Digital marketing continues to grow in demand among marketer practices. With a new year ahead of us, many companies put “finding talented digital marketers” on their to-do list. Where looking to offset short term or long term, finding freelance, onsite or outsource full-time resources can be a challenge. Just two years ago, Digital Marketing took the top slot in a McKinley report looking at expertise across the marketing spectrum most sought out by hiring managers. With demand on the rise, where can a company go to find the digital talent they need?

1. ) Find Digital Marketing Talent In Your Network

First and always foremost, ask your network.

No matter what I’m looking for, a caterer, a financial advisor, a tailor … I always ask my family, friends, and colleagues if they have any experiences to share.

2.) Find A Digital Marketer Walking The Walk

If your network strikes out, try to find a digital marketing who’s walking the walking.  A good internet marketer should be easy to find. They should be practicing the things they preach from social media and SEO to content marketing and online advertising. What I mean by this is, do a search locally or within your industry, see who you find. Who are the influencers talking about marketing in your industry? Start with them.

After searching your network, you have two paths that depend on your need. Are you looking for someone full time, on-site, outsourced, or freelance ad-hoc?

3.) Find Talented Digital Marketers Via Marketplaces

Hit the web. There are a lot of resources online to find talent to fit your need. Here are a few of the top to hit.

Upwork: Upwork is an online marketplace of freelancers. Everything from ad campaign strategists to virtual assistants are on Upwork. As a seeker of talent, you need to create a profile and brief for your project. You can select recommended talent to, or freelancers will find you in their searches and submit bids. In many ways, Upwork behaves like a job search. As a hiring manager, you conduct interviews and negotiate terms for fees. For hourly work, Upwork leverages a built-in timer to ensure honesty across time tracking. 

Tip: don’t be cheap. Set a reasonable budget so you can attract talent. You get what you pay for. 

LinkedIn ProFinder: LinkedIn Profinder is another network to find freelancers but powered by the largest professional social network in the world. You’re only allowed five responses from freelancers so you may not get the kind of “pickins” you’re looking for, but generally, LinkedIn quality is a bit higher across the board.

Thumbtack: Thumbtack provides the most localize marketplace allowing you to create briefs, search and engage with local talent. Like Upwork, freelancers pay to provide proposals so be aware of this. If you have no intent of ever hiring someone, it’s best not to waste anyone’s time. 

How to Find Full-Time Internet Marketers

4.) Do an advanced search

Use search operators on Google and Linkedin. For example, let’s say you want to find a digital marketer in healthcare who has experience with HubSpot. A search on Google might look like this:

“digital marketer” + “hubspot” + “healthcare”

and you’d return the following result (well, I did, you’ll get something different 🙂 )

DING DING DING DING!***

I would immediately check out Kris’ LinkedIn page and Laura’s Upwork profile for starters!

5.) Work with an expert

Nationally and in large metro areas there are well established, and good caliber recruiting firms for digital marketers. Look to companies like The Creative Group nationally or pop into your regional LinkedIn marketing and advertising groups to see what local firms are being discussed.

How Do You Find Digital Marketing Talent

These are the means that I’ve found useful finding the talent I’ve needed working in marketing management client side and in my businesses. I’d love to know what’s worked for you. Leave a comment below about how you find the talent you’re looking for.