I have these two friends. Let's call them Brendan and Amanda (because those are their names). These two friends are very, VERY good content marketers. They built audiences at the top of the funnel. They converted the phone number list audience into the funnel. They are great at managing content teams. They are prolific content creators and leaders. They are so good that they can generate thousands phone number list of MQLs, SQLs, RTs and other KPIs with one hand and drink an IPA with the other.
These are, without a doubt, the phone number list proverbial rock stars we all hear about. Almost every month, I bore them. Let me explain: the start-ups that NextView (the venture capital firm where I work) invests in are all rushing to hire the phone number list best content marketing talent. Even outside of our portfolio, my colleagues in the phone number list tech start-up world also face this talent arms race. Almost all of them desperately want what I call a unicorn hire – someone who can execute and lead, strategize and create. Someone like Brendan. Someone like Amanda. And so I send them work after work, intro after intro.
Where is all the talent?
NextView has invested in over 50 start-ups in its five-year history, and the phone number list lack of talent is what I hear the most. I get several emails every week with requests to share good candidates or make intros. NextView also runs a program called Talent Exchange to provide candidates for our start-ups. The phone number list second most requested intro through this program, second only to Software Engineers? You guessed it.
Over the phone number list past 18 months I have seen the problem get worse. During this same period, the language used by hiring managers has also evolved. “We're hiring a copywriter” is now more common in my inbox than “we're hiring a content marketer”. This small change hints at a much larger reality: Companies aren't finding enough producer-type creative talent. Every time I see a search for “writers,” I can practically hear the phone number list executive behind it asking throwing her hands in the phone number list air in exasperation. “Enough with the suitors. We already need real creative talent here.