For direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, profitable growth is directly tied to managing customer acquisition cost (CAC) and maximizing return on ad spend (ROAS). The paid social landscape, particularly on platforms like Meta and TikTok, has become increasingly complex and competitive. Generalist marketers often struggle to keep pace with constant algorithm changes, creative fatigue, and persistent attribution challenges, leading to wasted spend and stalled growth.
To scale effectively in this environment, brands need to hire a paid social specialist—an expert with a proven track record of navigating the D2C space. These professionals bring a depth of knowledge that generalists lack, from advanced targeting strategies to sophisticated creative testing frameworks. This guide presents a list of vetted paid social experts and provides a clear framework for selecting the right partner to drive measurable results for your brand.
Why Hire a Vetted Freelance Specialist?
For D2C brands that need to move quickly and efficiently, a vetted freelance specialist often provides a more strategic advantage than a full-time hire. This approach minimizes risk while maximizing the speed and impact of your paid social efforts, ensuring every dollar is invested toward tangible growth.
- Cost of a Bad Hire: A full-time hiring mistake can cost a company up to 30% of the employee’s first-year salary, not including lost momentum and wasted ad spend.
- Speed to Impact: The average time to fill a full-time marketing role is 42 days. A vetted freelance expert can be onboarded and start optimizing campaigns in under a week.
- Deep Specialization: Paid social is not a “set it and forget it” channel. A specialist brings deep, current knowledge of platform mechanics, creative testing frameworks, and advanced attribution models that a generalist lacks.
- ROI-Driven Engagement: Freelance experts are hired to deliver specific outcomes. Their success is measured by key metrics like ROAS, CAC, and overall profitability, ensuring total alignment with your business objectives.
The D2C Advertising Landscape by the Numbers
The data highlights the high stakes and significant opportunity within the D2C paid social ecosystem. As costs rise, the performance gap between average and expert-led campaigns widens, making specialized talent a critical investment for sustainable growth.
- Customer acquisition costs on social media have increased by over 60% in the last five years.
- D2C brands in the US are projected to spend over $50 billion on digital advertising in 2024.
- Top-quartile paid social campaigns achieve a 300% higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) than average campaigns, highlighting the impact of expertise.
- Without expert management, as much as 25 cents of every ad dollar can be wasted on poorly optimized campaigns.
Our Vetting & Selection Process
This is not a random directory of marketers. Every specialist featured on this list is part of the rigorously vetted GrowTal network, ensuring they have the specific skills and experience required to succeed in the competitive D2C landscape.
- Our multi-stage vetting process includes a technical skills assessment focused on platform proficiency, a portfolio review of D2C case studies, multiple client reference checks, and a strategic interview.
- We screen for experts who demonstrate a clear understanding of D2C unit economics and can connect ad spend directly to bottom-line results.
- This process ensures you connect with talent that truly understands modern D2C growth strategies.
Vetted Paid Social Specialists
Below are some of the top-tier paid social experts available through the GrowTal network. Each has been vetted for their technical skills, strategic thinking, and proven ability to deliver results for D2C brands.
Jennifer Hwang
Jennifer is a seasoned demand gen marketer with 17+ years of experience across agencies, large enterprises, and high-growth startups. She’s led digital growth programs spanning paid search, paid social, ABM, website optimisation, and CRM operations/reporting. Most recently, she ran Demand Gen and Operations at an early-stage startup where marketing drove roughly 70% of a 4x revenue increase over 2.5 years. Jennifer is strongest when she’s building repeatable acquisition systems and tightening the connection between marketing activity and revenue outcomes.
Core Strength: B2B demand gen leadership across paid media, ABM, and marketing ops.
Best For: B2B tech teams that need a senior growth partner to scale the pipeline and improve efficiency across channels.
Josh Fienberg
Josh brings 15+ years of experience spanning growth strategy and hands-on execution, with deep expertise in user acquisition on Facebook and Instagram. He knows how to structure testing, read performance signals quickly, and scale spend when the creative, targeting, and funnel are working. Beyond paid social, Josh supports growth teams across creative/web, lifecycle email, and broader strategy—making him useful when you need both leadership and someone who can still get into the weeds to ship improvements.
Core Strength: Full-funnel growth strategy paired with real execution experience in paid social and creative.
Best For: Mobile apps, e-commerce, and media teams that want a growth leader who can own strategy and help run the playbook.
Marcel Sanchez
Marcel is a marketing leader with 10+ years of experience across user acquisition, product, and brand. He’s skilled at leading teams to build smart campaigns that drive measurable results while strengthening the business long-term. Marcel is comfortable across budgeting, lead generation, positioning, and conversion/retention strategy—bringing the mix of planning and execution that growth-stage companies need when priorities shift fast.
Core Strength: Leading multi-channel growth programs that connect acquisition, product, and brand outcomes.
Best For: E-commerce and app teams that need a pragmatic marketing leader to drive conversion, retention, and efficient growth.
Ben Bono
Ben is a strategy-first growth marketer with experience across finance, tech, and e-commerce. He supports teams across the full performance stack—paid search, paid social, and lifecycle channels like email—bringing an operator mindset to planning and prioritisation. Ben is especially helpful for companies balancing multiple revenue streams (subscriptions, e-commerce, media, and more) and looking for a steady hand to align channel execution with business goals.
Core Strength: Cross-channel growth strategy that connects acquisition and lifecycle to revenue goals.
Best For: E-commerce and subscription businesses that need a senior strategist to sharpen growth plans and improve performance across channels.
Jonathan Martinez
Jonathan has 7+ years of experience leading growth strategy and execution across Facebook/Instagram and Google, with the analytical depth to diagnose performance issues and the strategic range to build a plan around them. He’s known for being that rare blend of strategist and analyst—able to set direction, run tests, and translate results into clear next steps. Jonathan works across verticals, with interest and experience spanning B2B, e-commerce, and more.
Core Strength: Paid growth strategy + sharp analytics across major platforms (Meta + Google and beyond).
Best For: Teams that want a multi-platform performance lead who can own both the plan and day-to-day optimisation.
David Bender
David has 6 years of experience in paid social and digital media, with a track record across a range of advertiser types and objectives—from brand awareness through direct response. With agency background (and time working across multiple verticals), he brings a technical and strategic approach to account structure, measurement, and performance improvement. If you need someone who can plug in quickly, stabilise paid social execution, and bring strong channel judgement, David fits that role well.
Core Strength: Plug-and-play paid social expertise with both strategic thinking and strong technical execution.
Best For: B2B tech, consumer tech, and e-commerce teams that need reliable paid social ownership across objectives.
How to Engage an Expert
Our process is designed to be efficient and transparent, connecting you with the right talent quickly so you can start seeing results.
- Submit your brief (2-minute questionnaire)
- Matchmaking call to refine scope and fit
- 48-hour shortlist of 2–5 vetted candidates
- Pilot sprint (risk-free trial), fast onboarding
The GrowTal Advantage
Partnering with GrowTal provides several key advantages for D2C brands seeking specialized marketing talent without the overhead of a traditional hire.
- Rigorous Vetting: Every expert is skills-tested, reference-checked, and interviewed for strategic thinking.
- Flexible Engagement: Hire talent on your terms—hourly, part-time, or full-time—with no hidden fees.
- Broad Expertise: We cover the full marketing stack, including SEO, content, paid media, lifecycle, and interim CMOs.
- Bottom-Line Focus: Your success is our priority. We offer a free rematch if the first expert isn’t a perfect fit.
Hire vetted experts through GrowTal!
Conclusion
Finding a true paid social expert who understands the specific challenges and economics of D2C is a difficult and time-consuming process. The complexity of modern advertising platforms requires a level of specialization that is rare in the open market. A vetted freelance specialist offers a faster, more flexible, and ROI-focused path to scaling your brand profitably. By connecting you with pre-vetted talent, we remove the guesswork and risk from the hiring process. Skip the lengthy search and connect with an expert who can deliver results from day one. GrowTal makes it simple to hire a paid social specialist perfectly matched to your unique business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the typical cost to hire a freelance paid social expert?
Costs vary based on experience and scope, but engagements are flexible (hourly, part-time, or retainer-based). The focus is always on delivering a positive return on investment, and our team can help you find a match that fits your budget.
How quickly can a specialist start driving results?
After our 48-hour matching process, most experts can be onboarded and begin auditing accounts within a few days. You can typically expect to see initial performance insights and optimizations within the first two weeks.
Do these experts specialize in specific platforms like Meta or TikTok?
Yes. Our network includes specialists with deep expertise across all major D2C channels, including Meta (Facebook/Instagram), TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat. We match you with an expert whose skills align with your target platforms.
How is success measured with a freelance consultant?
Success is defined by the D2C metrics that matter most to your business: Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER). Your specialist will work with you to establish clear KPIs from the start.
