Top priority marketing hires in 2022

The marketing world has always moved fast. In the last year alone, marketers have been embracing digital transformation more than ever, and during the COVID-19 pandemic have adapted to constantly changing virtual and hybrid business landscapes. As a marketing team in any sector, keeping up with these changes isn’t always easy. But, to succeed in the fast-paced marketing world -- and maintain a sense of relevance with your audience -- it's vital to stay ahead of the curve.

To help businesses build cutting-edge and competitive marketing strategies in 2022, we’re showcasing the most in-demand skills in marketing and digital right now and the hires you should be prioritising in 2022 in order to gain that competitive edge.
The most in-demand roles in marketing right now

1. Head of Growth

This unique role sits at the intersection of marketing and product development and can vary massively depending on the company. As Head of Growth, their sole focus is to hit growth targets, with primary concerns around customer acquisition, activation, retention, and upsells. Some of the key skillsets for people in this role will be growth hacking, growth management, and growth nurturing. 

Candidates that are currently in hire demand are those with unparalleled results in building strategies regarding the reach of a company, implementing new marketing initiatives, experience in A/B testing, or running experimental trials to discover what works and what doesn’t. 

Heads of Growth are invaluable assets for any start-up or scale up, especially within consumer driven tech brands. For small businesses, it’s harder than ever to cut through the noise. Despite the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, analysis of Companies House data has revealed that more than 340,500 businesses were registered in the UK between January and June 2021.

This number is continuing to grow with a significant rise in entrepreneurship and small businesses. With that in mind, it’s vital for your company to invest in a Head of Growth who can come in, work collaboratively across multiple areas (product, digital, marketing) to drive your business to success.

- Alice Kirkland, Business Manager, Michael Page Digital

2. Digital Officer 

A digital officer's overall responsibility is usually to drive growth and strategic renewal by transforming an organisation's traditional analog business into a digital ones. They put a special focus on creating new value through the smart use of digital tools, platforms, technologies, services, and processes.

In the NFP and public sector specifically, it seems there are gaps within businesses for more creative skills, so digital officers with multimedia experience across digital channels are in very high demand. This is also the case with candidates who have experience in design, videography or photography.

- Lauren Messias, Business Manager, Michael Page Marketing and Digital

3. Content Manager

The role of a content manager is very important, as they’re usually responsible for creating٫ improving and maintaining content in order to achieve business goals. Duties will also include raising brand awareness by sharing content٫ and monitoring web traffic and metrics with the interest of maintaining best practices. In light of digital transformation, many content managers have also upskilled into the world of SEO and have honed their craft into more digitally focused copywriting. 

The types of content managers we’re hiring for at the moment are mostly strategy based. This has come from the constant change of business landscapes since events like Brexit and Covid-19, which means businesses need strong content marketers that can not only write compelling copy but are also versatile and adaptable to the global market.

- Max Twiddle, Consultant, Michael Page Digital  

4. CRM Specialist

CRM (customer relationship management) specialists serve a vital function in any organisation. Their job is to maximise efficiency, unlock key data sets, and assess how a company uses software to improve customer care. They act as the liaison between employees and the CRM software, making sure your investment in these complicated and expensive platforms is maximized. Their ROI cannot be discounted – this role can be tied directly to sales, customer service, and the brand image in the marketplace.

CRM has definitely been a huge growth area for many of the clients in the B2C space. Most of them have had stores, restaurants, and hotels closed on and off for the past 2 years in light of Covid-19 which means they have all invested heavily in their digital and ecommerce teams. With the IOS 14 update, more businesses are investing in PPC and email marketing specialists rather than paid social experts.

- Alice Kirkland, Business Manager, Michael Page Digital

5. Marketing Executive

Marketing executives, otherwise known as marketing officers or marketing coordinators, are usually involved in developing marketing campaigns, but the role can vary depending on the type and size of the organisation and sector.

The role can include more traditional marketing elements such as planning and organising events both virtually and in person, sponsorship, advertising, public relations and research. On the other hand, marketing executives can cover more digital responsibilities including website or online campaign management. On top of this, there’s now a huge spike in the demand for marketers with content or copywriting skills which can sometimes fall into the remit of the marketing executive. 

In the financial services sector specifically, I am currently working on multiple marketing executive roles, most of which are very lead generation focused. Companies have been putting huge emphasis on lead generation as of late, trying to drive traffic from high-quality prospects, as with high-quality prospects comes high-value customers.

- Max Twiddle, Consultant, Michael Page Digital 

6. Social Media Executive

The role of your social media team is bigger than ever in 2022. In such a competitive landscape, an executive dedicated to managing all your social media channels and campaigns will help your business to engage with customers and increase your overall customer satisfaction. 

Their job role can include everything from the creation of content that drives brand awareness to communicating to engaged customers. Today, people are using social media more than ever before. So, it’s the best place to promote your brand and services to maximise your reach.

A social media executive will promote your brand and service and ensure customer satisfaction and experience. On top of this, they’ll be in charge of not only scheduling content to get pushed out on social media channels, but in more cases than not, they will also be responsible for creating that content too. 

Social media roles have been very active within our team as of late! We’re also noticing that these roles are being brought in to cover very specific campaigns or launches where businesses have needed extra hands-on deck to support these busy times. This means that top talent is being snapped up fast, as businesses need social media experts brought in-house sooner rather than later.

- Lauren Messias, Business Manager, Michael Page Marketing and Digital

7. Marketing Data Analyst

Data is a powerful tool within any marketing strategy. By having a data analyst in place, you can unlock the every customer’s likes and dislikes, preferences, their behaviours, and interactions with your brand. 

Data provides huge advantages for a marketer to tailor the message and deliver it when the prospect is almost ready to purchase. Having someone in the team with this particular skillset will allow your team to be very scientific about the campaigns you are running, and meet the demand of your audience by creating more personalised experiences for them.

Data analysts are in such high demand that very high salaries are being offered, and top talent goes off the market very quickly. It’s important for businesses looking for data analysts to move fast, optimise their hiring processes accordingly, and offer attractive salary packages to stay on top as an employer of choice.

- Max Twiddle, Consultant, Michael Page Digital

What next?

In order to attract these skillsets, it’s important to know salary candidates’ current market worth so you can make an attractive and competitive offer. For more insights into the most in-demand job roles and skills, and the average salaries for these roles across the UK, download our comprehensive Salary and Skills Guides for Marketing and Digital today. 

If you’re currently looking for a new role within marketing, there’s no time like the present to start looking for your next career move! Browse through our live marketing roles or contact our team of dedicated consultants today.