5 Strategies to Build Your Digital Marketing Team

(9:30 min read)
Digital marketing is becoming more complex; lines between marketing and IT are blurring; in the midst of it all, we're faced with a looming digital marketing skills gap.

This article provides background and 5 strategies for businesses to effectively tackle digital marketing and build their own highly effective digital marketing team, whether it's in-house, outsourced or a combination of different options:

​1. Build a Digital Marketing Team Internally
2. Upskill Existing (traditional) Marketing Staff
3. Manage Your Agency Relationship/s As Best As You Can
4. Hire a Full Time Digital Marketing Manager
5. Outsource or Contract Services 

Bridging the Digital Marketing Skills Gap

Digital marketing moves fast.
How many features do you use online today or see in Google search results that you didn't use 5, 2 or even 1 year ago? It's no surprise that marketers are having trouble keeping up.
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A number of sources are predicting a digital skills gap in the near future.  

​5 years ago, Gartner forecasted that by 2017 CMOs would be spending more on IT than CIOs (such is the requirement for analytics software, reporting tools, automation and personalisation software and more).
It looks like the prediction might come true this year.

So, where does this leave marketers and businesses?

It means (at very least) that your marketing manager is going to need some help, and soon.

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Which Digital Skills? Where to Start?

There is a broad range of skills these days that fall under the umbrella of 'digital marketing'.
A couple of our favourite graphical representations of these are below:

1. The graphic below from Unbounce titled 'The Noob Guide to Online Marketing' gives a great representation of the scope of tasks involved and current 'digital marketing' skill set. 

2. The one below from Gartner is one of our personal favourites that shows how Digital Strategy is interconnected, represented as a subway map, built from real data taken from over 1,800 businesses.

In-House Vs Outsourcing: Start with Your Core Strategic Goals

It's the million dollar question - in-house Vs outsourcing?

​The truth is that there are pros and cons to both of these arrangements. But before we deep dive into the different strategies available, it's worth starting at the core of your strategy.

Your business' core strategic goals should form one of the main deciding factors on whether you outsource or build/hire the resources in-house, where you start and how heavily you invest into each area.

For example -

• Is strong SEO strategy a core requirement for your business / industry?
  If so, then it makes sense to invest more in this area. Going the cheap route will likely end in disappointing results (or worse, get your business blacklisted from Google). 
• Does your social media need to really outshine your competitors?
  If so, it might be best to bring the work in-house (rather than communicating to an external agency). This gives access to internal staff who have a high level understanding of your brand voice and culture plus instant access to staff events, news and info.

Core competencies and focus of your digital strategy can be guided by: 

• Your target audience (how to best reach them)
• Your type of product or service
• How competitors in your industry typically compete (and therefore - by which channels your target audience is most open to receiving information).

Now to our 5 strategies...

Strategy 1: Build an Internal Digital Marketing Team

Pros

High level of internal control  High visibility within the business, intimate understanding of internal culture Greater access to internal assets, staff

Cons

Higher cost (wages) Time (finding and keeping good staff) Harder to maintain and scale Possibly leads to blinkered vision within the team

Team Roles 
As the Gartner Map above illustrates, there are key areas or 'zones' of digital marketing skills to narrow in on. For the purpose of this article, let's assume we're building a smaller cross-functional team of 3-5 staff at an SMB level (rather than a specialised or enterprise level team focused on one of those digital marketing 'zones').

A typical 5-person cross-functional digital marketing team ('pod') could consist of the following roles:

• Strategist / Team Lead
• Social Media Manager
• Content Marketer/Creator
• Data Analyst
• Technical Specialist/Developer

There might be overlap between some of the roles depending on particular skill sets. I.e.: Your social media manager might also be skilled at content creation, in which case you might consider subbing in a designer or UX specialist (as an example).

Hubspot suggests an example 5 person pod structure for "an agency that works with small businesses and does a lot of website redesigns" as:

• Product/project manager
• UX designer (with marketing skills)
• Front-end developer
• Content creator (copy, video, photos)
• The client

Larger organisations may still start with this core structure, but expand by create additional roles and teams based around functions and objectives - for example, teams specifically built around acquisition, growth, engagement or retention/loyalty.

The key consideration for any cross functional team is that the team should have all the skills required to complete the project*
* the cross-functional team could be made up of a combination of internal and external resources - see section 5 on outsourcing or contract services.

Team Structure
Principles of Scrum suggest that an optimal size for a cross functional team (or 'pod') is between 3-7 staff and no more than 9 staff. Research suggests that communication significantly declines past this number.

Hubspot takes this a step further and suggests two different 'pod' configurations for a cross functional, 'growth driven design optimised team' - one of 3 staff and one of 5 staff which also keeps an inbound marketing skill set in mind:

Image credit: Hubspot.

Strategy 2: Upskill Existing Marketing Staff

Pros

Cost effective Grow/develop internal staff More internal control  High visibility within the business, intimate understanding of internal culture Greater access to internal assets, staff

Cons

Potentially large time sink (for training) Hard to scale Limited flexibility Less variety of experience outside the business (possibly blinkered vision)

For smaller businesses with a more restrictive budget, or where there is a strong opportunity to upskill existing 'traditional' marketing staff, there are a number of resources online, both free and paid, which can make this a good option.

​Due to the fast moving nature of digital marketing, these online resources from reputable organisations are often kept more up to date than offline sources.

Where to get started upskilling?

1. Check out our our list of Top 8 (mostly) Free Digital Marketing Courses & Training Resources 
   or for a more personalised approach -
2. Find out more about our on-demand digital marketing training courses.

Strategy 3: Manage Your Agency Relationship(s) as Best as You Can

Pros

Can be highly cost effective if leveraged well Easier to scale - access to more resources Can be highly specialised and most up to date with current trends & best practices Can be highly experienced over a diverse range of clients / industries​

Cons

Less control Less visibility within the business - communication can be a challenge No direct access to internal assets  Still usually needs an internal resource to act as a liaison/facilitator

Working with a good digital agency can be a highly rewarding experience and even feel like working with members of your own team, all whilst proving more cost effective and less risky than hiring the same full time resources in house.

Then, some other times, things don't go so well...

There are some key considerations to keep in mind when working with a digital agency that can help you achieve great outcomes together:

Be Prepared

• Understand what a Digital Agency is/does 
• Understand that they may be outsourcing services themselves (doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing)
• Consider creativity Vs experience in the core areas that matter to your business
• Be clear and define your business goals and objectives.
• Define and agree on what success looks like.
• Decide on a budget and be realistic.
• Check contracts thoroughly, including length, lock-ins, exit conditions and break clauses if any.

If choosing a digital agency...

• Take time to research and shortlist the potential agency partner. Use the resources available to you online to assist.
• Consider whether to partner with an 'all under one roof' provider or 'specialised' agency for some services.

Know What to Expect

• Understand that working together is a relationship that needs commitment from both sides.
• Be clear and realistic on expectations.
• Understand that agencies work on a few different pricing models, including time-based billing, % of media spend and outcome-based billing.
• Be confident to ask questions if things don't seem quite right, or if you're having doubts over the information being provided to you in reports.
• Provide clear and timely feedback, nominate one key stakeholder to liaise with the agency and have that person act as a conduit to facilitate things from your site and keep the ball rolling.​

Setting clear expectations from the start can help to avoid disappointment later

Strategy 4: Hire a Full Time Digital Marketing Manager

Pros

Can be an entry point to hiring an entire internal team Can be focused/specialised and up to date More internal control  High visibility within the business, intimate understanding of internal culture Greater access to internal assets, staff

Cons

High cost for a real 'rock star'  Less redundancy and limited resources (unless also leveraging agency/s) Less flexible than contracting

For organisations with larger budgets, hiring a full time digital marketing manager can be a worthy option to either:

1. Lead an internal digital marketing team
2. Manage the relationships with your existing agency/s
3. Do a bit of both

Again, this can be very much a case of 'you get what you pay for' in terms of skills and depth of experience.

A quick aside - take Care When Hunting Unicorns 

Remember the Gartner transit map at the start of this article?
If you're hoping to find a real person with a full skill set like that (who isn't lying to you), you could be searching for a long time.

Strategy 5: Outsource or Contract Services

Pros

On-demand or short term access to high-level skills for a much lower investment than full time staff Can be highly focused/specialised and up to date with industry trends & best practice Highly flexible Can be highly experienced over a diverse range of clients / industries​

Cons

Less control Less visibility within the business - communication can be a challenge No direct access to internal assets

This can be one of the most agile and flexible solutions. In some ways, it can even be a combination of all 4 options above.

Once you've decided on the requirements for your core competencies, your goals and budget - engaging with a professional for a flexible hours agreement can give you the extra punch you need, just when you need it, to ensure that things are getting done right and you're not wasting money.

Some of the best ex-staff are out there running their own consultancies, broken free from the agency world and brimming with knowledge from both sides of the fence.

​A good digital marketing professional can: 

• Help you to identify and fix your digital marketing gaps
• Provide advice on strategy and identify the best areas of value for your business
• Help with hiring and building your internal team
• Provide advice and even act as an agent/liaison with your digital agency/s

In Conclusion

There are a number of effective strategies for building a highly successful digital marketing team in 2017 and beyond.  Which is best really comes down to your business needs and budget.

Here's a quick checklist:

1. Take a moment to understand the scope of digital marketing skills available/needed
2. Consider your business' core competencies and requirements
3. Decide what's important from your team (i.e.: more internal control, flexibility)
4. Consider a budget and be realistic
5. Set clear goals, check in regularly and be clear on expectations 

Be sure to prioritise and remember that you can use a combination of strategies to spread your risk rather than going 'all-in' in any one area.
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We hope this article is useful and would love to hear feedback or any other points from your own experience.