Pediatrician needed… may be required to perform brain surgery. Note: No extra salary for being able to perform surgery. I can’t imagine seeing an employment ad of this magnitude. It would be insulting to the brain surgeon, not to mention that the pediatrician would not be knowledgeable enough to perform brain surgery.

This is an exaggeration, but I constantly see this when companies and business owners try to hire for digital marketing experts. They run ads for social media managers that say, social media manager needed must be able to manage all social media platforms, create and implement a social media strategy that is cohesive with the company branding and marketing efforts…

Oh, and by the way…

• they must be able to create graphics for social media and occasionally create brand material like marketing brochures.
• They must also be a video producer capable of recording and editing video for social media, having your own equipment is a plus.
• Must also be able to update the company website, so HTML knowledge is a plus.
• The ability to develop an email marketing campaign with sales automations, create newsletters, that coincide with our current marketing plans is required.
• Must be able to create all the written content for all marketing initiatives.
• Attend company events, take pictures for social media.
• Contribute to marketing and creative meetings

And the list goes on… Then they say job pays anywhere between $15 to $20 per hour.

How insulting!

Why is this happening with Digital Marketing?

Let’s go back to our original example, how many of us understand what it takes to become a brain surgeon? Not too many of us know the answer to that. Does a brain surgeon enter an operating room by himself to perform an operation or does he have a team that enters the operating room with him? As far as I can tell from hospital TV shows they always work with a team.

It’s the same thing with digital marketing. Many of us simply don’t understand what’s involved in running an effective digital marketing campaign within a business but the truth is that you need a team to execute a good digital media strategy.

As a business owner you must figure out your digital strategy before placing an employment ad on platforms like Indeed for social media managers or any digital media marketing positions. The example above is one that I have seen several times on employment websites. The company says they are looking for a social media manager but what they don’t realize is that the description above calls for at least 8 different employees.  They need the following digital marketing positions:

• A digital marketing strategist
• A digital marketing specialist/manager
• A graphic designer
• A website developer
• An email marketing specialist
• A videographer/editor
• Copywriter/Content creator
• And of course, the position they originally put in for a social media manager

This is the team that is needed to fill the position listed above and it’s really the skills that many companies are searching for. Now, some companies change their job position to Digital Marketing manager and think that they are now looking for someone who can fill all these positions.

Is it possible? Sometimes, anything is possible! In this situation, there are some people who can fill all of these positions but they’re not going to work for $50k or even $75k per year or even want to take on the tasks of all these positions even if they had the skills to do every single one themselves.

How do I know this? Because I am one of these people, with different levels of proficiencies I can do each one of these tasks. It doesn’t mean I can complete them all in a 40-hour work week. But I can oversee and manage a digital marketing team because of the knowledge and capabilities that I personally have.

Are you ready to hire a team of digital marketers?

As a business owner who isn’t already an online business, meaning you traditionally get business from referrals, you’re a brick-and-mortar business or you’ve been around for several years but you’re looking to expand… are you ready to hire a team of digital marketers? Depending on where you are in this expansion you need help with making future digital marketing decisions.

Hiring a team of digital marketers will first require your time and unless you plan to manage this team, I suggest you seek a digital marketing strategist first and/or a digital marketing manager. Your manager will see the hiring of any other team members that you will need depending on the digital strategy that you have planned.

Reading this should be triggering at least one thought, this is going to be expensive! The truth is, if you want to do it right and in-house it is going to be expensive. On the conservative side, you’re probably going to spend at least $200k+ per year on just salaries. If that doesn’t scare you, then move forward with your digital marketing expansion.

A second option for your digital marketing expansion.

The second option would be to outsource your digital marketing efforts. In the ideal setup this is what you’re looking for.

1. A company that can plan out a digital marketing strategy for your business. This includes understand your current non-digital marketing and how they can cohesively work them together.
2. A digital marketing project manager. This person will be your go to person. The person that oversees the implementation of your digital marketing strategy.
3. The digital marketing company will manage all aspects of your digital marketing strategy. This includes but not limited to website maintenance/redesign, email marketing, social media management and ad management, graphic design, video strategy, recording and editing, content development, and any other digital marketing products.

Final thoughts.

You have many other areas of your business to continue to grow and delegate, like creating your financial team, customer service team, and operations team. The goal for your digital media marketing should be to have someone else manage it and let you continue to run your business.

If you’re a business owner or a manager working on creating or improving your current digital marketing situation, I invite you to schedule a digital marketing consultation. There we will discuss your digital marketing goals, take a brief look at your current digital presence, and determine what we would need to do to make your digital marketing goals a reality.

My name is Jose Rosa. I’m the owner of Speyre Network and several other businesses and projects. I’ve been in the marketing and digital marketing space for over 25 years and want to provide you with as much insight that I can through my blog and email newsletter.

I also run and online blog called Today with Jose, where I am building a platform to help others who have also battled cancer like myself.

I am available for consultation and also for implementing digital marketing strategies in your company or organization.