Finding the right digital marketing manager can make or break your business—especially if you’re looking to hire offshore staff. A bad hire can set your business back significantly, and with a role as important as this one, the impacts of a bad hire can be felt for a long time. That’s why it’s crucial to approach the hiring process with a solid plan in place. In this article, we’ll cover how to hire a digital marketing manager, including what to look for, how to write a good job description, where to find candidates, and how to nail the interview process.
To help you get started on the right foot, we recommend checking out virtual marketing assistants growth engine service. This solution can help you find and hire a digital marketing manager with minimal effort so that you can focus on other areas of your business.
Table of Content
Why Hire A Digital Marketing Manager
Running a business is no small feat. As a business owner, you certainly wear a lot of hats. In the beginning, you may handle marketing tasks yourself. After all, you know your business better than anyone else. But as you scale, there comes a time when you need to hand over the marketing reins to a qualified professional. Marketing is a full-time job on its own. You could spend countless hours learning the ins and outs of digital marketing.
You have a company to run. As you scale, you must focus your time and energy on activities only you can handle. Marketing is crucial to your business’s long-term success. It’s a full-time gig in its own right, and you already have a big job: running your company.
Hiring a Marketing Manager Saves Time and Money
One of the biggest reasons business owners dismiss hiring a marketing expert is the cost. They figure that they can get along just fine because they can write and use social media. Unfortunately, that logic often backfires when they spend time on content and money on ads, only to get little to no return on investment.
Consider working with freelancers and independent contractors versus full-time employees if money's tight. While these individuals may charge higher rates overall, you can hire them for specific projects and won’t need to provide benefits. This can be a great option for website copy or consistent blog posts.
Partnering with a Marketing Manager Is an Opportunity to Learn and Grow
If you want to learn more about marketing, watching an expert at work will be a daily master class. Your marketing professional can teach you tips and tricks your competitors might not know.
You’ll be able to learn from an expert quickly and gain insights that would take you years to discover on your own. Your marketing manager can show you how to:
Acquire new customers
Use your existing customer base for referrals
Cultivate social media relationships
Social Media Marketing Is Complex, So You Need an Expert
Small businesses need a social media presence, so every modern marketing strategy must include one. Social media marketing is an excellent way to build engagement, create word-of-mouth brand awareness, and tell powerful stories that help sell products.
Your potential customers are exposed to daily advertisements and marketing messages. To cut through the noise and get noticed, brands need dedicated, innovative social media managers to create and promote excellent content to improve their social media presence. A digital marketing manager will possess the analytical and social skills to identify your target audience quickly and better understand your customers’ needs. They’ll effectively use your social channels to get your customers’ attention and prompt them to act.
Related Reading
• Marketing Cost for Small Business
• Offshore Virtual Assistant
• How Much Does Marketing Cost for a Startup
• In House vs Outsourcing Marketing
How To Hire A Digital Marketing Manager In 6 Simple Steps
1. Clarify Your Marketing Goals and Needs
Start by identifying your company’s primary marketing objectives, as digital marketing encompasses a range of specialized skills. For example, if your goal is to drive website traffic and generate inbound leads, look for someone with strengths in content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). If your business requires a boost in conversion rates, consider candidates skilled in:
Email marketing
Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
A/B testing
Setting clear objectives will ensure you find a digital marketing manager with the right expertise and strategic focus to support your business’s growth.
2. Write a Thorough Job Description
A well-drafted job description is essential to attract candidates who align with your needs. Your job post should include:
Role Summary: Provide a concise overview of the position’s purpose and scope, including how it fits into your broader marketing strategy.
Responsibilities: List specific duties, such as campaign planning, performance analysis, content strategy, or team management. Be as detailed as possible to give candidates a full understanding of the role.
Skills and Certifications: Mention required and preferred qualifications, such as proficiency in:
Google Analytics
SEO tools
Email marketing software
Relevant certifications in digital marketing
Keywords: Include industry-specific keywords (e.g., digital marketing, SEO, content marketing, social media marketing) to ensure the job post reaches the right candidates through search engines and job boards.
Highlight details about your company’s mission, products or services, and growth story to give candidates insight into your organization’s culture and values. If possible, list the salary range, benefits, and whether the position is remote or hybrid to manage expectations and attract talent that fits within your budget and operational setup.
3. Use a Multi-Channel Recruiting Approach
Finding the right digital marketing manager often requires a strategic blend of recruitment channels:
Internal Talent Review: Start by assessing internal candidates who already possess marketing expertise or leadership qualities and could be promoted or upskilled.
Social Media and Networking Groups: Share the job opening across your social media profiles and post in relevant LinkedIn groups, Slack communities, and industry forums to reach candidates who are actively engaged in the digital marketing space.
Targeted Job Boards and Ads: Use specialized job boards that focus on marketing roles, and consider running targeted ads to attract a wider pool of experienced candidates.
Employee Referral Program: Encourage current employees to refer candidates by offering referral bonuses or incentives. Due to their connection with your existing staff, employee referrals are often one of the best sources of qualified candidates.
Popular Job Sites: Post your job opening on popular sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor, as well as industry-specific job boards, to maximize visibility.
This multi-channel approach will increase your chances of connecting with qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds.
4. Implement HR Software to Streamline the Hiring Process
HR software is especially beneficial for efficiently managing recruitment, even if you don’t have a dedicated HR team. Look for software that includes:
Applicant Tracking: An applicant tracking system (ATS) to organize resumes, screen applicants, and keep tabs on communication with each candidate. This will help you track candidates as they move through the hiring pipeline.
Automation and Templates: Automate repetitive tasks like interview scheduling or status updates to candidates to save time and maintain a smooth process.
Onboarding Management: Software with onboarding capabilities can help you seamlessly transition new hires into the team with guided onboarding tasks, documentation, and real-time feedback.
An organized and efficient hiring process will not only save time but also present a professional image of your company to potential hires.
5. Structure the Interview Process
When you’re ready to interview candidates, evaluate them across four main criteria: skills, experience, soft skills, and cultural fit.
Assess Skills and Technical Proficiency
Ask candidates about their familiarity with key digital marketing tools like:
Google Analytics
SEO platforms
Content management systems
Gauge their understanding of strategic areas like audience segmentation, campaign planning, and budget management. For example, if you focus on email marketing, inquire about their experience with automation tools and best practices for email design and list segmentation.
Examine Experience and Track Record
Review candidates’ previous roles to understand their level of involvement in planning and executing campaigns, working with cross-functional teams, and managing challenges. Discuss specific examples of past successes and challenges, such as driving ROI on an ad campaign or scaling up organic traffic. While it’s important to look for relevant experience, avoid overemphasizing years of experience, as promising candidates with slightly less experience may still bring fresh ideas and energy to your team.
Evaluate Soft Skills and Learning Mindset
Digital marketing is a fast-evolving field, and adaptability is crucial. Use situational or behavioral questions to gauge candidates’ problem-solving abilities, time management skills, and willingness to learn. Ask about their personal development efforts, such as recent certifications or books they’re reading, to assess their dedication to growth. A candidate with a strong learning mindset and resourcefulness will be better equipped to adapt to changes and stay updated on industry trends.
Determine Cultural Fit
Finding a candidate who aligns with your company culture is critical for long-term success. Reflect on the values and attitudes that define your team, such as collaboration, independence, or innovation, and ask questions to uncover these qualities. For instance, if teamwork is key in your organization, ask how they’ve handled feedback or coordinated with others in past roles. Choosing someone who embodies your organization’s values will help them integrate smoothly and contribute positively to the team.
6. Design the Hiring Process with a Candidate-Centered Approach
Approach your hiring process as you would a customer journey to ensure a positive experience for each candidate. Here’s how to break down the process:
Awareness: Craft engaging job descriptions, highlight your company’s mission, and showcase unique aspects of your company culture to attract talent.
Consideration: Keep the application process simple and use email templates to follow up promptly. Offer insights into growth opportunities, team culture, and employee benefits to help candidates envision a future with your company.
Preference: Stand out by emphasizing what makes your organization unique, such as a strong commitment to professional development, flexible work arrangements, or innovative projects.
Hire: Communicate timelines and next steps clearly, and provide a welcoming experience during interviews and onboarding. A well-organized and respectful selection process will create a positive impression.
Engagement: Start building engagement with new hires through a well-structured onboarding process that gives them access to the resources, training, and team support they need to succeed quickly.
Loyalty and Advocacy: Encourage a supportive work environment, offer regular feedback, and recognize accomplishments. In time, employees who feel valued are more likely to become advocates for your company, helping to enhance your brand’s reputation.
By treating your hiring process as a relationship-building journey, you foster a positive candidate experience, which can result in successful hires who are motivated to contribute to your company’s long-term success.
Elevate Your Team with Skilled Virtual Assistants
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Social media management
GTM strategy execution
Comprehensive marketing support
Our unique offering includes:
AssistantOS (detailed blueprints for delegation and automation)
24/7 customer support capabilities
A rigorous selection process where we handpick the perfect assistants from over 1,000 candidates.
Each assistant is screened for:
Excellent English
Relevant experience
A proven track record with offshore companies
We offer affordable rates without placement fees, perfect for funded startups (pre-seed, seed) and consumer apps looking to scale from 1 to 100.
Our assistants help you reclaim your time and amplify your growth strategy by supporting tasks such as:
Customer support
Email management
Social media
Admin tasks
Drop your email and company to get a free custom plan on delegating tasks within your business and scale intelligently.
Related Reading
• Benefits of Outsourcing Marketing
• Outsourced Marketing Manager
• In House vs Outsourcing Marketing
• Marketing Team for Small Business
• How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Internet Marketing
Skills Requirements For A Qualified Digital Marketing Manager
Strategy and Leadership: The Cornerstones of a Digital Marketing Manager’s Skills
The two most important skills a digital marketing manager should have are strategy and leadership. As a senior role, it’s no wonder the manager of digital marketing teams needs to know how to devise and implement marketing plans.
Essential Skills for Digital Marketing Managers
This requires them to evaluate metrics to inform long-term strategic decisions and explore digital techniques and marketing tactics to drive growth. Digital marketing managers also require strong leadership skills. Not only will they need to manage and motivate a team of people to achieve business objectives, but they’ll also need to understand customer behavior and the customer journey, manage and allocate budgets, and communicate effectively—including with external stakeholders through channels such as digital PR.
Strategic Planning in Digital Marketing
Alongside leadership, they need to devise and implement a digital marketing strategy. This will require them to evaluate metrics to inform long-term strategic decisions and explore digital marketing techniques to drive growth.
Content Marketing: Understanding the Role of Content in Digital Marketing
Content is at the core of many marketing activities. It provides a way to connect meaningfully with prospects and customers. That’s why a digital marketing manager needs to understand content marketing. The role may not involve writing the content, but the content needs to be informed by solid buyer personas with a clear direction and call to action.
Plus, content needs to be tailored to channels. For example, an email can be longer and provide more information on an offer or product update. In contrast, a social media post needs to be short and snappy. This requires a different content writing approach, which a digital marketing manager needs to direct and oversee.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Boosting Productivity and Marketing Efficiency
Companies across industries plan to use AI in digital marketing to boost productivity and improve efficiencies. Many platforms are already integrated with AI for automation or personalization. For example, customer relationship management systems to segment and schedule emails or provide chatbot responses.
There are also stand-alone AI tools that can be used for specific tasks and functions such as:
Content research and creation
Audience research
Keyword research
Customer journey mapping
Trend analysis and forecasting
With so much potential and so many companies looking for AI know-how, any budding digital marketing manager needs to possess knowledge and experience of the technology.
Data Analytics: Making Sense of Marketing Data
Companies collect and store a lot of data from many marketing channels. Not all data is created equal. The job of a digital marketing manager is to understand the data that matters and analyze it to get insights that can help make data-driven decisions.
For example, data related to customer behavior can help find the weak points in a customer journey. Let’s say there’s a low conversion rate on a custom landing page for an Instagram campaign. This could be due to the messaging on the page not matching the Instagram ad. Data analysis can help a digital marketing manager find areas that need improvement and also see what’s working so this can be replicated for future campaigns or activities.
Search Marketing: Getting Found Online
Knowledge and experience of search marketing are critical skills, as it’s how a business gets found online. To rank on search engines, a digital marketing manager needs to leverage search marketing strategies like:
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Pay-Per-Click (PPC).
It’s also worth considering social networks like TikTok, which are being used as search engines by a younger cohort. "Google sees 8.5 billion searches every day which is equivalent to 99,000 search queries every second." Digital marketing managers must also understand what their target audience is looking for to tap into search intent through keywords and key phrases. This can be used to develop paid campaigns that target a specific audience with personalized messaging. This requires a balance of key concepts, tools and tricks to ensure the core search elements work together to drive targeted traffic that converts into sales.
Elements to consider in search marketing are:
SEO & paid search principles
Demand generation
Analytics & reporting
Data visualization
AI Overviews
Email Marketing: Understanding the Value of Email
As one of the oldest forms of marketing, email still performs well when it comes to driving awareness and engagement among existing and potential customers. Email platforms have also gotten more sophisticated (especially with the help of AI), so it’s easy to create specific customer segments based on past behavior, interests, or demographics. This allows a digital marketing manager to manage the creation of highly relevant and personalized content to increase open and click-through rates.
There’s also the benefit of email being a first-party data source, which means people have willingly given you their data so it can be used (within reason) to communicate with and target prospects and customers. “E-mail is how you capture that middle of the funnel because it’s been so successful long-term and is not owned by any other company that can take it away from you,” continued Fishkin.
Social Media Marketing: Tapping into a Global Audience
With over 5 billion people using social media globally, it’s a channel with global reach. There are also a range of networks that appeal to different audiences.
TikTok appeals to a younger demographic.
LinkedIn is a professional network that favors a B2B audience.
This allows marketing teams to create content to attract and engage specific audiences and use paid advertising to target groups with relevant and personalized messaging. Digital marketing managers can use social media to drive engagement, promote products or services, and increase brand visibility.
UX and Website Design: The Importance of User Experience
50% of consumers say that their impression of a brand is dependent on the design of the company's website, according to a Top Design Firms report. That’s why website design and user experience (UX) are important. But it’s not only about how the website looks; it’s about the experience customers have when navigating through a site.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Digital Marketing Manager?
Hiring a digital marketing manager can be a big financial commitment for any business. The upfront costs of hiring an in-house marketing professional vary widely. According to Glassdoor, full-time digital marketers in the U.S. earn an average salary between $67,000 and $119,000, with potential additional pay (bonuses, etc.) of about $30,000. Regional fluctuations and experience can drive these numbers higher.
What About Employee Benefits?
You'll need to consider other factors for a true cost assessment. You’ll need to calculate the cost of the in-house marketing professional’s employee benefits package, which typically runs between 25 percent and 40 percent of their salary.
For example, for a marketing salary of $55,000 annually, you’d spend an additional $13,750 to $22,000, for a total cost between $68,750 and $77,000. If you break this down into an hourly cost, assuming a 40-hour work week with two weeks of paid vacation, it’s between $34.38 and $38.50 per hour.
What Skills Should Your Marketing Manager Have?
You must also consider your marketing professional’s skill level. If your business is in a highly competitive industry, you may need someone more sophisticated and experienced, which will cost you more. If you use channel selling or a direct salesforce, or your industry is less competitive, you may do well with someone less experienced who doesn’t cost as much. They could also contribute to other aspects of your business if they're on salary.
What Are the Costs of Hiring a Freelance Digital Marketing Manager?
Hiring a freelance marketer is the best option if you own a small business and want help creating and executing a digital marketing strategy. According to Upwork, freelance digital marketing professionals cost about $15 to $45 per hour, though someone with extensive experience and a proven track record will cost you more.
Starting with a freelance marketer can be a more affordable option than hiring a full-service agency. Freelancers typically offer flexibility, allowing you to scale services up or down based on your needs and budget. While they may charge lower rates, it is essential to vet their expertise and ensure they can deliver on key areas such as SEO, content creation, social media management, and email marketing.
Related Reading
• Virtual Assistant Platforms
• Offshore Marketing Services
• B2B Offshore Marketing Services
• Marketing Recruitment Agencies
• BPO Marketing
Get a Free Custom Plan on How to Delegate Tasks and Scale
Founders Arm helps startups and agencies supercharge their growth with highly trained virtual marketing assistants. We specialize in finding top-tier offshore talent beyond basic admin. Our assistants are skilled in:
Social media management
GTM strategy execution
Comprehensive marketing support
Our unique offering includes:
AssistantOS (detailed blueprints for delegation and automation)
24/7 customer support capabilities
A rigorous selection process where we handpick the perfect assistants from over 1,000 candidates.
Each assistant is screened for:
Excellent English
Relevant experience
A proven track record with offshore companies
We offer affordable rates without placement fees, perfect for funded startups (pre-seed, seed) and consumer apps looking to scale from 1 to 100.
Our assistants help you reclaim your time and amplify your growth strategy by supporting tasks such as:
Customer support
Email management
Social media
Admin tasks
Please provide your email and company to get a free custom plan for delegating tasks within your business and scaling intelligently.
