As someone who helped replace my position as digital strategist at Pierson Grant (my previous employer) I have been through the process of successfully finding\/recommending digital marketing talent (congrats again\u00a0Michael, I hear you\u2019re doing a great job).<\/p>\n
With that said:\u00a0 I\u2019m not a recruiter, headhunter or have any formal staffing or hiring skills.\u00a0 I just know the industry, knew my clients, and the type of projects typical for the firm.\u00a0 So I want to share a bit of how I went about that process with you in the hopes of helping you find and vet your next digital marketing or PR hire.<\/p>\n
Keys to find your next digital marketing or PR hire:<\/strong><\/p>\n Tap your network<\/strong><\/p>\n This is obvious anytime you\u2019re hiring someone new, but becomes especially important for finding good digital marketing or PR hires.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Due to the nature of our industry, we\u2019re all especially well connected.\u00a0 And I\u2019m not going to deny the fact that digital marketers keep a bit of an inner circle going \u2013 there are certain folk who have worked hard to attain a level of trust with our peers.<\/p>\n Being able to tap a network of smart professionals is how you\u2019re going to find that trusted and proven digital strategist, manager, etc.\u00a0 People like\u00a0Louis Gray,\u00a0Brian Solis,\u00a0Todd Defren,\u00a0Eric Friedman,\u00a0Chris Brogan, and other hyper-connected individuals provide a great filter too \u2013 if someone at that level vouches for a hire that\u2019s a great sign.<\/p>\n Look at those who\u00a0blog and don\u2019t just Tweet<\/strong><\/p>\n Then actually read their blogs.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough that someone is just blogging:\u00a0 have they been able to build an active, interested community?\u00a0 Are they seriously\u00a0passionate\u00a0about what they do?\u00a0 As an aside, I don\u2019t necessarily care if a candidate is on Twitter and I\u2019ll tell you why:\u00a0 Twitter is popular because it\u2019s easy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great service but it\u2019s just social sticky notes\/snack size content and does not represent the\u00a0self-discipline\u00a0required to keep your own blog, write for industry publications, etc.\u00a0 If someone truly understood inbound marketing they would have a place they control and not limit their participation to\u00a0walled gardens\u00a0or someone else\u2019s service.<\/p>\n What are their past projects\/successes\/campaigns?<\/strong><\/p>\n Do they have popular blogs, networks, or apps they\u2019ve created?\u00a0 Can they show you multiple successful past campaigns?\u00a0\u00a0Social media is not new, and by now candidates worth their salt have many campaigns\/clients\/projects under their belt.\u00a0 Also consider a lot of the same items you would consider when\u00a0choosing an online marketing or PR agency.<\/p>\n Your firm should be attractive to the candidate in question<\/strong><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just about finding the right candidate for your firm \u2013 your firm must be a fit for the candidate too.\u00a0 As noted in the reasons for the divide in\u00a0digital influence:<\/p>\n Marketing\/PR agencies and companies who\u00a0cling to the past\u00a0are not going to attract the same talent as those pushing boundaries.\u00a0 Web-savvy communication professionals want to work with other web-savvy professionals.\u00a0 It\u2019s really frustrating not to, and with\u00a0hiring paradoxically harder\u00a0in a downtown yet\u00a0no slowdown in demand\u00a0for talented digital marketers, there is no reason they have to.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The A-list digital marketing and PR professionals may have no interest in joining a company if its executives are not respected leaders, if they have no industry presence and are not actively pushing new ideas.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t ask them about tools<\/strong><\/p>\n Remember,\u00a0it\u2019s not about technology, it\u2019s about ideas.\u00a0 Hearing about the tools used during projects is all well and good, but ultimately I\u2019m more concerned with vetting their communications savvy.\u00a0 The truth is the tools are easy to use \u2013 don\u2019t let anyone convince you otherwise.\u00a0 It is neither unique nor valuable to know how to use WordPress, RSS, Twitter, web analytics packages, AdWords, or anything in between.\u00a0\u00a0All<\/em>\u00a0marketers and communications pros should know them by now.\u00a0 It\u2019s strategy that is the real skill.<\/p>\n For those of you who scanned this, here\u2019s a shortlist of things to look for:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is meaningless\/worrisome:<\/strong><\/p>\n This sounds like a lot to ask for, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0<\/strong>And that\u2019s exactly the point:\u00a0 if you consider your company remarkable, logically you should seek remarkable talent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As someone who helped replace my position as digital strategist at Pierson Grant (my previous employer) I have been through … <\/p>\n\n
\n