How To Hire an Online Marketing Superstar

A Real Superstar

I’ve read quite a few blog posts on “How to Hire an SEO” and they’ve all been pretty informational, but I’ve always wondered what comes of the company that needs more than just a search engine marketing professional, but rather a jack of all trades instead.

Usually it’s through no fault of their own, but most SMB’s can’t afford to hire an “expert” to cover every area of their online marketing strategy. Instead they need someone that’s willing to dive into other areas of specialty to help cover those ”holes” in the company’s game. 

In my previous posts I’ve talked about how important it is to be a well-rounded internet marketer, but today I’m going to help the small business owner who needs to find that superstar. You know, that one employee who is ready to accept the challenge of being the “man of many hats” within the company. Since I’m currently playing this role, I can say with confidence that it’s not an easy job, and definitely not for everyone. 

I’d have to say hands down that the number one reason I’ve seen any success in what I do is because I have a passion for what I do. I know the whole passion pitch has been beaten to death, but it goes without saying that if you find an employee with passion for their work, you just can’t go wrong. People of passion are much more willing to learn and try new things in order to better themselves. That drive translates into a rockstar employee for you. 

So how do you determine if your future employee is passionate? Well, the first thing you can do is ask them. See what kind of response you receive. Do you see enthusiasm? Or does it feel like you’re talking to a drone? I can guarantee that with most people you’ll be able to separate the two, but just to be sure, here are a few other things you can do to gauge your candidates drive.

Google Their Name
The Google search results are part of this generations resume, and unless you’re hiring someone that is newer to the field, you should receive a nice data set of information to sift through. Blog posts, profiles, websites, etc…  Search through comments that they’ve left on other peoples blogs.  Do you see the passion?

Find Their Forum Profiles
Most marketers are public about which forums they participate in, and what their monikers are. If you can find those profiles, spend a little time looking at what they say in those forums. Those that are good at acting can exaggerate their enthusiasm for their work in an interview, so it may be harder for you to see the truth. But when you don’t have them on the spot, you have a better chance of seeing their true personality and skillset. Another benefit of searching through forum posts is that you get to see which areas of the forum they tend to frequent the most. Do they stick strictly to one area like SEO, or do they ask questions in areas that they are not too familiar with. That’s a great way to tell if you’re future employee is open to learning new things. 

It’s always great to find someone who has speciliazed knowledge in a specific field, but if you need an employee that has to cover everything from SEO to Email Campaigns, then you’re better off finding a candidate that is able to pick up new strategies and implement them quickly. 

Although I don’t believe in being conservative during rough times, I do believe that most companies are going to hesitate when it comes time to hiring new talent. So, if you only have the resources to bring in one guy for the whole online marketing enchilada, then you’d better do your homework first.

If you don’t know how, or don’t have the time to do your homework, I would suggest going with a reputable recruiting firm. They have experience in hiring, so they may be able to pick a better candidate for you. You can always hire me to help you recruit as well.

December 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment 

Welcome!

Well, my first blog post is obviously the “funny-feeling” ice breaker. I think it’s the idea that I’ll be broadcasting my voice to whomever wishes to listen…pretty weird.

Anyway, I think I’m over it now.

Like I said in my profile, I’ll mainly be using this blog to speak about my professional life and the industry that I work in. Focusing especially on Web Strategy Marketing for the small to medium sized business, but occasionally I might throw in an inspirational/motivational rant just to keep us all on the right path.

So on that note…

I just finished reading a post from Mark Cuban’s blog about treating business like a sport. He said something in there that really grabbed my attention:

“I love the sport of business. I love the competition. I love the fire of it. It’s the feeling of the clock winding down, the ball is in your hands, and if you hit the shot you win…all day, every day.”

For years, I wished that I would get this feeling for something in life. I didn’t care what it was, just as long as I had that fire to be the best. Finally, at 28 I can honestly say that I feel like a player in the sport of business. There is no better feeling.

I think the one thing that got me here, and the best piece of advice I can give to anyone who’s still struggling to get into their game is; figure it out now. Seriously, take a day or a whole week if you have to and write everything down. What do you want out of life? Lock yourself in your room, and don’t leave until you figure it out. Otherwise, you might just end up a bench warmer, not a player.

January 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment