How to hire a brand strategist

How to hire a brand strategist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step brand strategist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a brand strategist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new brand strategist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a brand strategist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a brand strategist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A brand strategist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, brand strategists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of brand strategists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Brand Strategist	Description	Hourly rate
   Brand Strategist	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$42-78
   Marketing Services Manager	A marketing services manager is in charge of overseeing a company's marketing procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities often include developing promotional strategies, assessing the performance of staff, coordinating different teams, managing the budgets, researching new marketing and client opportunities, analyzing data, and developing solutions to optimize marketing services and operations... Show more	$42-75
   Regional Marketing Manager	A Regional Marketing Manager plans and implements strategic marketing plans for an organization at a regional level. They analyze data, create recommendations, and write reports.	$29-55

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Brand Strategy
   • Digital Marketing
   • Project Management
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Brand Marketing
   • Integrated Marketing
   • Brand Positioning
   • Brand Management
   • Creative Briefs
   • KPIs
   • Strategic Thinking
   • Brand Awareness
   • Brand Development
   • Content Strategy

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage global product development teams with cross-functional oversight for manufacturing, sourcing, finance, design and supply chain management.
   • Create and execute tremendously successful Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest contest and sweepstakes that encourage interaction and increase brand visibility.
   • Assist clients in leveraging their large Facebook communities to grow their other social channels.
   • Aggregate data for case study development to demonstrate ROI of each campaign to client.
   • Work with clients to convert business & marketing questions into measurable KPIs and analysis plans.
   • Work across major functional areas such as finance and sales to generate new customer acquisition and drive ROI.

   More brand strategist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your brand strategist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A brand strategist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a brand strategist in Alabama may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level brand strategist usually earns less than a senior-level brand strategist. Additionally, a brand strategist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average brand strategist salary

   $120,948yearly

   $58.15 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level brand strategist salary

   $89,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average brand strategist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$147,221	$71
   2	Rhode Island	$145,481	$70
   3	New Jersey	$143,093	$69
   4	Oregon	$138,431	$67
   5	North Carolina	$135,684	$65
   6	District of Columbia	$133,914	$64
   7	Connecticut	$133,079	$64
   8	Ohio	$130,141	$63
   9	North Dakota	$129,329	$62
   10	South Carolina	$124,632	$60
   11	Illinois	$124,552	$60
   12	Wisconsin	$122,222	$59
   13	Maryland	$120,228	$58
   14	Delaware	$120,108	$58
   15	Michigan	$117,777	$57
   16	West Virginia	$116,697	$56
   17	Arkansas	$115,303	$55
   18	New Hampshire	$115,155	$55
   19	Virginia	$114,372	$55
   20	Indiana	$114,360	$55

   Average brand strategist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$158,212	$76.06	166
   2	Twitter	$140,330	$67.47
   3	Atlassian	$135,824	$65.30	3
   4	Apple	$133,521	$64.19	18
   5	Edelman Financial Engines	$130,505	$62.74	1
   6	Microsoft	$130,044	$62.52	43
   7	Reddit	$126,227	$60.69	2
   8	Postmates	$124,090	$59.66
   9	3M Company	$121,862	$58.59	13
   10	Rapid Response Monitoring	$120,879	$58.11
   11	Amazon	$120,568	$57.97	191
   12	VICE	$120,345	$57.86
   13	Ruggable	$120,288	$57.83
   14	Alpine Electronics of America	$120,288	$57.83
   15	NexHealth	$120,190	$57.78
   16	ABclonal Technology	$120,053	$57.72
   17	WarnerMedia	$119,972	$57.68
   18	Tableau	$119,907	$57.65
   19	REI	$117,409	$56.45	1
   20	Salesforce	$117,291	$56.39	33

4. Writing a brand strategist job description

   A job description for a brand strategist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a brand strategist job description:

   Brand strategist job description example

   As we at Timesavers celebrate our 75th year in business we are looking to add a Brand Strategist to help grow the marketing team and help manage branding within different companies & future acquisitions under the Timesavers umbrella.

   Timesavers is an industry leader in both the woodworking and metalworking industries, providing sanding and finishing solutions to our customers.

   The primary role of the Brand Strategist is to develop and execute all product strategies associated with growing Timesavers umbrella brands.

   The Brand Strategist should have the ability to think strategically and work with the Marketing Manager to identify and develop new markets and product opportunities by

   communicating with end users, rep agents, and regional managers to help identify different but cohesive brand strategies within the Timesavers umbrella.

   The Brand Strategist will also be responsible for assigning day to day tasks to the Marketing Coordinator.

   
   

   Responsibilities for Brand Strategist

   • Extensive research & analysis on each of the brands under the Timesavers umbrella

   • Identify and define each brand’s strategy, including customer base, personas, and messaging

   • Work with Marketing Manager to define and create compelling three-or five-year category and product portfolio strategies and priorities that are relevant to consumers by category by optimizing multi-branded product portfolio

   • Developing content governance for tone, style, and voice of all content throughout each brand

   • Managing all websites under the Timesavers umbrella to ensure brand symmetry

   • Collaborate with dealer partners on brand strategy and messaging throughout the brands

   • Manage and own all trade show strategy for each brand, including message, and goals. Identify additional industry shows a brand should be attending. Work with the Event Coordinator to execute trade shows effectively

   • Identify key strategies in increasing brand awareness, continuing to grow the companies’ strong reputation

   • Assign day to day tasks to the Marketing Coordinator

   
   

   Qualifications for Brand Strategist

   • Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field

   • 5+ years of experience in brand management or related role

   • Strong knowledge of various tools such as Wordpress,

   • Excellent analytical skills and a knack for data analysis

   • Strong written and verbal communication skills

   • Skilled in writing and editing content with an attention to detail

   • Strong prioritization, organization, and project management skills

   • Ability to travel as necessary to industry events, other production facilities, etc.

   • Ability to work at our Maple Grove, MN facility

   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right brand strategist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with brand strategists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit brand strategists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your brand strategist job on Zippia to find and recruit brand strategist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting brand strategists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new brand strategist

   Once you've selected the best brand strategist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new brand strategist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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