Hiring Marketing Support

Hiring Marketing Support

We are not currently hiring for internal marketing support. These are notes collected from previous marketing conversations and research.

Roles

There are a number of different roles we can look for, depending on our needs or the initiatives we choose to move forward. Below is an overview of the most likely external roles we would consider, through a Series A.

Marketing

Marketing is the collection of activities and tactics brands use to place their messages into the market, with the goal of influencing the audience to buy. Marketing is more focused on sales than branding and is based on a shorter timeframe. It almost always has a call to action to buy or to step toward a buy. Tactics include go-to-market strategy, short-term campaigns, inbound/outbound sales, advertising, channel partnerships, promotions, media, SEO and lead development. Marketing usually comes into play after the brand and brand strategy is defined.

Technical Founder’s Guide to Essential Marketing Activities

Hiring Considerations

• Marketing support can be hired on a PT or freelance basis up to Series A

• Agencies tend to be more expensive, but could be a good option if we are trying to execute across multiple initiatives

• Does our marketing budget match the candidate’s expectations? It is important to identify what they can work with up front.

• Are we hiring for a discrete marketing activity or project with a clear scope (e.g. running ad tests, SEO)? Then go with a freelancer or smaller agency.

Additional Resources

First Round Capital also has a great resource on hiring for different marketing roles (full time and freelance):

• Playbook for hiring the right marketer at the right time for your startup

• So you think you’re ready to hire a marketer?

Brand Strategist

Brand strategy is a set of short and long-term expressions of the brand to attract and nurture the target audience to become and remain customers. It is the act of expressing a brand in the market from its differentiation strategy, to its personality to its purpose, whether that is visually, verbally or otherwise. What makes a brand a “brand”? A company’s reputation, product quality, quality of service delivered, etc.

What brand strategists do and don’t do

What they do

Help a company build a relationship with the market, shaping long-term perception and influenceGet to know a brand from the inside-out, including dissecting the audience, understanding company goals, researching competitors and defining values.Create a foundation and approach based on research to position a brand in the market.Plan visuals, language, tone and voice to deliver a cohesive identity across all platforms

What they do not do

Design!Brand strategists tend to not have much brand design and identity expertise.

Hiring Considerations

• Can be hired on a part time or contract basis

• Engagements can last from several months or years depending on organization size, complexity of the project and the need for ongoing support.

We can hire either a Brand Strategist or a Marketing Strategist to create a cohesive strategy that will build the business, however Brand Strategists tend to have a broader scope and set of skills to bring both marketing and branding together in one strategy.

Pricing

• The majority of freelancers or consultants have a rate card with hourly and project-based fees. If a project is very targeted with a short turnaround, a project-based fee is appropriate. More complex projects may require a mix of hourly and project-based fees.

• Ask the potential hire to clearly outline their pricing, if they do not have that already prepared. A clear outline will include:

• Hourly rates

• Additional fees if any

• Levers that will make a price change

• Ask for example of a small, medium and large-scale project and timing, to understand total cost with hourly rates.

Hiring Strategy Considerations

Before reaching out we should:

• Create one-page brief that outlines our needs, objectives, timeline, budget and expectations on deliverables. This will help to streamline the request and help potential candidates to prepare examples, pricing, etc.

• Identify what internal resources will be available such as branding, language, interviews, team-members, etc.

When reaching out to and evaluating a potential consultant, freelancer or agency, we should ask ourselves the following questions:

• Have we ruthlessly prioritized our needs and set our expectations so we can focus on the right set of skills for a hire?

• Does this person or agency understand what we want to accomplish? Do they demonstrate this by listening to our needs and providing relevant, recent examples of their work?

• Do we feel this person or agency understands our voice and what we are trying to communicate? If there is a counter-argument to what we propose, are they able to communicate an alternative and back it up with examples (from their own work or within the industry)?

• Have they worked with startups recently (within the past five years)?