Welcome to "Marketing Minds", a weekly column from HubSpot, featuring actionable advice and insights from today's top marketing experts.
While most people are trying to stick to their New Year's resolutions, marketers like myself are strategizing how to set their organizations up for success in 2024.
Part of our strategizing is figuring out what roles, if any, we should hire for and who would be the best fit.
You've come to the right blog if your business is in the same boat. I sat down with a couple of professionals, gathered data from our 2024 State of Marketing Report, and now I’m ready to tell you the top three roles marketers plan to hire in 2024
Without further delay, let's explore why those three roles matter, according to experts.
The Top 3 Roles Marketing Leaders Plan to Hire in 2024
1. Content Creator
According to our 2024 State of Marketing Report, content creator is the number one role marketing leaders are hiring for in 2024, with 26% of marketing leaders planning on hiring content creators this year.
This doesn‘t surprise me at all, considering how integral content marketing has become to most brand’s strategies.
“The demand for content across all the different digital channels is enormous,” says Taylor Corrado, senior director of brand for Wistia.
She says, “Marketers feel like they need to be the best across everything from TikTok and podcasts to their blog and events, both virtual and in person.”
Our report also found that 31% of marketers plan to leverage short-form videos in 2024, and 27% plan to leverage influencer marketing.
“Businesses are competing with influencers who are making multiple videos every single day,” Corrado explains. “Today, you really can’t have too many creators on your marketing team.”
Furthermore, a quarter of marketers in our survey say creating content that reflects their brands' values has become more critical over the last couple of years. 23% say the same about creating personalized content.
In other words, content is king when it comes to marketing. Thus, it makes sense that marketing leaders would look to hire more creators on their teams.
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With over 207 million creators making up the global creator economy, what exactly makes a content creator stand out among the noise? What are marketing leaders looking for when hiring a content creator?
“Depending on the channel they’re looking to grow in, brands are looking for creators that have specific channel expertise, such as Youtubers, Tiktokers, or Podcast personalities,” Corrado says.
She explains, “Brands want someone who has a creative background, whether it be writing, videography, design, or branding.”
And have you ever heard the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat”? Well, the same doesn't ring true for content creators. Corrado tells me curiosity is crucial to content creators looking to be hired by brands.
“Curiosity can really drive understanding of an audience’s pain points and interests that you can connect with them on through your content and channels,” she says.
Corrado also says agency experience is always welcome if you're a creator looking for opportunities.
“You’ve worked with many different brands and projects, you’ve likely worked under pressure and specific constraints, and you can pivot between different creative needs easily,” she says.
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The State of Marketing in 2024
HubSpot's Annual Inbound Marketing Trends Report
- Top Marketing Channels
- AI in Marketing
- Managing Privacy
- The Future of Marketing
2. Content Strategist
Content strategists and content creators are like mac and cheese — you can't have one without the other. So, I can see why almost as many marketing leaders (23%) plan to hire content strategists as they do creators.
“The content creator is making engaging, relevant content,” Corrado says. “The content strategist deeply understands the audience they’re trying to reach and what the content creator should be making for them.”
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In other words, if the creator generates the content, the content strategist ensures the content aligns with the brand‘s values, tone, goals, and the target consumers’ needs.
So, what makes a good content strategist? Well, for one, an excellent strategist must have outstanding analytical skills because the role requires tracking the success of the brand's content to make data-driven decisions.
A great content strategist is also familiar with using different tools to track their content's progress. That said, what metrics are content strategists monitoring in 2024?
According to our survey, 41% of marketing professionals say sales is the most important metric to track when measuring the success of their content marketing strategy.
Behind sales are web traffic (32%), social engagement (29%), conversion rate (28%), and lead generation (27%).
So, if content strategists map out the content marketing campaign strategy, and creators craft the content, who figures out the distribution? Well, that's where the following role comes in.
3. Content Marketing Manager
The third most prominent role marketing leaders will hire for in 2024 is content marketing manager, with 21% of leaders saying they plan to fill that role this year, according to our survey.
“The content marketing manager is thinking about distribution,” Corrado says. “How do I get this engaging content to our target audience?”
Talkwalkers's Content Marketing Manager, Daniel Seavers, told me two reasons brands need a content marketing manager in 2024.
“First, generative AI is reshaping the world of content marketing,” he says. “The good news? Everyone can create content at the touch of a button. The bad news? Everyone can create content at the touch of a button.”
For example, Seavers says writers can churn out content much faster thanks to AI, but it means consumers will be swamped with underwhelming AI-generated content.
“It will be harder than ever for brands to be noticed in a sea of ‘meh,'” he explains.
He says, “This makes the role of Content Marketing Manager more critical than ever. You need someone who knows when to activate AI and when to let the human voice take over.”
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Seaver tells me content marketing managers can do things generative AI can't, such as adding genuine thought leadership, unique insights, and well-resourced facts.
“They can produce the quality over quantity that will ultimately engage consumers,” he says.
This brings us to the second reason why so many marketing leaders want to hire content marketing managers in 2024. With AI helping to produce content faster than in previous years, buyers consume more content than ever.
And that content is directly impacting their buying decisions.
“To own the buying decision, brands need someone who lives and breathes their consumers,” Seavers tells me. “Someone who knows them better than any computer could.”
He says a good content marketing manager will know where your buyers are searching, whether on your site, third-party blogs, social media posts, reviews, or elsewhere.
“They will then be so connected with your consumers that they can shape a strategy that hits that buyer landscape with engaging, original, thought-provoking content that meets every pain point,” he says. “In a way that resonates and encourages people to buy.”
Seavers explains, “Whether that’s through social listening or other data-driven techniques, building those genuine consumer connections will help put the wind in your brand sails/sales and navigate you through that ‘meh’ sea."
Ultimately, you know what‘s best for your business needs. Carefully look at your team’s current strengths, and aim to identify a role to help fill the gaps.
However, remember that almost a third of marketing professionals (29%) will leverage content marketing in 2024.
So, if you want to remain competitive, ensure your content marketing team has excellent creators, strategists, and marketing managers in its ranks.
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