Marketing is a catch-all term for a LOT of different activities. When it comes to hiring a marketing specialist it’s good to be clear on what specific skills you need.
When I mention the word marketing, what comes to mind?
Maybe you think about social media? Or email marketing?
The fact is, there are SO many different facets to a marketing strategy for your small business - it’s unlikely that you can focus on EVERYTHING all at one time.
This is especially important when you’re considering hiring some marketing help - not every marketing professional is an expert in every aspect of marketing.
So, you need to make sure you’re hiring someone with the right skillset for where your business is RIGHT NOW.
Here are a couple of things to think about before you get hiring:
The difference between a marketing specialist and a marketing manager
A marketing manager is often a ‘generalist’ who manages the marketing function of a business. They’re likely to have a broad understanding of all the key elements of a successful marketing campaign and will manage the strategy as a whole.
However, for small service-based businesses, like ours, it often makes more sense to hire a marketing ‘specialist’ for a specific project.
There are a couple of benefits to this:
- It can be more cost-effective to hire a specialist contractor for one-off projects, as you need them, rather than investing in a full-time marketing generalist.
- A marketing specialist has their own unique skill set and passion and can bring focused expertise to your marketing efforts.
What does a marketing specialist do?
A marketing specialist is a subject matter expert in a particular area of marketing. They can help you audit your current marketing activities in that area, create a strategy and implement the plan.
They may focus on areas of marketing, like:
- SEO/ PPC
- Facebook/ Instagram advertising
- Social media management
- Email marketing
- Copywriting
- Public Relations
In my case, my area of focus is creating marketing funnels to take your business from being an unknown player in the market to having raving fans and repeat customers.
The three things to check before hiring a marketing specialist?
As with any investment in your business, hiring a marketing specialist requires careful thought and consideration.
You want to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck, so it’s worth considering the following points:
1. Is your business ready?
First and foremost you need to be clear that hiring this person is going to move you towards achieving your business goals.
For example, if your goal for this month is to earn $$$ by selling a program to your email list, then is hiring a Facebook ads manager the right move right now?
It’s easy to think that you need to be ALL the places - Facebook ads, Google ads, email marketing - but, you’re not going to reap the benefit of bringing a specialist on board if your business isn’t yet set up to take advantage of their expertise.
2. Does the specialist have raving fans and testimonials?
Once you know you’re ready to hire some help, it’s time to consider what to look for in a marketing specialist.
The biggest danger in hiring a specialist is also the main reason you’re hiring them - that is, they know far more than you about a particular marketing topic.
The problem with this is that you may not know the right questions to ask to figure out if they’re the best fit for your business, or if they’re really capable of generating the results they’ve promised.
This is where your network of contacts comes in handy, as hiring on referral is always an easier task.
But, failing that, their testimonials and case studies are a great place to see what their past clients are saying.
3. Do they have a good network?
Another point to consider when hiring a specialist is to look at their network. Are they well connected with other marketing experts?
In my case, when you hire me to help you with your sales funnel and marketing strategy, you get a whole network of tried and tested marketing specialists who can bring the funnel together - from a Facebook ad expert to a copywriter or graphic designer.
So, when you hire me you don’t have to worry about finding all the other contractors to make each marketing project in your funnel a success.
If now is the right time for you to get more focused on your sales funnel to help your business attract more leads and make more sales then I’d love to chat. Check out my services and book a free, no-obligation, call.