Lori Whitbey and Alexis Somers
The Marketing Job Shift 2024 Live at AMA
Lipstick Economy has been on the road lately, recording podcasts with partner organizations. Today’s podcast was recorded live before an audience at an event with the American Marketing Association Nashville. Our guests were Lori Whitbey, and accomplished copywriter and strategic marketer, and Alexis Somers, Account Executive with Creative Circle, Nashville, a recruiting and consulting services company. Lori launched a boutique content and copywriting firm in 2019. She served as president of the AMA Nashville and is currently on the board. Alexis guides clients in navigating talent gaps and delivering impactful campaigns on time and within budget.
How have technology, remote work, hybrid freelancers, and specialists changed the role of marketing?
Lori shares how technology has shifted the mindset to embrace remote, hybrid, and freelance work. Alexis believes marketing has become more specialized, focusing on niche skills rather than generalist roles, creating more roles overall in the marketing industry. Remote work also opens up more opportunities beyond geographic limitations.
How many marketing jobs are open in the Nashville market? Where should marketers look for jobs?
Alexis says, “The number fluctuates with around 500 marketing jobs available at any given time. This includes various roles listed across platforms like LinkedIn and other job boards. General job boards like LinkedIn and Indeed are standard. Creative Circle taps into its referral network and database of over a million candidates to fill roles effectively.”
What trends are you seeing with remote and hybrid work for freelancers?
“I see a lot of contracts asking for freelancers to sit in the office four or five days a week. That feels new. It makes you feel like an employee—but a short-term one.” Lori tells us how this model is not ideal, and freelance work should be, as it is in the name, truly freelance. Alexis adds that hybrid work is increasingly common in Nashville, yet excessive onsite work requirements extremely limit their pool, hindering access to top talent, “Freelancers are working on multiple projects at a time. Having to be onsite 20 hours a week hinders their ability to manage other projects.”
Where did the ‘marketing specialist’ come from?
Alexis describes it simply, “Marketing technology and personalization have called for more specialized talent… We used to have marketing generalists; now it’s about niche expertise.”
Are there specific marketing roles that lend themselves to freelancing?
Copywriting, especially in terms of B2B is a highly common freelance role, as it doesn’t require any onsite work. Functions such as content management, analytics, and SEO are also in high demand, driven by the need for personalization and automation.
Are you seeing more roles around AI than you have before?
Alexis says “We’ve had some instances where we’re looking for AI prompt writers or even just we have a financial literacy client that they may not be working with AI every day, but they need to understand Midjourney through, they might be a designer and they have that experience to utilize it if they need to, but they’re not necessarily replacing the designer’s job or something. But the companies are trying to grow alongside AI. As AI becomes more prevalent, they want people to have that background, to have some experience and be able to utilize it.”
What are you doing to stay relevant and to market yourself to prospective clients?
Lisa shares “The biggest thing is coming to functions like American Marketing Association because it’s always important to find out what truly is the next best thing. And everybody is working on marketing projects right now, but sometimes somebody needs that little sparkle to get a little bit better lead generation or to capture readers, and that’s for B2B as well as B2C, new research, new techniques in AI.. I come to these events and I know about AI of course and everything, but then I talk to somebody who has had success in specific prompts. It’s that specific information and that tidbit that I can take back to use on my own projects. And then also I go to events to meet people, pass my business card around. And then I remember me when I first started my agency, it was all built on referrals, and that was from networking.”
What advice do you have for new graduates entering marketing?
Alexis and Lori agree that starting out as a generalist, and really expanding your knowledge among multiple skill sets and niches is the best advice for new graduates. Lori continues, “Then you know everything. And it also helps future-proof your marketability because you do know everything. You haven’t been pigeonholed. And then as time goes on, there’s ebbs and flows in the market, then you become an expert in different areas, things are going to shift where companies of all sizes have different needs. And so you can shift with that. Once you have a really good foundational knowledge, then you can bring it anywhere you want throughout your career.”
Resources and Links
Alexis Somers on Linked In
Creative Circle | @creative.circle
https://www.creativecircle.com/
Lori Whitbey on LinkedIn
