08.16.21
Whether you’ve been around for a while or you’re new to digital marketing, you should have a good idea of the complexities and challenges involved in building a modern, creative, and innovative marketing team. The fact is, it’s not easy to find the right combination of experience and ability to bring your vision of a dream team to life. It takes instinct and insight to find the right fit and then build a marketing team.
This doesn’t happen overnight. It’s tricky to find people who fit your company culture and can contribute the skills you need to turn your vision into reality. Most of the time you’ll hit the mark. Occasionally you’ll misjudge what you thought was the perfect addition to your team. In that case, you move on and don’t look back.
What Makes a Marketing Dream Team?
Before you dive into what makes a strong marketing team, you need a framework that will help you understand the roles you need to fill. Look for people whose expertise in distinct areas ensures that your company can tell your clients’ stories with authenticity, effectively promote their products and services, and convert leads into loyal customers.
If your marketing company is new, you have the advantage of building your team from the ground up. You also have the disadvantage of having to assume some of these responsibilities yourself or outsourcing them until you complete your dream team. In any case, while you’re working on making your team the best that it can be, the following information can get you started.
The Marketing Director
The Marketing Director (also known as Chief Marketing Officer or Marketing VP) is your team leader. Whatever the name, this person is your strategist and marketing expert who is knowledgeable and experienced enough to coordinate all of the moving parts into an effective strategy. Your team leader should be someone who understands how marketing as a discipline operates and how all of the pieces fit together.
The Marketing Director is the liaison between the other team members and company management. This individual determines schedules, sets deadlines, creates strategies, and monitors team performance.
The team leader’s most important role is setting expectations for the rest of the staff. He or she should be adept at leading, guiding, and coaching others as they work toward desired outcomes.
The Marketing Manager
The Marketing Manager is a strategist that helps to put the plans into action. This individual is tasked with considering not only what the team does on a daily basis, but where they are headed in the long term.
The Marketing Manager should be proficient at organizing, planning, and focusing on the big-picture. This person should understand that metrics matter and have the ability to interpret them.
The Content Writers
Content writers are the centerpiece of your marketing team. They should be able to master different writing styles, understand their audience, bring a unique perspective to an everyday subject, and engage readers with compelling, informative content.
While content should align with business goals, the priority should be to provide the audience with valuable, compelling information. Look for candidates who are able to adapt to your company’s voice and have a talent for strong, persuasive writing.
The Web Designer
The internet is image-oriented. Even if your content is killer, it takes great design to draw the eye and make it stand out. Captivating visuals can hold a customer’s attention and keep them coming back for more.
You need a great designer who can not only bring your content to life but who has a grasp on the key elements of user experience (UX) and web design. Reach out to individuals with impressive portfolios that contain strong and unique samples.
The Web Developer
Don’t skimp on your web developer. You need an experienced person with an extensive background in multiple platforms from HTML and CSS to tools like WordPress and HubSpot. The web developer is responsible for putting the team’s hard work into place and maintaining a functionally sound website. This is the teammate that keeps everything from grinding to a halt.
Look for a person with excellent referrals and up-to-date certifications. A huge factor in your web developer’s value is the ability to solve problems that you never would have considered. Your web developer should be a partner that can suggest solutions to move toward solving your problems and reaching your goals.
The SEO Expert
An SEO specialist is a vital member of any marketing dream team.
SEO evolves and fluctuates with every new Google update, and keeping up with the changes is a constant journey in self-education. The SEO specialist makes sure that your content is optimized without being over-optimized. He or she takes the lead in making sure that SEO strategies are being prioritized and used consistently.
People with a detail-oriented background, an understanding of website development & keyword research, and broader audience trends are a great fit for this position.
The Social Media Marketer
A social media marketer has a unique marketing dream team role. Writing engaging and meaningful content isn’t enough to gain online attention. This individual has to create photo and video content that will stand out in the crowd, catch the attention of potential clients, and establish industry authority.
Look for a potential dream team member who is adept at handling content and managing paid ads on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Skills in scheduling and maintaining a social media presence and an understanding of social media analytics are important requirements of this position.
The Project Manager
The Project Manager is responsible for managing workflows and deadlines. It’s important that this team member can smoothly coordinate the internal workings and activities of your company with contractors and outside resources. Occasionally they will be required to find necessary resources outside of the company
Look for an individual with strong organizational skills and the willingness to tolerate stress.
Summing-Up
In the rapidly changing marketing landscape, a good team isn’t enough. You need a dream team to take your company to the next level. You can create a good marketing team by finding the right people with the right skills. To create a marketing dream team, however, you need problem solvers, creative thinkers, passionate marketers, life-long learners – a team with the ability to work together to bring out the best in each other while they do their best for your clients.