Do I need a manager to get marketing results for my charity?

Most small and medium charities have a limited budget but still need a marketing manager. Someone with a bit of experience but not too expensive. Often leaders look for someone that understands marketing strategy but also can ‘do the do’ and create amazing marketing content. It’s a lot to ask from one person.

There are other ways to tackle marketing.

Consider recruiting a junior marketing person, supported by an expert freelancer. The cost is similar and here’s why it could be a good strategy.  

Marketing needs multiple skills

A marketing manager with a small amount of experience will struggle to do everything you need.

Charities are doing crucial work to support people and communities to thrive, usually in challenging circumstances. You need the brightest people to help achieve your mission and it’s not always easy to find the budget to get an experienced person.

Grow your own marketing team

Recruiting young marketing graduates straight from university is a great way to bring energy, intelligence and enthusiasm to your marketing team. An expert freelance marketing consultant can support you to look for the right person and then work with you to help them flourish.

Squeeze experience and enthusiasm from your marketing budget

By combining a low cost resource, such as a recent graduate or intern, with expert marketing freelance support you will get a great combination of enthusiasm and experience. Younger recruits that have grown up being actively ‘social’ undoubtedly often hold the upper hand on content creation for social media. An experienced marketing consultant can show you how to harness this skill in the right way.

Supporting your junior marketing person

Recruiting a marketing intern or recent graduate should be seen as an opportunity to shape what you need, rather than a cheap solution.  If you don’t nurture a young marketing recruit, you can’t expect them to thrive. They will need clear direction on your marketing strategy. They might bring a host of skills but you need to bring direction.

Use a marketing expert to help you

An experienced marketing freelancer, that understands marketing strategy, can act as a bridge between you and your recruit. This means your new resource will have clearer purpose and direction.

Your local university is a good place to look for intern programmes that might be useful.

Remember, from small acorns mighty oaks grow!