Small Business Marketing Roles: How to Hire the Right Person Without Burning Them Out

The Challenge Small Business Owners Face

Running a business today is about more than having a great product or service. You’re also expected to manage your website, social media, e-commerce store, advertising, email marketing — the list goes on.

For small business owners, this often leads to one big question:👉 Should I hire one person to do it all, or do I need specialists?

The truth is, marketing has become so broad and specialised that no one person can realistically cover everything well. That’s why many businesses struggle when they advertise for a “Marketing All-Rounder” or “Marketing Executive” and expect them to be a social media expert, a digital analyst, a PR guru, and an events manager all rolled into one.

Understanding the Different Marketing Roles

Here’s a breakdown of the key marketing roles that most small businesses will come across. Knowing the difference helps you write clearer job ads — and hire the right person for what your business actually needs.

1. Marketing Coordinator / Marketing Executive

• What they do: Keep campaigns, calendars, and reporting organised. They manage the day-to-day flow of marketing projects.

• Good for: Businesses who need someone to keep everything moving, especially when working with freelancers or agencies.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $60,000 – $80,000 + super

2. Social Media Manager

• What they do: Build your online presence on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. They create content plans, write captions, engage your audience, and run paid social ad campaigns.

• Good for: Businesses wanting to grow brand awareness and community online.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $70,000 – $95,000 + super

3. Content Creator

• What they do: Produce the actual photo, video, and design content that fuels your marketing. They’re skilled in photography, videography, editing, and sometimes graphic design.

• Good for: Businesses who want professional, consistent content for websites, social media, and campaigns.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $65,000 – $85,000 + super (or project-based rates if freelance).

⚡️ Important Distinction: A great content creator isn’t always a great social media manager — and vice versa.

• Content creators excel at making visuals.

• Social media managers excel at strategy, scheduling, and audience growth.

Expecting one person to be equally strong at both often leads to frustration. If high-quality visuals matter to your brand, separate these roles or outsource content creation.

4. Digital Marketing Specialist

• What they do: Manage SEO, Google Ads, email marketing, and website traffic analysis. They’re data-driven and focused on conversions.

• Good for: Businesses ready to scale sales through advertising and optimisation.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $80,000 – $110,000 + super

5. PR & Partnerships Manager

• What they do: Get your brand seen in the right places through media coverage, influencer collaborations, and strategic partnerships.

• Good for: Businesses who want credibility, press, and buzz around launches.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $80,000 – $110,000 + super

6. Events & Activations Coordinator

• What they do: Plan and deliver events, launches, pop-ups, and retail activations. They manage logistics, suppliers, and execution.

• Good for: Brands wanting to create in-person experiences that connect with customers.

• Salary Guide: 💰 $65,000 – $90,000 + super

Why One Person Can’t Do It All

Hiring one person and asking them to cover every one of these roles is like asking your accountant to also run HR, IT, and customer service.

Here’s what usually happens when you roll multiple roles into one:

• Burnout: The hire feels like they’re constantly failing because the workload is unmanageable.

• Mediocre results: A jack-of-all-trades can’t go deep in each area.

• High turnover: Staff leave when expectations don’t match reality.

For small business owners, this isn’t just tough on your team — it’s costly in time and money.

How to Hire Smart for Small Business Marketing

If you’re not ready to hire a full team, here are some practical ways to make it work:

• Hire for your most urgent need Decide whether brand awareness, sales conversion, or organisation is most important right now. That should shape the role.

• Outsource specialist skills Bring in freelancers or agencies for projects like SEO, ad campaigns, or PR while your in-house hire covers the core.

• Write clear job descriptions Focus on 2–3 key outcomes you want this role to deliver, not a laundry list of everything under the sun.

• Invest in tools Use scheduling, automation, and reporting platforms to lighten the load.

Marketing is no longer a “one-person job.” The sooner small businesses recognise the difference between marketing roles — and align hires with their real goals (and budget) — the more sustainable and successful their growth will be. Instead of looking for a unicorn, hire smart, get clear on your needs, and build support around that.

If you take into consideration the salaries for each of these roles individually, it quickly adds up — and that’s before you factor in super, leave, and training. For most small businesses, hiring a full in-house marketing team simply isn’t realistic.

That’s why paying an agency or solo specialist to cover the areas that matter most can actually be more cost-effective. Instead of stretching one hire too thin, you’re investing in expertise — and getting better results, faster.

At The Life Style Edit, this is exactly how I work with business owners. I don’t try to “do it all.” Instead, we focus on the parts of your marketing that will have the biggest impact right now — whether that’s social media strategy, content creation, brand direction, or overall marketing clarity.

Because in the long run, it’s not the cheapest option that wins — it’s the smartest. Choosing specialists who can do a few things exceptionally well will save you time, stress, and money, while giving your business the strong, consistent foundation it needs to grow.

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