You already know the importance of digital marketing for your business. But did you know that there is a more cost-effective way to get your strategies done? Yes, hire the best digital marketing freelancers for your project. Here are the top tips to do it.
Why Hire Digital Marketing Freelancers?
You might know of many companies with their own marketing team doing their strategies and campaigns for them. This is a good business investment, as a dedicated team of professionals means higher quality work than doing them on your own. But then again, hiring freelancers can help you save time and resources while having more done.
You can hire freelancers on a per-hour, per-day, or per-project basis. This means you'll only pay them when there is work that needs to be done. In the event that your company experiences a decrease in workloads, you can let go of them and pay nothing.
Know Your Goals
Identify the goal of your specific project. Not all projects are the same, and when you know what a particular project aims to do, you can hire the best digital marketing freelancer for it. Freelancers have varying experience, expertise, specializations, and rates. It's best to find one that is the exact fit for your project.
For example, a simple campaign does not need the expertise of a top-tier marketer. You can find someone with a more affordable rate but can still get the job done well. This tactic can save you a ton of money.
Look Deep Into Your Budget
It's best to assess your budget for each of your marketing projects. Determine a realistic price to help you plan for it. You need to consider the value of the services that your freelancer will provide. Let them know of your budget and financial constraints so they can adjust accordingly or decline the project altogether.
Seek Relevant Expertise
Find a digital marketing freelancer with expertise that's relevant to your project. This is what makes hiring them more cost-effective and efficient than having an in-house marketing team. An in-house team knows the basics and maybe the expertise in one or two specializations. But they probably won't know everything. With freelancers, you can refine your team according to the project.
Review Portfolios
Look for digital marketing freelancers with solid portfolios. This will show you what they are capable of. However, this isn't the end-all, be-all of a marketer. Don't make their portfolio the sole basis of your decisions. Ask them about their previous work and how they did them. Find out the steps they took to get positive results, and how they corrected a mistake they made that still resulted positively.
Analyze case studies of their past digital marketing projects. Ask as many questions as you want. Look for traces of creativity and evidence of innovation. You can also ask them to do a short test to check their skills and capabilities.
Assess Communication Skills
Whether your project will take only a day or a month to fulfill, you need a digital marketing freelancer with excellent communication skills. Schedule an interview with your selected candidates to check firsthand how they speak, express their views, and sell themselves.
This is the best time to evaluate their responsiveness and how clearly they speak their minds. Check to see if they understand and articulate your project goals to ensure that you're on the same page and will be aiming for the same objectives.
Check References
Ask your potential digital marketers for references that you can speak to. Inquire about the freelancer's work ethic, performance, and reliability. These will help you gain insights into a person's strengths and weaknesses. If you're willing to hire someone without experience, you can still ask for character references that can help you assess a candidate's personality.
Where to Find and Hire the Best Digital Marketing Freelancers
To hire the best digital marketing freelancers, you need to know where to look for them. Here are the top places you can find them:
Online Job Marketplaces
These are the websites or platforms that connect employers with freelancers. These typically show a freelancer's profile and portfolios for business owners to look at. You can post job ads or browse through profiles and contact them directly. Below are some of the most popular options:
- Upwork
- Freelancer.com
- Guru
- Toptal Fiverr
- People Per Hour
- WriterAccess
- MarketerHire
There are plenty of others that you can check out. But to narrow down your choices and make it easier for you, these are the recommended ones to start with. These platforms have varying processes and rules. Some will let you hold contests, while some will ask you to bid. That said, make sure to understand them to see if they will work for you.
Social Media
Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are valuable sources for freelancers looking for marketing work. You can join groups and communities within these channels and post job ads. Not only are they effective, but they also cost nothing. You can also use your business page to post jobs on these social media platforms.
Online Marketing Communities
GrowthHackers or Digital Marketing Community on Reddit are two of the more popular places entrepreneurs go to if they want to hire the best digital marketing freelancers. Find those that are active and have members from different niches of marketing. You can post job ads on these or ask for referrals from the members.
Word of Mouth
Ask your colleagues, friends, family, or other business owners for referrals. They may have someone they know or used to work with that they can refer to you. This is also a great way to ask how hiring freelancers is better and what you can do to maximize your efforts.
Final Thoughts
Hiring the best digital marketing freelancers can be a challenging and tedious task. But once you know the advantages of working with freelancers, you may never want to return to having an in-house marketing team. Doing so allows flexibility, less expenses, and access to different specializations.
