Understanding the Costs of an In-House Roofing Content Team

Welcome to the world of content creation—an ever-evolving landscape becoming the heartbeat of modern businesses. From captivating blog posts to engaging social media content and everything in between, the importance of quality content is skyrocketing. 

But here's the scoop: many companies are making a significant shift, bringing creative geniuses in-house to power their content engines.

Why the change, you ask? 

Well, that's where the magic begins. In-house content teams are becoming the go-to strategy for loads of reasons. They offer a level of control, consistency, and brand alignment that takes effort to beat. Plus, having your squad of talented writers and creators means they're immersed in your company's vibe, making the content sing your brand's tune loud and clear.

In this blog, we're diving deep into understanding what it takes to set up and maintain an in-house content team. We're exploring everything about the comprehensive costs involved while uncovering everything from salaries and tech tools to hidden expenses.

Get ready to become a pro at navigating the waters of in-house content creation costs.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Establishing and maintaining an in-house team
• Technology and tools
• Training and professional development
• Content quality
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) to consider 
• Comparing in-house vs. outsourcing

Establishing and Maintaining an In-House Team 

Building and sustaining an in-house content team involves several important cost components. Think of it as putting together the pieces of a puzzle, where each part plays a crucial role in the overall picture:

Salaries and Benefits: The most significant expense is typically the salaries and benefits of content creators. People with skills in writing, editing, designing, and shooting video command competitive salaries that contribute significantly to the budget.

Infrastructure and Technology: Content creation requires tools and technology, including editing, design, project management, and content distribution software. Initial investments and ongoing subscriptions/licenses can accumulate.

Training and Development: Continuous learning is essential in the content landscape. Budgets should account for training sessions, workshops, or courses to keep the team updated with industry trends and evolving skills.

Overheads: Office space, utilities, equipment, and administrative expenses contribute to the overall cost of running an in-house team.

Hidden Costs: These might include recruitment fees, employee turnover, additional freelancers hired during peak times, unexpected software updates or replacements, and the time invested in managing the team.

Each component contributes to the overall cost of establishing and maintaining an in-house content team. The trick is to balance all of them to keep your content team running smoothly. 

We recommend hiring two team members who can be solely dedicated to their role in content creation: the content manager and the videographer.

• Content manager: Hiring an in-house content manager can cost between $60k and $75k annually, as you must provide benefits, training, and development opportunities. However, it’s generally more cost-effective than working with an external agency or freelancer in the long run.

• Videographer: On average, an in-house videographer is paid around $50,000 annually. To achieve optimal results with video content, the expectation would be for the videographer to create about 150 videos per year or three videos per week. This means the cost per video would be approximately $350.

It’s essential to build a team that can adapt to fluctuations in content demand, seasonal shifts, or sudden project spikes. Scalability allows for adjusting team size, skill sets, or resources without incurring excessive costs. 

A flexible structure allows the team to scale up or down as needed efficiently, optimizing costs by aligning them with the workload. This adaptability also extends to skill diversification; a team with various abilities can tackle varied projects without outsourcing or hiring new full-time members, potentially reducing expenses. 

Let’s examine some tools and technologies you can use and their expected costs.

Technology and Tools

Regarding technology and tools for an in-house content team, essential investments revolve around ensuring smooth workflow and content creation. These typically include robust content management systems (CMS), editing software, design tools, project management platforms, and analytics tools to measure content performance. 

However, optimizing these expenditures is crucial for cost-effectiveness. Organizations can start by conducting thorough needs assessments to identify the tools necessary for their team's specific functions and objectives. This prevents unnecessary spending on flashy, irrelevant technologies. Regular reviews of the tools help ensure they align with evolving team needs. 

Exploring scalable or subscription-based models for software can provide flexibility in adjusting to changing demands without excessive costs. Investing in training programs to maximize the team's proficiency with these tools can enhance efficiency and, in turn, optimize the return on investment for these essential technologies.

Project Management Software: Prices range from free to $100 per month. Given the collaboration among multiple team members, maintaining cohesion becomes crucial. Fortunately, numerous tools are available to facilitate project monitoring, content collaboration, seamless communication, analytics tracking, and editorial calendar management.

Marketing Automation Software: The estimated cost is between $200 and $2,000 per month, depending on the plan and the number of contacts in your system. One system we recommend is HubSpot. This robust system empowers us to monitor website analytics, manage our corporate blog, automate content dissemination across email and social platforms, efficiently capture and deliver leads to our sales team, and meticulously track their journey from initial interaction to final contract signing.

Customer Relationship Management Software: Base prices range from $5 to $300 monthly. Establishing a method for channeling leads from your content endeavors to your sales team is imperative. While specific marketing automation platforms like HubSpot offer this capability, you might discover that a comprehensive CRM system such as Salesforce or JobNimbus aligns better with your goals and requirements.

Content Amplification: Estimated cost is between $50 and $100 per piece of published content. Getting the content marketing results you seek is nearly impossible without a network of engaged followers and advocates to distribute your content and share your brand. By blending organic social media distribution with precise paid strategies targeted at existing successful organic efforts, you effectively amplify your content to reach your audience. This approach, although optional, allows you to broadcast your content and cultivate and strengthen your network.

SEO Software: The estimated cost is between $80 and $600 monthly. For sustainable content marketing ROI, optimizing your content for search is essential. Utilizing tools like Moz and Ahrefs enables you to monitor existing keyword rankings, analyze competitor content, and fine-tune your site for better search performance. (source)

Training and Professional Development

Training and professional development are significant considerations contributing to the long-term costs of maintaining an in-house content team. While these initiatives seem like immediate expenses, they represent vital long-term investments. 

Continuous learning programs, workshops, and skill enhancement courses result in enrollment or facilitation costs and require team time and resources. However, overlooking these investments can lead to stagnation in skill sets, hindering the team's ability to adapt to industry advancements and changing content trends. 

As the content landscape evolves rapidly, ongoing training becomes pivotal for ensuring the team remains competitive and capable of producing high-quality content. Neglecting professional development could result in decreased efficiency, outdated strategies, and, ultimately, reduced output quality, impacting the team's effectiveness in the long run. 

Thus, while these initiatives contribute to immediate expenses, they significantly reduce the risk of higher long-term costs associated with inefficiencies and outdated practices.

Content Quality 

The quality of content is pivotal in determining an in-house team's cost-effectiveness. High-quality content often translates into better engagement, increased brand loyalty, and improved conversion rates, all of which contribute to a higher return on investment in the long term. However, achieving this quality often requires dedicated resources and time, which can escalate costs.

Balancing quality with budget constraints is a challenge but not an impossibility. Organizations can adopt several strategies to achieve this balance, such as:

• Focusing on strategic content planning, such as an editorial calendar, helps prioritize high-impact content areas within budget constraints, ensuring that resources are allocated where they'll yield the most significant returns. 

• Fostering a culture of efficiency and productivity within the team can maximize output without compromising quality. Streamlining processes, optimizing workflow, and using available resources effectively can all contribute to achieving high-quality content within budget limitations.

• Leveraging the expertise of subject matter experts (salespeople who collaborate and share knowledge with the content team) enriches content creation with a unique blend of industry insights and customer-centric perspectives, ensuring comprehensive and compelling material that resonates with your audience.

• Implementing technology intelligently and investing in the right tools that enhance productivity and quality can optimize content creation processes and reduce unnecessary expenditures.

Ultimately, while cost constraints are a reality, cutting corners on content quality can lead to long-term repercussions. 

Striking a balance between quality and budget requires strategic planning, efficient resource allocation, and fully leveraging the available talent and technology. This way, organizations can deliver impactful content while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Key Performance Indicators to Consider 

Key performance indicators in content creation serve as guiding metrics, provide valuable insights into performance, drive strategies, and ensure content aligns with goals.

Several KPIs can help organizations gauge the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of their in-house content team:

• Cost per Content Piece: Calculating the cost incurred for each content piece produced can provide a clear picture of the team's efficiency with the budget allocated.

• Content Production Time: Tracking the time to produce content pieces helps evaluate the team's efficiency. Lower production times often correlate with higher efficiency.

• Content Performance Metrics: Assessing engagement metrics such as views, shares, comments, and conversions relative to the cost of creating the content provides insights into the effectiveness of the team's efforts.

• Resource Utilization: Monitoring how effectively resources—time, tools, and team members—are utilized for content creation helps optimize workflows and identify areas of improvement.

• Return on Investment (ROI): Measuring the financial returns generated by the content against the total investment in creating it gives a clear understanding of the team's cost-effectiveness.

• Content Quality Ratings: Establishing qualitative measures like content quality ratings or user feedback can complement quantitative metrics, offering a holistic view of the team's performance.

• Team Productivity: Tracking the content volume produced within a specific timeframe or per team member can indicate productivity levels and guide resource allocation.

By consistently monitoring these KPIs, organizations can gain valuable insights into the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of their in-house content team. These metrics not only help assess current performance but also assist in making informed decisions to optimize processes and improve outcomes in the future.

Comparing In-House vs. Outsourcing

The cost dynamics between outsourcing content creation and maintaining an in-house team vary based on several factors.

Related: Marketing Training vs. Agency: What’s the Difference?

Outsourcing:

• Initial Cost: Outsourcing often involves lower initial costs as there are no long-term salary or benefit commitments.

• Variable Expenses: It offers flexibility as costs are project-based, allowing scaling up or down as needed.

• Access to Expertise: Outsourcing provides access to specialized skills without hiring full-time employees.

In-House:

• Control and Consistency: In-house teams offer better control over quality, consistency, and brand alignment in content creation.

• Long-term Investment: While in-house teams may incur higher initial costs due to salaries and benefits, they can yield higher ROI over time.

• Cultural Alignment: In-house teams are more immersed in the company culture and vision, leading to more aligned content strategies.

The choice between outsourcing and in-house teams often depends on the nature of content needs, required expertise, budget, long-term strategic goals, and the desired level of control. Some organizations might even adopt a hybrid model, leveraging outsourcing and in-house capabilities to balance costs and quality effectively.

Final Thoughts  

One thing shines through in understanding the intricate costs behind establishing and maintaining an in-house content team—the value of strategic investment. 

Balancing quality with budget constraints, optimizing technology, fostering continuous learning, and adapting to changing needs are the cornerstones of a cost-effective content powerhouse. While the expenses might seem daunting, they are investments in long-term success. 

Remember, it's not just about managing costs; it's about strategically channeling resources to create content that resonates, engages, and propels your brand forward. 

With a keen eye on efficiency and a commitment to quality, your in-house content team becomes not just a cost center but a vital engine driving your brand's narrative to tremendous success.

Have questions? Take the time to talk with an advisor today! We would love to hear from you!