Bailey Hemphill
Content Director

Bailey Hemphill describes herself as many things: a people-watcher, an avid culture consumer, and, particularly in relation to her work values, “very Midwestern.”

“I don’t believe in just coasting by,” says Hemphill, who grew up in Omaha, NE. “If you want to be great at something, you have to do the work. You have to put in the time and effort. You have to practice and continually learn. Really, you just have to care.”

This ideology not only informs Hemphill’s leadership and content marketing efforts as Content Director at Hurrdat Marketing, but even in her life outside of work. “I view every day as an opportunity to learn and grow so that I can be a better, smarter person tomorrow,” she adds.

Learning and growing is something Hemphill has always valued. Several people in her family—including her parents—were teachers, and that gave her a respect for education, as well as a desire for more knowledge. She sees every book, every podcast, every film, and every opportunity to travel as a way to discover new things and expand her worldview. Hemphill admits that’s also why she considers people-watching to be one of her favorite hobbies.

“I love to just post up in a bar or on a restaurant patio somewhere and observe the people around me,” she explains. “I’m just passively listening and observing our weird little ecosystem. That probably sounds creepy, but it stems from my linguistics studies. I had to do projects where I’d document and evaluate speech patterns, dialects, and conversational habits. Now, it’s something I can’t help but notice.”

Hemphill earned her degree in English with a Language Studies concentration at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, graduating in 2011. Right out of college, she worked as Assistant Editor at Omaha Magazine, where she wrote and edited magazine content, managed freelancers, and put together editorial calendars. She also managed the magazine’s social media accounts and website content as the company began expanding its digital presence, which would be a catalyst for her eventual switch to the digital marketing industry.

“Social media marketing was taking off, people were suddenly talking about search engine algorithms, businesses were starting to develop web presences—it was like the new frontier, and I wanted to be part of it,” she says. “I started looking around for jobs in digital marketing.”

Hemphill came across Hurrdat Marketing, when the agency was still in its startup days, and joined the team in 2013. “I want to say there were about 12 of us in the office at that time, which was kind of wild,” she notes. “And I’m still here! There’s a reason for that, and it’s the people. We work well together, we’ve been through the ups and downs of company growth, and we all care about being the best at what we do.”

Today, Hemphill leads the content marketing team and oversees content creation for the agency’s clients, as well as for Hurrdat’s internal brands. As part of her role, she devises content strategies and tactics that further the digital marketing goals of both Hurrdat and its clients.

“When a client comes to us with a problem, I want to develop and deliver a content marketing solution that addresses their needs. And when we see results that show our content marketing efforts helped to solve those problems, that’s when I know we’ve demonstrated our value.”

One of the biggest challenges for Hemphill—and the content marketing team in general—is volume, particularly since the team works on a number of websites, blogs, and other content marketing projects. “What that means for me is I’m constantly looking for opportunities to streamline processes, increase efficiency and output, and provide my team with the necessary resources, all while upholding our company’s quality standards and client deadlines,” she adds.

Despite being one of the largest departments in the agency, the content marketing team is a tight-knit group with good rapport, which Hemphill says is by no accident.

“You have to build the right team,” she points out. “It’s not just about experience and skills. It’s also considering personalities, how people like to work, how they communicate, what kind of work environment they enjoy, and what things they can do that you can’t. Plus, you have to legitimately get to know your team. When you understand who they are, what their strengths are, and what motivates them, then it’s easier to support and nurture them in their roles.”

Hemphill wants to continue developing both her team and the work that they do. And because she believes every day is a new opportunity for learning and growing, she knows they’ll just keeping getting better.