Marketing is an interesting topic. There are strict and obvious practices worth focusing on. Good SEO practice, for example, has real principles and techniques worth learning and knowing about. However, marketing is also part art. In other words, finding a killer tagline, putting together a good video presentation, and understanding how to communicate takes real insight and care to get right.
For this reason, hiring can be tough. You want someone who knows their stuff of course, but not necessarily someone without any original flair. You want someone who doesn’t just rely on AI prompts to write blog posts, or doesn’t try to solely tick the boxes and develop nothing else in a campaign.
Learning to avoid hiring the wrong marketing specialist, as with avoiding any bad hire, is worth your time. Of course, we don’t always have a 100% perfection rate, but what measures can you take to avoid a bad outcome? In this post, we’ll discuss that and more:
Tips for hiring the right marketing specialist
➡ Look for a history of adaptability
A great Marketing Specialist understands that the rules of the game are always developing especially now AI is here. For that reason, when you’re interviewing, you should be looking for proof they haven’t just stuck to one formula their whole career. Ask them about a campaign that failed and how they quickly changed their approach, or how they mastered a new platform like TikTok or a fresh SEO algorithm update within a short amount of time.
At the very least, their answer should show they don’t rely solely on rigid, learned practices but are comfortable experimenting and pivoting when the data tells them to do so. Who knows how much that might save you in the future. For example, finding someone who shows a willingness to learn new methods, perhaps even when considering using external lead generation services, is a strong sign they have the creativity needed to succeed in a constantly moving field.
➡ Focus on insight
Many people can follow a checklist, and they can set up a Facebook ad or write a basic blog post. A talented marketer, however, should be able to give you insight into why the content should be written that way, who it’s speaking to, and how the campaign fits into the bigger business campaign goal. During the hiring process, try to ignore bluster about “increasing engagement” and push them to explain the thought behind their strategy..
So for example, ask them how they found an angle for a difficult product or how they discovered a customer issue nobody else was talking about. You want to hire a forward thinker who sees the whole picture, and not solely a SEO technician or someone who just follows basic tasks. Someone who can explain the ‘why’ behind their failure is actually better for you than someone who doesn’t have an understanding of why they succeeded. That’s strange to hear, but it’s true.
➡ Their appreciation for the brand voice
Marketing is the voice of your business, which means your specialist needs to be able to speak in that voice, not just their own. During the interview, you should check how much they understand your company’s tone, values, and target audience. Give them a prompt related to your business and see if the idea matching well to your brand identity or if it sounds completely generic.
The person you hire should also be able to switch between the formal tone needed for a B2B white paper and the more playful tone for a social media post, all while keeping the brand message properly managed. That also shows they really do respect the identity which has already been built and won’t just try to stamp their personal style onto everything you create. Sometimes you need that, a teammate and not a creative burden, despite their creative role.
➡ See how much they know about data
Marketing Specialist definitely does make use of creative flair, but every good strategy has to use data to properly push it forward. Otherwise, you’re just talking to a brick wall or firing a shot in the dark. A bad marketer often uses data only to prove they were right, for instance, if there’s a 14% improvement on clickthrough rates this year because of their outrageous post – not noticing that this hurt the brand image.
In the interview, you might ask them to describe a time they had to abandon a favorite idea because the numbers told them it wasn’t working. This shows they value effectiveness over ego. Marketers aren’t necessarily known for massive ego like wall street traders, but it’s good to see the person you’re dealing with.
With this advice, you’ll no doubt avoid hiring the wrong marketing specialist.
