Later than the itch suggests: first make channels work through specialists and systems (a $1–2k/month freelancer beats a $50k generalist hire while you're under ~$1M revenue). Hire when coordination, not execution, is the bottleneck: multiple channels running, vendors needing management, opportunities dying from nobody owning them.
The first hire that usually works: a doer-coordinator who executes content/social/email in-house while managing outside specialists. Not a strategist (that's you plus this hub for now, or a fractional CMO if strategy truly needs renting).
The pre-hire test: write the role's monthly scoreboard. If you can't name the numbers they'll own, you're hiring company, not capability. And payroll is a brutal way to buy company.