There are a number of things to look for when it comes to hiring a marketing team. Your first step is to decide which marketing activities you wish them to perform, so you can ensure they are the best fit for the job.
The Job Description
Write a detailed job description. Include ways that you can measure their performance and success. A good example for an email marketer might be to get 100 new subscribers per month. For a Facebook specialist, it might be to get a certain number of likes, comments and shares.
Their Resume
Expect all resumes to be inflated. Look for keywords within their resume, such as “email marketing” or “Facebook,” to ensure they have the right skills. Experience is one of the most important criteria for hiring someone, though it is by no means the only one.
Their Freelance Profile
Carefully read their freelance profiles at Fiverr.com and Upwork.com (if they have these.) Again, look for keywords to ensure they are a good match.
Their Reviews
The top freelance sites allow customers to post reviews about the work the freelancer has done for them. Read these carefully to see if the person sounds as if they will be reliable and a good fit for working with you.
Their Online Presence
Around 80% of all hiring managers Google prospective candidates to see what they will find. In terms of marketing, if they are not doing a good job of putting themselves out there, they’re probably not going to be that effective in promoting your business. Check LinkedIn and Facebook. If anything raises any red flags, look for another candidate.
Freelancing
One of the best ways to tell if a person will be a good fit for your marketing team is to assign them a couple of freelance projects so they will work for you on a trial basis, and you will be able to determine just how reliable and skilled they really are.
Your Goals, Their Skills
It’s important to set clear marketing goals on a regular basis so you have something to aim for and can measure your success. These goals will also help you prioritize who you need to bring on the team.
If you want to create a really robust business page on Facebook, for example, complete with customized artwork, you will then search Fiverr, Upwork and other freelance sites for people who specialize in this aspect of Facebook. Once your account is set up, then you might wish to hire another person to keep your account up to date and focus on getting you likes, shares and comments.
Cultural and Knowledge Fit
Every company has their own culture, or attitudes and ways of doing things. It’s important to hire someone who is not going to cause friction or who is a lone wolf who will insist on doing things their own way all the time. Life is too short to deal with unreasonable people, and time is money. The whole point of hiring people for your marketing team is to take your business to the next level and make more money.
In terms of knowledge, some people specialize in certain topics or niches, such as health or finance. If you want to create an alternative medicine site to sell supplements, for example, it’s probably best to hire someone who has experience in writing health content.
Use these tips to help you find your perfect team to take you forward and achieve your goals.
Do you have some questions about hiring a digital marketing team, and don’t know who to ask? Why not ask me? I can help you with both with the big picture and implementation to help you find the right people to grow your business. We can do this together in 75 minutes; though my whiteboard session. Learn more about it!
