I recently got sent another job ad by a friend, and it is crystal clear that the marketing industry has a serious problem.
A unicorn problem.
Companies and agencies are on the hunt for the Unicorn Marketer.
These job ads usually go something like this.
Key responsibilities include:
– Genius copywriter
– Expert videographer, shoot and edit
– Brilliant photographer
– Google Ads champion
– SEO legend
– Social media phenom, paid and organic across every platform that has ever existed
– Graphic design lord for digital and print
– Website management across all platforms
– Podcast sound engineering tsar
– Can-do attitude
– Years of experience in each of the above fields
– University degrees
– Data analytics savant
– May or not be full-time, maybe part-time
– Salary Expectations around $60K
Stop expecting unicorn marketers. It’s ridiculous. Businesses, start truly understanding where your marketing dollars should be spent, and put them there. Strategy is crucial. Scale outwards one channel at a time, and don’t hand it all to one/two people.
Agencies, understand the level of skill required in each discipline, and do not expect mastery of all, while paying peanuts.
Clayton Smith is a Social Media & Digital Marketing Specialist for Smith Social
Photo Credit: Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash