I'm balancing somewhere between the first two (Evangelical Networker & Content Creator). Is that a good combination? :)

Mike 
 
I think the DARC attributes are spot on - I just wrote a post called "What to look for in a social media marketer" - and the DARC attributes work for those points too - http://buzzmarketingfortech.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-to-look-for-in-social-media.html

Good post Mike. When thinking of the changes in the Marketer's skill set I always go back to the WSJ article, and blog post by ShareThis, below. I like how WSJ coined these new marketers "marketing technopologists" - a new breed of marketers who will bring together the strengths of business, technology and social interaction. 
 
 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122884677205091919.html 
 
http://sharethis.com/blog/2009/06/#STS=g23c5kso.1pv9

Now all you need is a pseudo-Meyers/Briggs DARC mini-app for Facebook to determine what mix of attributes your fans are, and you'll be totally post-modern self-referential - perfect for the social media world :). 
 
Actually, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea, now that I think of it... 

I liked the post. If your team needs one thing, especially if you're letting crawl about trade shows or live events, they'll still need a master of ceremonies. 
 
but that's just me.

Just finished Inbound Marketing and really enjoyed this part of the book. You really lay out the concept well and give pause to one's own strengths and weaknesses. This will certainly become a bible for HR departments of the future. Keep up the good work guys.

Nice piece. I especially like the "big picture" which as I see it is, understand the talent you are looking for, hire with great care, & then step back & let them do their thing with great emphasis on the last point. Too many CEO's directors, & managers micro manage their people which can impede them from giving you their best efforts. Then they hire peoplelike me & ask "gee they looked so great on paper" what happened?

Mike, 
 
So what about this person's boss? He/she needs to know enough about each segment of DARC to hire the right person and lead the way, but they can't be exceptional in any category or the company would be better suited having them specialize rather than manage. So the perfect manager gets an average score across the board(?) Nothing personal, of course ;-)

Versatility is needed for today's marketers. This blog gives nice knowledge about it.

@John McTigue -  
 
Great Question. I think that a manager of a team like this needs to be high on Digital and Analytical, but can probably be lower on Content to some degree, I think you can manage Content Creators without being great at making content yourself. Reach, I'm not sure. Hopefully they would be somewhat high as well on Reach. Of course, I just basically said you need to be an expert at everything in order to manage it, which is not good because it is not scalable. 
 
Perhaps more of the traditional management skills are more important, and maybe it is less important to have the DARC skills. You need enough of them to understand everything, but maybe you don't need to be an expert. I think we are all still trying to figure out this new inbound marketing model. 
 
What do you think?

@Mike Volpe, 
 
I think you need to be knowledgeable in all those areas but not necessarily the go-to person in any of them. The more of that knowledge you can impart to your employees, the better. The only exception I would say is reach. In today's connected company it's hard to imagine your inbound marketing management not out there waving the flag and engaging with customers and soon-to-be customers.

Mike- 
 
Great to make a celebrity appearance in the photos for Evangelical Networkers with Christine. 
 
Nice post with some great points. Now the DARC supercharge comes when a professional both fits into one of these categories AND excels at areas not traditionally associated with them.  
 
How will it transform business--and hiring--when your HR staffer, Art Director, or Campaign Strategist is not only highly competent at their job, but also has the power to add value by being great at tasks that DARC would suggest?

I cannot thank you enough for posting these types of articles. Not only am I filing them for use when hiring future employees, but I find them incredibly helpful for making me a better manager for my current employees.

Mike -- nice post. Thought provoking. 
 
I, too, just finished reading Inbound Marketing and appreciated the DARC framework. 
 
Here, though, is what I think is missing from the DARC metrix – an “E” for “business Experience.”  
 
At all levels of the various positions you mention in this post, a high “E” would help measure how well someone being hired interacts with the rest of the marketing team and executive staff, as well as understand and execute their assignments.  
 
A high “E” is someone, in your examples, who:  
 
1. Will more easily understand an executive is looking to achieve with that weekly to-do promotion, how it fits in the company’s overall business strategy. Company-specific training would be streamlined because that person already is up the business learning curve, can view it in a larger business and/or industry context. And these high "E" hires bring experience that helps anticipate next steps. 
 
2. Starts further up the business learning curve and better understands how to frame questions asked to dig deeper into "what's happening" with the company to create better content. And they offer a context that helps them better communicate with company thought leaders to create that better content, too.  
 
3. They better understand the strategic implications of a website’s target audience and how/why that impacts messaging and calls-to-action, among other things.  
 
High "E" people have questions but those questions are informed by their business experience as well as their social networking, content creation and/or reach optimization capabilities. 
 
So I suggest to CEO's that the hiring decision should be about finding a pool of candidates with the appropriate DARC skills. But I think the final hire decision should be based on picking the candidate who leverages those skills by being able to add to the company’s business strategy conversation as well.  
 
It used to be that those candidates didn’t exist. Now they do. Look for them.  
 
Better yet, consider ways to reconsider existing employees and pull those out that have appropriate DARC scores. Or close to -- and train.  
 
Social media’s inbound marketing comes in knowing how to use it for each particular product, company, and industry. Even analytics need to be viewed within a particularly business and industry context.  
 
 

Mike, 
 
This is great insight. You gave me three levels of inspiration here: 
 
1. When networking, I like to keep an eye out for people who may be a good fit with my company (you never know when you might need to hire, and having a strong pipeline is important). Your post made me think a bit differently about what to look for,  particularly in comparison with the strengths we already have in the office. 
 
2. As I grow in my career, I'll likely be tasked with evaluating others' performance (and having my evaluated by my peers more consistently as well).  You offer unique metrics for each person's specific strengths and expected contributions, which I think is an interesting approach in addition to common goals. 
 
3. As a young professional, you've inspired to take a closer look at the kind of employee I want to be, and how I'm best equipped to help my company succeed. 
 
Thanks!

Nice post Mike. Definitely a team approach. It's tough to find a topnotch Networker, Creator and Guru in the same person. Just becoming familiar with HubSpot & Co. Seems like you have a lot going on. Looking forward to Mr Halligan's Thursday webinar. 
Best, 
Dale Buckey

Very timely post, Mike...D.A.R.C represents the marketing world as we know it today; and it's going to be interesting evaluating the existing marketing talent with respect to those needs. It's clear that smart businesses will need representation in all 3 personas, but if I've got to hire one to start, it certainly be the Evangelical networker. Thanks for the post.

@Robin Schoettler Fox - I agree with the experience factor, for some positions. I also think that sometimes it makes sense to hire a "good athlete" and just let them learn quickly. You can't learn intelligence or creativity, but you can learn experience. 
 
@Laurel Miltner - Agreed. We have an "always be hiring" mindset here at HubSpot too. In fact, 2 of the last 3 people I hired were not really looking for jobs and didn't apply here. 

@Mike Agreed -- Sometimes a "good athlete" is worth the risk and can be, in some cases, more affordable. I have personally benefited from people taking those kinds of risks.  
 
But... I think that employers should leverage their hiring dollars. Right now, with so many people of varied experience levels becoming more proficient at social media skills, there's opportunity to do just that.  
 
Bottom line: Pick the best "athlete" available.

@laptopbattery -- Excellent idea...  
 
I'd commented earlier about adding "E" for Experience to the DARC equation. 
 
But... 
 
Mike's DARC post actually prompted me to write a new blog post earlier this week about lessons I lived regarding an unexpected consequence of retraining existing employees in needed new skills... http://bit.ly/3SHQtb 
 
Here's the takeaway: Training high-DARC-potential employees might actually incite the non-chosen employees to improve their DARC-related skills, too. 
 

Thank you SO much for this post!!! I have discovered my own DARC skills (Evangelist) but had been struggling for years thinking I needed to create more content. I had trouble sitting still long enough to create it! This will give me the exact guidance I needed to find my mission. I'm an "always be networking" personality, and not in a false sense. Finally the world is recognizing our skills and the proper way to measure output! Thank you, thank you!