A tree care marketing manager fills the arborists' estimate calendars and the plant health care program with the right customers. They time campaigns to the tree year, from winter pruning offers to spring treatment sign-ups and storm readiness, and court the property managers and HOA boards who bring repeat work.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, administrative and support services businesses · BLS, May 2025
The Marketing Manager will play a critical role in the growth of our Arborist / Tree Care services. This individual will spearhead marketing campaigns, manage our online presence, and work tirelessly to expand our client base. The successful candidate will help us to build stronger relationships with our clients, reach new customers, and ultimately, drive our business forward.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop, implement, and oversee marketing campaigns.
Manage the company’s online presence across various mediums, including social media and website.
Design strategies to grow and maintain the client base.
Coordinate with other departments to ensure consistency in company branding and messaging.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Create and publish engaging content on our social media platforms.
Maintain and update the company website.
Monitor and analyze web traffic and social media metrics.
Conduct market research to identify new opportunities.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Revenue growth: Increase by 15% quarterly.
Social media engagement: Increase by 20% monthly.
New clients acquisition: Gain 10 new clients monthly.
Website traffic: Increase by 25% quarterly.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, or related field.
Minimum of 3 years of experience in a similar role.
Expertise in developing and implementing marketing strategies.
Excellent communication, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the Arborist / Tree Care industry or other home services sectors.
Proficiency in using digital marketing tools and software.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a typical office environment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard 40-hour workweek, Monday to Friday.
Occasional travel may be required for conferences and client meetings.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary ranging from $50,000 to $70,000 per year, depending on experience.
Performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance, as well as a 401k plan.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are a team of passionate individuals dedicated to providing the highest quality of service in the Arborist / Tree Care industry. We believe in fostering a culture of growth, where every member has the opportunity to learn, improve, and excel. Our success is built on the success of our employees, and we are committed to supporting them every step of the way.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Most people don't think about their trees until a limb cracks or a storm is on the way. Marketing's job is to give them reasons to call sooner, and to make sure the crews and their credentials can back up whatever an ad says.
Sell pruning before the buds open
ISA says growth and wound closure are best when pruning happens before the spring growth flush, and it warns against heavy pruning right after the new leaves come out. That sets the year's first campaign: winter and early spring pruning offers, sent while crews still have open dates. Before an offer names a species, the manager checks with operations which trees the company won't prune in certain months. Source: ISA (TreesAreGood.org): Pruning mature trees.
Plant health care sign-ups come before spring
A plant health care program is a season of visits, so the sign-up push runs in late winter, ahead of the first spring visit. The first list to target is past customers whose arborist noted insects, thin crowns or poor soil. By midsummer, a new sign-up gets fewer visits that year, so the budget moves back to estimate requests.
Only claim the credentials you have
The FTC says ads must be truthful and backed by evidence, and that implied claims count too. ISA certifies people, not companies. Its style guide lets a company show the Certified Arborist logo only with the holder's name and ID number, and allows "ISA Certified Arborists On Staff" only with three or more certified employees, listed by name and ID on the website. When a certified arborist leaves, the ads and the website change that week. Source: ISA: Branding and style guide, 2025 edition (logo use by companies).
Removal photos sell, with a signed release
Removal photos are the ads people stop for: a crane lifting an oak off a roof, then the clean yard the next morning. Before posting, the manager gets the homeowner's signed release and blurs anything that gives away the address. Every crew shot is checked for the gear the company requires, such as helmets, eye protection and chaps, because other arborists and careful buyers spot what's missing.
HOAs and property managers buy on a budget
An HOA board or a property manager may oversee hundreds of trees and set next year's budget months ahead. They answer a site walk with an arborist more than a coupon. The manager learns each account's budget month, books the arborist's walk before it, and offers a spring storm-readiness check so the account calls you first when a big wind comes.
How much tree care marketing managers make
Marketing managers who work for administrative and support services businesses earned a median of $149,990 a year ($72.11 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $166,790 median for marketing managers in all industries. About 17,840 of the 395,240 marketing managers in that survey work for administrative and support services businesses.
Salaried, with the template's bonus for results. Base the bonus on estimate visits booked and plant health care programs signed from marketing leads, as the CRM records them.
Administrative and support services businesses
$149,990$149,990 median Middle half $110,340–$194,620 10th–90th $83,200–$255,720
All industries
$166,790$166,790 median Middle half $123,020–$216,410 10th–90th $90,260–$293,610
$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k$350k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Administrative and support services businesses
$83,200
$110,340
$149,990
$194,620
$255,720
All industries
$90,260
$123,020
$166,790
$216,410
$293,610
BLS counts too few marketing managers at landscaping and tree care companies for a steady figure, so these figures cover administrative and support services businesses. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Plans a campaign calendar around dormant pruning, spring treatments and storm season
Writes ads that claim only the credentials and services the crews really have
Gets usable photos and short clips of crane removals and pruning, by shooting them or briefing a crew leader
Pitches property managers and HOA boards with plans, not coupons
Reads the CRM's lead sources before asking for more budget
Teach these on the job
Pruning, removal and plant health care terms
ISA's logo and credential rules
Which services each yard sells and when crews have room
Your tree care CRM's lead source fields
How the general manager wants storm work promoted
Expect the tree care CRM, whether ArboStar, SingleOps or another, for lead sources and program renewals, a Google Business Profile listing for each yard, and an email tool for plant health care reminders. A good phone camera covers most job photos; mention drone work in the posting if you want it.
Tree care marketing manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Ethical storm marketing
After a big storm, how do you market without looking like you're cashing in?
A strong answer: Shares safety information, is honest about availability and avoids fear-based ads and surge pricing messages.
Behavioral · Website and SEO
Tell me about a website or local search project you led for a service business and what it did to leads.
A strong answer: Names the changes (service pages, Google Business Profile, reviews, speed) and the before-and-after leads.
Read these by yard and by service line, since removals, pruning and plant health care each have their own season. Fix targets only after your own campaigns have run through a whole year, storms included.
Revenue growth
Revenue from customers who came through marketing, set beside the same quarter last year, so a storm quarter isn't compared with a calm one. Break it out by removals, pruning and plant health care.
Social media engagement
Count messages, comments and shares on each post and compare them with how many people it reached. Removal videos pull views from far outside the service area, so track the messages that become estimate requests on their own line.
New clients acquisition
First-time customers each month who signed an estimate or a program, by source. Count an HOA or a property manager once, and note how many properties it brings.
Website traffic
Visits from your service area to the estimate request and plant health care pages, from your analytics tool. Flag storm weeks so a spike doesn't skew the quarter.
Pause ads for pruning and new programs. Crews are booked, and callers who wait weeks for a prune they were promised get angry. Switch the website banner and Business Profile to storm hours and how to ask for help. Keep scare words, discounts and response-time promises out of storm messages; the general manager decides how storm work is priced and how fast crews can come.
How much does a tree care marketing manager make?
Marketing managers who work for administrative and support services businesses earned a median of $149,990 a year ($72.11 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $110,340 and $194,620 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Can our marketing manager fly a drone for job photos?
Yes, once they hold the FAA's Remote Pilot Certificate. Business flights with a drone under 55 pounds follow the FAA's Part 107, and the certificate comes from passing the FAA's knowledge test. Register the drone, mark it with its registration number, and make sure it broadcasts Remote ID. Get the homeowner's okay before flying over their yard.
What can a plant health care ad promise?
Only what the program delivers and an arborist will sign off on: the visits, the treatments and how billing works. Don't call injections or sprays "safe for kids and pets," "harmless" or "non-toxic." Federal rules count those words as misleading on a pesticide's own label, even with "when used as directed" added, and state regulators may set their own limits on ads. A spraying coupon also makes the program sound like lawn care.
How should marketing and the sales arborists share the calendar?
Check the estimate calendar every week. When the arborists' next open visit is weeks away, more ads only make customers wait, and some will call another company. Shift spending to plant health care renewals or to the yard with open dates. When the calendar thins out, start the next campaign before the gap shows up in the crew schedule.
