal digital marketing team. Some brands require a lot more staff than others, while smaller companies could run a successful digital team with fewer than 5 people.
According to the latest Bannerflow report, over 73% of brands now have an in-house digital marketing team, and 56% say their team is made up of 10 or fewer staff members. As effective as agencies are in digital marketing (because they know the industry so well), there are great benefits to embracing digital marketing’s future and bringing your digital resource in-house. Plus, it’s never too late to try it!
The benefits of in-house digital marketing
Brands that tested the waters early on and got one step ahead of the in-house digital marketing trend, felt the benefits almost immediately, stating a great return on investment (ROI) and increased productivity and creativity.
As uncovered by Bannerflow, the move to in-house has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with 48% of brands reporting an increase in team togetherness during this time, despite working remotely.
Return on investment and staff growth
Although the pandemic drove business closures and job-losses, many companies actually increased their head count over the past two years, with 32% increasing by one to two people and another 32% reporting an increase of between three and five staff members!
Brands are clearly moving to build their in-house teams from the ground up and as a result, 63% of brands are experiencing a positive ROI since their move to in-house.
Transparency
An undeniable benefit of in-housing is transparency. In-house teams have complete control over their advertising spend and immediate access to campaign results. The business can decide how they want this data to be reported, without having to conform to an agency’s internal processes.
Centralised messaging and branding
As part of your internal team, an in-house member of staff is much more likely to hold the company’s goals and philosophy closer to their own ideals, and will completely understand what makes your business tick. As agencies will juggle an entire roster of clients, they can typically be slow to respond and react.
With a shared vision, an in-house team is better able to understand the brand’s vision and work towards your business goals, they’ll also be able to action any last minute campaigns or reactionary social media posts with lightning quick pace.
Improving as a team
Having an internal team has also proven to promote curiousness and the development of skills. Bannerflow states that 74% of brands have reported that their staff are more hungry for information, while 66% have seen their team developing new skills during the pandemic.
Furthermore, 66% have reported that their in-house digital marketing team are offering new ideas and strategies more frequently than before. This can only lead to better results, productivity and growth both as a team and company!
An improved use of data
By investing in developing staff, brands have noticed their internal marketing teams are using technology and data more effectively than ever before.
Technology is an enabler of innovation and allows marketers to focus on the creative aspects of their job. 58% of brands say they are using data more than before, while 50% are using the data better than they ever have done previously, leading to an increase in creativity and accuracy.
How House Digital can help you
The best digital marketers around have found their home at House Digital.
When we welcome you into our House, you’ll get acquainted with our in-house experts of digital marketing. We’ll help you to unlock your full potential by placing and training your in-house talent.
We can lay the foundations by configuring your digital channels, before adding structure to support your business goals. We’ll add a lick of paint from time to time to accelerate your growth and spruce up your strategies, but by then you’ll have a clear roadmap of how to achieve your goals.
The future of digital marketing is in-house, but it’s not as straight-forward as it seems. If you’re in need of digital marketing support from industry experts or would like to know more about the services we offer, give the House Digital team a call! We’d love to hear from you.
Contact us now on 01704 898951, or email us at hello@housedigital.co.uk.
