The gig economy was already growing quickly before Covid-19 hit, and now it’s growing even faster. But now it’s a gig economy for professionals. Freelancing has always been a thing but our current economy has led to more and more professionals getting hired for part-time, hourly or project based employment.
According to a recent report from Freelancer, “freelance job openings increased over 25% during the April to June quarter of 2020 — compared to the first three months of the year.” The report also found that, “freelance job postings rose 41% to 605,000 in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.”
With more talented individuals available for hire than ever before, it’s a good time to connect with freelancers to help you achieve the marketing goals you need to hit before the end of the year.
You should consider starting the process of finding and hiring a freelancer if some or all of the following are true:
- Your team doesn’t possess the skills needed to complete a project.
- You can’t justify pulling your existing team members off of what they are working on.
- You need something done quickly and with little to no hand-holding.
- You want someone who has a lot of experience doing what you’re trying to do.
- You aren’t ready to hire full-time but you need immediate help ramping.
- You want to test the waters by adding a specific skill set to your team.
- You know you’ll only need an extra set of hands for a limited amount of time.
- Your team is maxed out.
How to Find Marketing Freelancers
These days it’s relatively easy to find marketing freelancers—the trick is finding the right one for your project. After you have a good idea of what your needs, goals, and expectations are and you have your role clearly outlined, you’re in a good place to start searching for a freelance marketer. When you’re ready to start looking, you have a few options.
Ask people you know. One of the fastest ways to find a freelancer is to simply ask people you know for referrals. Your employees, partners, and professional network are likely connected to one or more freelancers that could match what you’re looking for. Take the opportunity to ask for recommendations from people who have worked with certain freelancers in the past and had good experiences.
PREMIUM CONTENT: Staffing Company 2020 Interim Planning Package
Promote the opportunity on social media. Use LinkedIn and other social media sites to promote the opportunity. Share information about the role, the project, the time frame, your expectations, and more about who you’re looking for. To get the most out of this option, you should share with your personal connections and on your company page. Don’t be afraid to promote the opportunity more than once. You can also ask your employees, colleagues, and partners to post about the opportunity on their personal profiles.
Tap your established network. One of the best ways to find reliable marketing freelance talent is to tap into an existing community of pre-vetted freelancers. There are a lot of services and sites you can use that can save you a lot of time and headaches when it comes to finding, matching with, and onboarding a freelancer. Tapping into existing networks that contains a robust talent marketplace is a great option if you don’t have time to do the heavy lifting but you still want to find the best and most qualified person for the job.
Importance of Marketing to a Business’ Overall Function is Paramount
I’ve always felt that opportunities arise during times of crisis. During this pandemic, businesses cannot afford to sit silently and eliminate vitally important roles like marketing. It’s been said that marketing helps the overall sales funnel and it’s critical for businesses who want to stay afloat and survive this pandemic to continue to maintain their marketing team. And given that you can hire a marketing freelancer, you’ll rest assured they will be helping you meet your bottom line and at the same token have greater control over their hours and compensation.
