Choosing between help and tools
As a marketing manager, you need to decide if you need more hands or a better machine. An agency provides more hands, people who can help you with the creative, the strategy, and the daily grind. A managed content network provides a better machine, it does the heavy lifting of distribution for you automatically. If you are drowning in manual tasks, the network is the answer. If you are drowning in a lack of quality content or strategic direction, the agency is the answer. Be honest about where your pain point is.
Managing your workload
Managing an agency takes a lot of your time. You have to be the middleman between them and your leadership team. It is a full-time job. Managing a managed content network is much easier. You provide the files, and they distribute them. The network is a tool; the agency is a project. If you want to simplify your life, the network is the way to go. You want to reclaim your time, not fill it with more meetings and coordination tasks.
Advancing your career
If you want to be a top-tier marketing leader, you need to know how to leverage technology. Using a managed content network shows that you understand the power of automated distribution. It shows you know how to get big results with lean resources. Agencies are great, but they are a traditional way of working. A managed content network is a modern, high-leverage way to approach marketing. This is the kind of experience that makes you stand out and positions you for more senior roles in the future.
The professional choice
Don't let the agency sell you on their 'expertise' if all you need is a bigger audience. Sometimes the smartest thing you can do is admit that you don't need another person on your payroll or another meeting on your calendar. You need reach. If the agency can't deliver that reach at scale, look at a network. It is a professional move that focuses on the end result rather than the traditional way of getting there. Your leadership will respect you for it.
Marketing managers should choose the solution that best addresses their current bottleneck, whether it is creative capacity (agency) or reach (network).
See your network before you hire.
Tell us what your law firm already makes and how you get customers today. We'll show you a real network running live and tell you honestly whether it fits. It costs about the same as one marketing hire.
Follow-up questions
What happens if the agency and network clash?
This happens if you don't manage them as a unified strategy. Make sure both parties understand their role and how they contribute to your firm's growth.
Which is more fun to manage?
The network is more fun because you get to see the results grow without having to do the boring manual work of posting and engaging.
Do I have to fire my agency?
No, you just change their scope. Ask them to focus on the creative production while the network handles the execution.