As your business grows and your marketing becomes more and more complex, you might be wondering if now is the right time to hire a marketing manager or go for professional marketing agency services.
In this blog, we will look at the traditional role of a marketing manager, how the role is changing and whether or not employing a marketing manager or outsourcing key marketing functions to a trusted marketing agency is the better way to go.
What is a marketing manager?
Traditionally, the marketing manager was responsible for all aspects of a company’s marketing, from copywriting and creating ad campaigns to developing relationships with key media outlets. However, as digital marketing has become more complex and automated, the role of the marketing manager is changing.
Nowadays, a good marketing manager is someone who can oversee and coordinate all aspects of a company’s digital marketing strategy.
They must be able to not only create effective campaigns but also manage and optimise campaigns that are running on autopilot.
Additionally, they must be able to track results and analyse data in order to make informed decisions about future campaigns.
Responsibilities of a marketing manager
The role of a marketing manager has evolved from one person to an entire department.
Whereas previously it was not uncommon for a marketing manager to take a very hands-on role when it comes to the marketing functions of their company, these days it is very much a management role.
However, in smaller companies, a marketing manager may still be employed for a more hands-on role, including:
- Campaign creation
- Setting the marketing strategy
- Copywriting
- Social Media Management
- Advertising
In larger companies where the marketing manager oversees a complete marketing department, some key responsibilities include:
- Setting goals and KPIs for the business – this is necessary as it helps keep everyone on track, especially with regards to ROI.
- Managing marketing personnel – either internal employees or external subcontractors
- Creating projects that help grow your online presence – projects can range from new website copy or helping you launch a new product/service through content marketing campaigns across social media platforms.
- Building relationships with press contacts – another important aspect of digital marketing is building relationships with journalists so they will be more willing to run articles covering company news or feature products on their websites etc., creating free publicity for your brand at no cost!
Who should have a dedicated in-house marketing manager?
In general, businesses with a larger marketing budget and those that are looking to grow their online presence should have a dedicated in-house marketing manager.
This is especially true if you are carrying out multiple digital and/or traditional marketing activities such as content marketing, PPC (Pay-Per-Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media, traditional advertising or public relations campaigns.
How much does a full-time marketing manager cost?
Hiring a full-time in-house marketing manager will typically set you back around $75,000- $100,000 per annum depending on experience levels and other factors.
Those costs typically do not include superannuation, annual leave and sick days.
The benefits of directly employing an in-house marketing manager are:
- Much greater access to your staff
- Greater oversight to the work being done
- A single report to you, instead of several from different contractors
The negatives associated with employing an in-house marketing manager:
- Cost
- You may still need to outsource aspects of your marketing functions or make further hires, depending on the complexity of your businesses marketing function
- Complicated process to end employment if it doesn’t work out
Using Professional Marketing Agency Services
Outsourcing your marketing functions
Hiring an in-house marketing team to manage your marketing presence is not only costly but also time-consuming, especially if you are trying to find people who have both good writing skills and knowledge about SEO. Marketing managers must know how to communicate with internal stakeholders clearly, as well as being able to write engaging copy that will get clicks from consumers.
Additionally, they should understand technical aspects such as meta tags and site structure so their content can rank on search engines like Google. Outsourcing these key functions will save you big bucks!
Thanks to the advancements in marketing automation and software, you can now outsource many of the key functions that a marketing manager would carry out for a fraction of the cost.
For example, at Content Hype, we offer a full-service copywriting and content marketing services that starts at just $499 per month.
This includes all the content marketing functions that you would expect from an in-house marketing department such as: creating customised content calendars, developing engaging social media posts, conducting competitor research etc.
Plus you get the added benefit of our team of experienced writers who are dedicated to helping your business achieve its desired results.
Some of the benefits of outsourcing your marketing functions include:
- Works completed at a fraction of the cost
- Hire the specific skills you need, as you need them
- Flexible engagements
Some of the disadvantages include:
- You may need to engage multiple contractors (EG: a content marketing specialist and a public relations expert), depending on the complexity of your marketing operation
- You may end up fielding reports from multiple stakeholders
- Delays in responses
A hybrid model may be best for you.
You may hire an in-house marketing manager whose job it is to engage and manage external contractors.
Contact Content Hype today to discuss your content marketing needs.
Using Marketing Agency Services: How to Get it Right?
Here are a few tips on how you can make sure that everything goes smoothly with an outsourced team member.
Have clear expectations set with your contractor
What is the deliverable? When/how will they do it? How often should it be done (eg: daily, weekly)? What happens if there’s an issue or delay in the delivery of work?
Work out a process to review and approve milestones before invoicing for payment
For example, you may pay 50% on approval of the first draft; another 25% once approved content is published etc., until 100%.
Paying only after each milestone ensures that all parties are satisfied with the progress made during project timelines.
Ensure an internal staff member is accountable for the contractor
It’s important that the contractor is assigned an internal staff member who will manage the relationship and their work.
This ensures the contractor understands who is issuing instructions and who to deliver their work to.
Having these processes in place means less time spent chasing down late payments and more time growing your business!
Here to help with your content marketing needs
The role of a marketing manager has changed as technology and marketing channels have evolved, with some companies now outsourcing their entire marketing team. In this article, we looked at the changing nature of the job description for modern-day marketing managers by examining how they need to be more data-driven in order to effectively manage complex digital campaigns.
Outsourcing is always an option if you can’t find someone internally who’s able or willing to take on these tasks – our team at Content Hype are experts when it comes to content strategy and will help your business develop successful online marketing strategies that work for your customers across all platforms.
If you want more information about our services please contact us today!
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