Benefits of Hiring A Marketing Consultant

Highly Skilled and Productive Talent
At A Fraction of the Cost

Consultants and Part-Time Help Can Often Fill Critical Gaps In Your Marketing Team


There are a lot of benefits to hiring a marketing consultant instead of adding another marketer to the payroll. Especially if you find the right consultant.

What are the advantages and why are so many companies doing it?

Outside perspective: One of the best benefits to hiring a consultant is that you get a fresh view at your organization, its mission, customers, messaging, and other processes. Over time, your team can get locked into routines or be biased about strategies or tactics. What’s more, if you really want to improve diversity of skill and thought, hiring a consultant from the outside could give you the fresh insight you are looking for.

Save money: Another great benefit is that consultants are often much more cost-effective than hiring full-time employees. You can pay a consultant with 15 or more years of experience at the same salary rate as a junior employee, but for less time and without benefits and other employee perks.

Specialized skills: Hiring a marketing consultant also gives you the opportunity to bring in someone with a specialized skill set. So, for less money than standard employee hire, you can bring in someone who is an expert in HubSpot, for example, or can help optimize your website and its content for search engines. There also is a chance that you can find a consultant with more than one skill set that allows you to really maximize time and money, and make a tremendous amount of progress on your marketing.

Time commitment is based on your needs: Let’s not forget, that consulting engagements are not permanent. Most consultants recognize you have deadlines and budget constraints. But depending on needs, consultants also can be flexible. In short, they work to your schedule and your needs. This saves time, improves productivity, and reduces over-hiring full-time employees.

Easy to hire: Hiring a consultant also is much easier than hiring a traditional, full-time employee. You have less logistics to cover, and if you do not need your consultant to be on-site very often (or at all), you have fewer procedures to follow. This can mean that if you have an urgent project - a consultant can get working sooner to keep things on track or fix a problem.

Work ethic and quality: Lastly, consultants are constantly working to prove their value, and the best ones know that quality is their key to more work. Though this is not universal of all consultants, most will ask you and your team how they want to communicate, how often they want project updates, and make sure projects and tasks are aligned to due dates. Accountability is an important trait in many consultants, which can give you greater peace of mind.

Michael Hackmer, CEO of Social Web Tactics

Michael Hackmer

E-mail: michaelhackmer@socialwebtactics.com
Phone: +1-571-762-2326

Consultant Profile: Michael Hackmer

Years of Experience: 15+

Specialties:

  • Audience identification as well as Buyer Personas and customer profiles

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

  • Content Creation (Editorial Calendars, White Papers, Interviews, as well as other forms of written and video content)

  • Marketing Automation and Inbound Marketing (HubSpot, Agile, Infusionsoft, Leadsquared, Eloqua, Silverpop, and more)

  • Lead Generation (eg, Webinars, events, sales campaigns)

  • Advertising (Digital and Traditional)

  • Social Media and other forms of online engagement

  • Connecting with Influencers within certain industries to build relationships and credibility

  • Analytics and reporting (Google Analytics, social media, email reporting, etc)

Experienced With:

  • Content Management Systems (CMS) such as: Adobe Experience Manager, Drupal, Wordpress

  • Email Solutions such as: Eloqua, Silverpop, HubSpot, Agile, Mailchimp, ConstantContact

Additional Background:

  • Project Management: Managed the completion of a $1.5 million dollar website rollout, as well as other web initiatives include blogs, business social networks and online tools / modules.

  • Communication: Conducted public relations in various roles, and have served as a reporter and interviewer, as well as a panel moderator at over 100 events - including online and at conferences.

How Michael Hackmer Can Help Your Team

Below are some of the types of projects / tasks that can be done for your business.

Identify Your Target Audience

Before any marketing or selling takes place, every business must know their customer. Hackmer can gather your sales, lead, and customer support data, review product / service performance in the marketplace, and review competitors to help build buyer personas and a marketing and sales plan.

Optimize Your Website (SEO and Content)

Ranking high in search (Google, local, etc) is critical to your success. Hackmer can help with a site audit, local search, directories, and more, to help generate greater organic traffic to your website. At the same, using keyword / phrase research, he can create the content you need to get people interested in your company, including website copy, blog posts, emails, and more.

Create Lead Generation Campaigns

Business to business (B2B), and business to government (B2G) lead generation is a process marketers follow to capture audience interest in a product or service, and then adding those contacts into a marketing and sales pipeline. Hackmer can work to create successful webinars, white papers, and other marketing assets that generate leads for your business.

Michael Hackmer's Marketing Skills

Michael Hackmer can help support all kinds of engagements, strategic and tactical, as well as content and technical.

Hackmer is skilled in a number of different systems, including but not limited to: HubSpot, Infusionsoft, Agile, Leadsquared, Silverpop, Eloqua, Adobe Experience Manager, Drupal, Wordpress, and more.

If you need help with website optimization, getting your marketing more automated, creating compelling content for lead generation, or other kinds of marketing tasks, please call: +1-571-762-2326

Summary Profile and Qualifications

  • 15 years of experience in marketing, sales, public relations and government relations with a background in a wide range of industries including: government contracting, broadcast media, new media, technology (software and SaaS), manufacturing, higher education, food and retail. Experience includes both private and public sector markets, US and International markets.
  • SEO/SEM, social media and online community management professional with experience in growing organic search results, increasing on-site engagement, producing leads and generating new online revenue opportunities.
  • Superior project management and planning skills; ability to juggle multiple projects, organize and prioritize; recognizes the importance of not over-promising and under-delivering.
  • Proven ability in managing product marketing campaigns and working with product teams on features / functionality, technical requirements, and product roadmap development as well as pre-sales and customer engagement.

 

Highlights from Recent Positions

Founder and Chief Digital Marketing Strategist

Social Web Tactics (www.socialwebtactics.com), Ashburn, VA

  • Oversee development and implementation of SEO, Social Media and broader Digital Marketing strategies and tactics for B2B, B2G and B2C clients, including but not limited to full scale SEO and social media audits, website usability and content marketing.
  • Create and manage content marketing, SEO and social media campaigns for companies including: Calvert Education, K12, ISO Group, INSIGHT Into Diversity, and more.

 

SEO and Content Optimization Manager

Strayer University, Herndon, VA

  • Oversaw SEO strategy and implementation including development of site optimization and link building efforts, supervised SEO vendors in the western U.S. and India, and personally conducted detailed on-site optimization of roughly 1,000 web pages of a new corporate website.
  • Increased YOY organic traffic by over 30%, and implemented strategies that led to a 68% increase in unique visitors and a reduction in bounce rate.
  • Created analytics reports in Google Analytics, Omniture, Cognos and Sparkroom to track performance of SEO, PPC, and other marketing campaigns - both to the website and through social channel referrals. Reported weekly, monthly and quarterly on data and made YOY comparisons to student interest (based on RFI and other sources) as well as sales (student enrollment).
  • Conceived and managed the development of the Strayer Buzz Blog, including functional and technical requirements and uploading of content into the CMS.

 

Senior Community Manager

GovWin.com (Deltek Information Solutions), Herndon, VA

  • Created content campaigns to reach Fortune 500 prime government contractors as well as subcontractors and aspiring B2G companies that increased search presence, and grew network from 9,000 to 30,000 government contractor members in less than 9 months.
  • Increased GovWin.com on-site engagement by 4 percentage points using internal tracking methodology in just 1 month.
  • Developed and rolled-out GovWin's first B2B Virtual Roundtable series designed to bring executives and subject-matter experts from Fortune 500 companies (HP, Lockheed Martin, etc) and other leading government contractors together to discuss key issues, which has generated:
    • Over 4,000 unique page views and 10,000 minutes on the site in less than 4 months.
    • Targeted 200 to 300 registrations per event and exceeded goals by 35%
  • Devised and implemented multi-phased social media strategy designed to connect with businesses and increase on-site engagement and expand thought-leadership, which has included:
    • Expanding Twitter outreach - effectively growing Twitter followers by 189% in less than 6 months.
    • Creating YouTube and Livestream content strategy - GovWin Livestream channel has generated over 108,000 viewer minutes and over 4,700 video streams.
    • Identifying and connecting with key influencers in government contracting and related issue experts to help expand GovWin brand identity and generate additional viral marketing of content, events and services.

 

Social Media and Online Marketing Manager

BIA/Kelsey, Chantilly, VA

  • Developed and launched 4 corporate B2B focused blogs around key company offerings in traditional media, local media, global yellow pages and mobile, which doubled unique views to BIA/Kelsey content.
  • Implemented Web Analytics program for 7 web corporate web properties using multiple providers; used metrics to identify top landing pages; improved design of high-traffic pages to enhance user experience.
  • Implemented initial SEO and SEM strategies on various web properties, and SEM campaigns for ActiveAccess desktop application, ParentPower community and select offerings resulting in increased website traffic.
  • Supervised blog index development and database integration with B2C community website and blog.
  • Maintained application content, and updated index database and website for B2C community.
  • Instituted social media strategy to connect with B2B audience that included: creating multiple Twitter accounts to reach specific corporate audiences, expanding blogs to represent core corporate divisions with a phased-approach of building content and blogger relationships, social bookmarking, LinkedIn strategies for business development (added over 400 new members in 6 months to LinkedIn group), and other steps to help grow online presence and engage prospects and current clients.
  • Managed B2B Webinar program, including messaging and presentation content for events that reach corporations as well as state / local government, first responders, hospitals and colleges / universities. These Webinars reached between 300 and 600 decision-makers and produced 10 to 30 qualified leads per event with qualified sales opportunities ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 per opportunity.

 

Marketing Communications Manager

VitalSpring Technologies, Inc., Tysons Corner, VA

  • Worked with product development team, and managed all components of corporate sales tool kit for multi-billion dollar inter-enterprise software company, including content for brochure, datasheet, FAQs and web content, as well as built a stand-alone product website for demonstrations and C-Level messaging.
  • Led planning and coordinated all logistics for VitalSpring’s participation in SAP’s SAPPHIRE trade show, including but not limited to: development of product demo, marketing collateral, product presentation, all on-site logistics, travel, and coordination with SAP HCM team.
  • Developed Webinar program to Human Resources and Financial professionals, including content.
  • Developed and executed e-mail campaigns to audiences that included C-Level executives, VPs and directors in Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, including Discovery Communications, McDonalds, Raytheon and more.
  • Coordinated with sales teams on lead generation activities so marketing efforts coincided with driving opportunities through the sales pipeline.

 

Marketing and Project Manager

Computer Marketing Associates, Tysons Corner, VA

  • Developed continuing go-to-market plans for Hewlett Packard's Federal marketing programs centering on COOP, Identity Management, and "Think Again" Server campaign versus IBM and SUN.
  • Worked with client on creating and implementing a strategic competitive marketing plan for server, processor and database migration in the federal government space.
  • Managed Webinar program, including messaging and presentation content for events that targeted Federal agencies such as DISA, DoD, and FEMA, as well as specific roles within government (ie, security, COOP, etc). Also planned Webinars and managed list acquisition for events geared towards other public sector organizations. Webinars averaged 30 qualified leads per event and 150 to 250 attendees.

Social Web Tactics is a digital marketing and sales agency that can identify the right marketing consultant for your business, or the right team to ensure your project is done successfully. We are ready and able to help your company develop and execute a successful strategy that leads to business growth.

Contact us today to discuss your business needs. Call us at: +1-571-762-2326.

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