Hiring a virtual marketing manager? Here’s everything you need to know to make a good decision

The role of a virtual marketing manager these days requires skill and knowledge in many areas – areas that without one or the other, could mean less chance of success for you and the client. As the marketing sphere continues to quickly shift and grow, the different needs that are unique to each company you work with also grow. This places heavy dependence onto the virtual marketing manager, which is why it is crucial to get the right person on side.

Here are my top things that you should consider when hiring a virtual marketing manager:

1. Can they work with an external and internal team?
   - They have to be able to work either with your team or build a team quickly to ensure results.
2. Do they have an all-round knowledge of marketing channels?
   - You don’t want a channel specialist in this role, rather someone who is flexible to move with the market shifts and can determine what will best suit your company.
3. Omni-channel and multi-channel specialist
   - It’s important to work with someone that understands the difference and why they are relevant to certain industries.
4. Do they have an understanding of PR and media?
   - An essential marketing strategy involves the understanding of this area as it plays a big role in building reputation - no matter what industry you are in.
5. Do they have an understanding of print (offset, flexo, digital, screen, signage, 3D) management?
   - Having this knowledge can literally save you thousands. Without it, the MM can misunderstand the requirements and over spend.
6. Project management
   - This is an essential key to marketing, so being able to manage content creation and activation across multiple platforms is very important.
7. Do they understand design and creative content creation?
   - Again, having this knowledge and can save thousands and also save time. Having technical knowledge of design and content creation means they can side-line new ideas quickly and efficiently.
8. Ensure they have an understanding of balancing the budgets
   - You don’t want a virtual marketing manager that is going to overspend and put your company in a precarious position. You want someone who understands the key objectives and can make magic happen with the budget.
9. Has an understanding of video and music production
   - Don’t forget this is an important part of your brand and it is often forgotten.
10. Are they passionate about pursuing the next big thing and not scared to take risks?
    - Enough said.
11. Event management that can work online and offline
    - For obvious reasons, in this day and age having an understanding of livestream and also how to create an engaging live event is paramount.
12. Do they have an existing team to draw on if required?

From this list, it’s fair to say that the role of the virtual marketing manager is not easy or straight forward, but there are people out there, and when you do find that special all-rounder, you’ll be sure to maximise your chance for success and efficiency.

Happy hunting!