How to hire a marketing lead

How to hire a marketing lead, step by step

Here's a step-by-step marketing lead hiring guide:

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

What does a marketing lead do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the marketing lead you need to hire. Certain marketing lead roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A marketing lead's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, marketing leads 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 marketing leads and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Marketing Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Marketing Lead	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.	$35-70
   Business Development And Marketing Manager	The business development and marketing manager is in charge of overseeing a company's marketing programs and projects. They primarily manage and coordinate teams, set goals and guidelines, organize budgets and timelines, conceptualize plans, and develop strategies to optimize operations... Show more	$24-53
   Manager, Field Marketing	A field marketing manager oversees a company's field marketing operations, aiming to improve brand awareness and reach sales goals. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around devising marketing strategies, participating in organizing campaigns and trade shows, setting objectives for the team, and monitoring the progress of marketing programs, ensuring they are functioning effectively and efficiently... Show more	$32-61

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Project Management
   • Integrated Marketing
   • Healthcare
   • Twitter
   • Linkedin
   • Digital Transformation
   • CRM
   • Channel Marketing
   • Strong Project Management
   • Salesforce
   • Facebook
   • KPIs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Launch new cloud services and manage execution across functions to reach sellers, current customers, prospects and influencers.
   • Re-Brand and manage secondary Instagram account focuse on product across multiple store locations.
   • Develop and manage marketing programs and partner integration for industry marketing in government, healthcare and education markets.
   • Re-Design marketing materials, Facebook page, LinkedIn page and website.
   • Develop blog posts, Facebook updates and tweets to spread awareness of new product or services while tracking effectiveness and ROI.
   • Coordinate and responsible for MDF fund deployment.

   More marketing lead duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your marketing lead job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A marketing lead salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, marketing leads' average salary in kansas is 37% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level marketing leads earn 49% less than senior-level marketing leads.
   • Certifications. A marketing lead with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a marketing lead's salary.

   Average marketing lead salary

   $104,664yearly

   $50.32 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level marketing lead salary

   $74,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average marketing lead salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$135,264	$65
   2	New York	$118,016	$57
   3	Washington	$114,522	$55
   4	Illinois	$111,462	$54
   5	Arizona	$111,313	$54
   6	Connecticut	$110,493	$53
   7	Delaware	$109,459	$53
   8	Massachusetts	$108,063	$52
   9	Virginia	$103,869	$50
   10	District of Columbia	$101,916	$49
   11	Ohio	$101,212	$49
   12	Maine	$100,428	$48
   13	Texas	$99,334	$48
   14	Georgia	$99,249	$48
   15	Pennsylvania	$98,281	$47
   16	Oregon	$97,922	$47
   17	Indiana	$97,175	$47
   18	Maryland	$95,345	$46
   19	South Carolina	$94,139	$45
   20	North Carolina	$94,067	$45

   Average marketing lead salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$171,568	$82.48	240
   2	Google	$158,283	$76.10	132
   3	Airbnb	$154,529	$74.29	2
   4	Apple	$150,141	$72.18	33
   5	McKinsey & Company Inc	$147,520	$70.92	12
   6	Stitch Fix	$146,746	$70.55	2
   7	Microsoft	$145,328	$69.87	119
   8	Brex	$144,812	$69.62	12
   9	PayPal	$142,656	$68.58	40
   10	StubHub	$141,792	$68.17	3
   11	eBay	$139,960	$67.29	22
   12	ZS	$139,840	$67.23	1
   13	Etsy	$139,657	$67.14	1
   14	SAP	$138,562	$66.62	38
   15	Adobe	$136,960	$65.85	75
   16	Capgemini	$135,673	$65.23	9
   17	Palo Alto Networks	$135,487	$65.14	36
   18	Intuit	$130,038	$62.52	97
   19	Vista Equity Partners	$130,000	$62.50	5
   20	Harley-Davidson	$129,700	$62.36	3

4. Writing a marketing lead job description

   A marketing lead job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a marketing lead job description:

   Marketing lead job description example

   ***Hybrid Role***
   Digital Display Marketing Manager
   The Digital Display Marketing Manager will be responsible for strategizing and executing acquisition campaign strategies to ensure program goals are met. This role requires a high degree of analytic and quantitative orientation, as well as a strong ability to collaborate with partners across a complex organization.
   The ideal candidate will have experience serving paid digital media across targeted display and social platforms including but not limited to Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Pinterest, Discovery Ads, and the TradeDesk. He or she will possess deep experience in using marketing technology and third-party data to build qualified audiences to improve response and profitability. To be successful, the candidate will be able to work within DSPs and social ad platforms while leveraging DMPs, Adobe Analytics, and various attribution solutions for additional insights. He or she should be well-versed in online measurement, audience management, and test design techniques, leveraging first party data, models and incrementality.
   This role will partner with the Digital Acquisition Team to collaborate with marketing leaders, agency partners, IT, and analytics to provide digital acquisition marketing expertise and ensure campaigns are executed flawlessly. This job requires daily contact with internal clients and external vendors to manage multiple digital acquisition programs, track campaign delivery, troubleshoot issues, optimize campaigns based on performance, and provide reporting.
   Responsibilities
   Work within advertiser-specific engines to manage marketing programs that profitably acquire new customers for the bank Ensure the proper execution and delivery of all marketing campaigns Manage a robust test and learn agenda to drive efficiency and performance Contribute to campaign reporting and provide actionable insights for team members Consult on landing page optimization and creative testing recommendations Remain current with industry trends, leveraging new technology to improve performance Research and monitor competitor activity Monitor emerging digital platforms to find opportunity Prioritize time across multiple opportunities focusing on the most productive tasks Partner with internal resources to ensure proper tagging and tracking to monitor campaigns Manage campaign expenses, estimating monthly costs and reconciling discrepancies
   Basic Qualifications
   Bachelor's Degree7 years Online Marketing experience
   Preferred Qualifications:
   Facebook CertificationsDSP CertificationsExperience with driving growth through digital marketing programs Highly quantitative, analytical and numbers focused Experience collaborating with 3rd party vendors and agencies Must have excellent written and verbal (face-to-face and phone) communication skills including professional grammar and demeanor.Must have strong interpersonal and communication skills and be able to convey and sell your ideas to senior leadership.Ability to develop working relationships with individuals at all levels of an organization.Good project management and execution skills.Ability to work individually and also motivate a team.Self-motivated, energetic and creative; self-directed learner
   Familiarity with A/B and multivariate experiments
   
   Workplace Type:
   Hybrid
   
   Huntington is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity and expression, genetic information, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.
   
   Tobacco-Free Hiring Practice: Visit Huntington's Career Web Site for more details.
   
   Agency Statement: Huntington does not accept solicitation from Third Party Recruiters for any position

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right marketing lead for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your marketing lead job on Zippia to find and recruit marketing lead candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit marketing leads, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   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 marketing lead

   Once you've found the marketing lead candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new marketing lead. 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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