Top 10 Marketing Managers to Build Your Marketing Strategy in 2024

Today, marketing is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach. With dynamic social media landscapes, data-driven targeting, and the constant fight for customer attention, crafting a successful marketing strategy feels like navigating a marketing maze.

But don't worry—this is where freelancer marketing managers step in. These industry wizards possess the knowledge and experience to craft winning strategies that not only keep you relevant but propel your brand to new heights.

Our top picks of the best marketing managers to hire

1. Matt M. - Best overall

2. Elena R. - Best for social media management

3. Ottmani D. - Best for PPC management

4. Chris B. - Best for email marketing

5. Andrew G. - Best for MailChimp management

6. Mirjam P. - Best for brand management

7. Jonathan B. - Best for SEO management

8. Jarek S. - Best for eCommerce brands

9. Christopher P. - Best for B2C companies

10. Alex B. - Best for growth marketing

What is a marketing manager?

A marketing manager is the captain of a company's marketing ship. They steer the overall marketing efforts for a product, service, or brand. Here's a breakdown of their key responsibilities:

• Strategy development: Marketing managers are the brains behind the marketing brawn. They research market trends, analyze customer behavior, and understand the competitive landscape. With this knowledge, they craft comprehensive marketing plans that align with the company's goals.

• Campaign execution: Once the strategy is set, marketing managers translate it into actionable campaigns. This involves overseeing everything from social media blitzes and email marketing blasts to content creation and event marketing.

• Team leadership: Marketing managers often lead a team of marketing specialists, graphic designers, content creators, and other marketing professionals. They delegate tasks, ensure everyone is on the same page, and motivate the team to achieve marketing objectives.

• Budget management: Marketing campaigns don't run on sunshine and rainbows—they require careful budgeting. Marketing managers allocate funds for different marketing activities, track spending, and measure the return on investment (ROI) to ensure their efforts are generating results.

• Metrics and analytics: Marketing managers are skilled at analyzing marketing metrics and campaign performance. They use this data to identify what's working and what's not and constantly optimize campaigns for better results.

The skills that every great marketing manager should have

There is a wide range of skills that experienced marketing managers need, including: 

Ability to manage a marketing team

A successful marketing manager requires strong communication to lead and inspire their marketing team. They should be project management experts, adept at delegating tasks, maintaining focus on detail, and keeping projects on schedule. Strategic thinking is also crucial, allowing them to foresee future team needs and build a high-performing force through targeted hiring (including freelancers) when necessary.

Experience with a similar marketing budget 

You want someone of a high caliber who has done this before. You don't want to have to get someone who has only had experience working with a limited budget and have them learn on your dime. Get an experienced marketer who has successfully grown companies with a similar marketing budget in your exact industry or niche. 

Advertising 

Every marketing manager should have a basic understanding of advertising and knowledge of how to optimize advertising campaigns. They should be able to lead Facebook ad campaigns and Google ads and create and interpret dashboards and marketing reports. 

Social media marketing 

An expert digital marketing manager should have plenty of experience running a social media campaign on multiple social channels. They should also have experience with influencer marketing, creating user-generated content (UGC), crafting different types of content, and meeting marketing goals and KPIs on each platform. 

Content marketing 

Organic traffic is one of the most powerful ways to get traffic after paid advertising. Experienced marketing managers should have some content experience under their belt and be able to lead a content team, create blog posts, use Google Analytics to analyze the traffic that's coming in, and use content marketing tactics to bring visitors through the funnel. 

An ideal marketing manager should be able to manage a team of content marketers, optimize blog content, and know the basics of ranking on search engines. They should also be able to work with your social media manager on content promotion and distribution.

Email marketing 

Email marketing is the bread and butter of every business. With all of the search engine algorithm changes and the iOS 15 update, brands are losing access to their user data. The only way for business owners to keep track of their first-party data is by using getting better at lead generation and growing their email lists. 

The ideal marketing manager should be experienced in setting up email marketing automation, segmenting your email list, working with graphic design and email copy experts, and building email flows and campaigns. 

When should I hire a marketing manager? 

There are three possible situations (that we could think of) when you need a stellar marketing manager on your team. 

1. You need someone to lead your marketing team

You're a marketing director/head of marketing and your team is growing really fast.  You're unable to keep up and manage it all and you need to hire someone to manage a specific marketing channel or campaign.

You would prefer to get someone experienced in the industry and the specific channel or area of marketing but don't know where to start. Instead of going through a tedious hiring process or signing a long-term contract with a marketing agency, you can get a world-class marketer from Mayple to run the team, on a month-to-month basis. 

The project lasts for a few months and you've been able to assemble the marketing talent in-house? Not a problem. Mayple's flexible month-to-month plans are built for your needs. 

2. You're looking for your first marketing hire

You're a solopreneur or CEO looking to hire a top-notch marketing director or head of marketing. This is your first marketing hire, and you want to be sure that you find the ideal candidate. At the same time, you need to hire someone yesterday.

There are many marketing campaigns that you need help with, and finding a full-time marketing manager who fits your company culture and has the industry experience and expertise you need is almost impossible. 

That's where Mayple comes in. We've got 600+ expert marketers and we can match you with an ideal marketer that has a successful track record in your industry and can help manage your marketing efforts. We can help you get up and running quickly so that you will have time to find the best in-house marketing staff if you choose to do so. 

3. You urgently need a marketing generalist 

You've got a lot of different marketing consultants or freelancers on the team and no one to lead them and tie things together. You may have a social media marketing expert, a writer, an SEO guy, or a paid acquisition expert but no one to lead the team and create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. 

That's when you should hire a marketing manager. You need someone with marketing experience, people skills, and experience working with a similar marketing budget in the past. 

Hire a marketing manager with proven results

Mayple is the best place to find your next marketing hire.

Extensive vetting process

Gone are the days when you had to look through phony testimonials and call professional references. Mayple’s vetting process is unlike any other. We have an extensive assessment of the marketer’s skill, we look at their data and their track record, and we have them pass a preliminary assignment or mini-project.

Unbiased monitoring

We don’t just match your brand with an expert marketer, we monitor their progress and have regular calls to make sure that you are satisfied with their work. Joining Mayple is like having a team of marketing veterans at your side. We brainstorm solutions, send ideas to the experts and do everything we can to make sure you meet your ROI goals.

Full visibility and transparency

One of the greatest challenges of working with marketing agencies and consultants is that it’s hard to view all the data in one place. This is especially true of a growth strategy that includes many different channels.

Sometimes asking for a better dashboard or a site design change is like pulling teeth. With Mayple, we’ve built a system to display all the relevant data for you in one place that makes it easier for both the brand and marketing experts to make the right decisions.

A fraction of the cost of a digital marketing agency

Marketing agencies often charge an arm and a leg for digital marketing and have a ton of other clients they are servicing. At Mayple, you can get a marketing manager with proven industry experience at a fraction of the cost.

You also get a dedicated member of the Mayple team to monitor your project and ensure that everything is firing on all cylinders. With Mayple, your brand gets the expertise and attention it deserves to succeed.

Mayple makes it easy to find the perfect marketer

Our onboarding process is very simple.

• Step 1: You fill out a quick marketing brief about your business. You provide information like your ideal customer personas, business goals, campaigns you’ve done so far, and what you are looking to achieve.
• Step 2: We match you with an expert marketing manager.
• Step 3: Mayple’s marketing expert presents their marketing plan for your business.
• Step 4: Once you approve the plan, we get to work. Sit back and watch the magic happen.

Ready to hire the perfect marketing manager for your business? Get Started Today.