There are a number of different roles that need to be filled if you are to build a solid marketing team. Here are eight of the most important ones.
1. Leader
This person overseas all of the team members’ marketing efforts. They need to know the basics about what each position entails, and determine how well the team members’ work matches the goals of the company.
2. Website/Blog Editor
Content is king on the internet and these days, all content is a marketing tool. Content marketing should cater to the needs of your target audience. It should be high quality, not “fluff,” and be presented in a range of formats, including:
* Articles/posts
* Images
* Audio
* Video
* Checklists
* Top 10s
* And more
The editor will oversee the calendar and either produce or commission these various types of content. They will also track and test the content to see how well it performs.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist
All content should be optimized for the search engines, such as Google. This is done using keywords related to your niche or industry, which signal to the search engines what the page is about so their robots can determine whether or not your page is relevant. The goal is to get to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) so you can get plenty of free traffic.
SEO involves various on-site and off-site activities. It also involves keeping up to date with the latest changes at Google and the other main search engines, in order to try to maintain or even improve your page rank. A lot of companies outsource their SEO as their sites grow larger, so if this is taking up a lot of time you could be spending doing other things, it might be time to look for SEO help.
4. Social Media Specialists
Social media is another important way to get free traffic, but there are many sites, and it can be difficult to build your brand consistently within each network and across each channel. An expert on Facebook can help make the most of the site, which has around 200 billion unique users per month. Other networks you should be on include Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest.
Facebook and Pinterest require great images to help market your business, so it is also important to have someone manage your visuals.
5. Visual Marketing Manager
This person will either take photos or commission them to help support all of your marketing materials. If they commission a custom photoshoot, they would have to organize the whole event and check the proofs to make sure the photos came out well. This person might also buy stock photography from reputable sites like Getty Images and manage the licenses for the images purchased.
6. Brand Manager
A brand manager will try to help you present a consistent image across all of your marketing materials in terms of both appearance and style. In terms of appearance, things like a consistent logo and color scheme are a must. Just think of the golden arches of McDonald’s as an example of instant brand recognition.
In terms of style, every business has its own style and tone. Some will be more formal than others. The main thing is to not damage your brand by using marketing materials that do not align with your core values.
7. Email Marketing Manager
Every business needs an email marketing program to help promote their business. There’s a lot to do to run successful campaigns, so outsourcing this to a single individual can free up a lot of time and improve results.
8. Ad Manager
Pay-per-click ads through Google AdWords, Facebook and Twitter have their own rules of the road if you wish to get the most value for your money. The ad manager should be able to create ads that will get a high relevance score and get lots of clicks, which can mean more subscribers and sales.
If you can fill these roles with the right people, you have the basis for a great marketing team.
