Businesses are increasingly turning to the Social Media Manager for help with their online marketing. It is well-known the positive impact that social media marketing has on businesses and the benefits it brings. It’s not surprising that many business owners are unable to manage their social media marketing on their own.
Social media managers do much more than simply updating profiles with status updates. Social media management involves figuring out who, what, when, and why. What do you want your business to reach? What are the steps to reach them? What are their most active locations? Why should social media be part of your marketing strategy? Many companies are realizing that outsourcing, or hiring someone to manage their social media campaigns, is an important part of social media marketing. A third party can often see the larger picture better.
In recent years, social media management has been a popular position. Its popularity is due to the following:
– Entry barriers are low
– High demand for these services
– Big rewards
Is it for everyone? There are many social media managers out there. Some are very, very talented. Some are really, really terrible. How do you find the positive ones and filter out the negative? The best social media managers know what they are doing and will be able to help you succeed.
These 21 questions are for your potential social media manager. What better answers would you like?
1. What is success?
Social marketing success is not measured by the number of followers. Social media managers should be able help you define success at both a tactical and strategic level in order to support larger marketing goals. A social media manager who has a narrow view of success or cannot explain how performance is measured beyond the number of audience will not be able provide higher-level strategic solutions.
2. What kind of results can you expect?
A social media manager who is able to manage your expectations will help you see the potential results. Social media managers are not magicians. While they should work for you using industry best practices, there are many things that can go wrong. Based on their past results and experience, they should be able give you an idea of what they can bring to the table. A social media manager who cannot communicate effectively with you about their experience in social media will probably not have the right level of experience.
3. What is the ROI of social marketing?
Social marketing can measure ROI, contrary to popular belief. It can also be perceptual. Which are your goals? Did they succeed? If they were, you achieved a positive ROI. Did your campaign help your business in any way? If so, did they have any positive results? If so, you are a success. Social marketing ROI does not always have to be tied to tangible business results. Ask your social media manager how these factors can be measured to show the business value they provide.
4. Which social media platforms are you a specialist in? These platforms are right for your business.
Different social media networks have different users and different practices. Each network may not be right for every industry or business. How could a pharmaceutical company engage in Twitter drug marketing? While most businesses can use the networks in some way, it is likely that many others can’t. Your social media manager should be aware of any limitations.
5. Do we have to be on every social media platform?
Social media managers who have done research on your company should be familiar with your target audience. This is how you get a clear picture of the perceptions they have of your business. Social media managers can spread your visibility across multiple networks which could cause your campaigns to suffer. They should focus on maximizing performance on the platforms where your target audience is located.
6. Is Google BUsiness worth it for our business?
This should show the depth of your Google social media management knowledge. Google indexes Google Business content quicker than any content from other sources. This platform has seen rapid growth since its launch and is now one of the most crucial aspects. This is something a social media manager needs to know. They should be able to identify if your target audience is there and whether it is viable for your business. Also, they should be able to leverage Google Business to achieve your larger marketing goals.
7. Can you please give us an example of a limitation that you’ve experienced on a social media platform? What did you do to overcome this limitation?
Social media managers need to be aware of the limitations social networks have. These include bandwidth limits, API calls, character limits, and bandwidth limitations. Social media managers who have never encountered limitations or not been able to overcome them are likely to be inexperienced. They will likely be new to the social world. You can get a good idea of their approach to dealing with adversity by asking them how they have overcome obstacles with clients in the past.
8. Is it possible to run a “Like and share to win” contest on our Facebook page.
Don’t be surprised if a social media manager doesn’t know the answer. It is essential that you hire someone who understands the rules and guidelines for each social platform. They will also be able to enforce any Terms of Service. To enter the contest, you must use a third-party app.
9. Do you remember having to manage a crisis in social media marketing? Could you give us an example?
Asking a social media manager what a ‘crisis’ is to them will show their experience. Their biggest crisis is if they misspell a URL on a Pinterest Pin and don’t notice until their client asks about why there are so many messages about broken link, then it is likely that they are very inexperienced. It is also useful to inquire about the steps taken to solve the problem and the outcome.
10. Would you be willing to share some of your current clients and projects?
Reputable social media managers will be able to show you client accounts. You should be proud of this. Depending on the campaign goals and strategies, some profiles will do better than others. If they refuse to answer your question or can’t show you any information, it is likely that they are hiding something. Managers of social media should show you their portfolio if they take pride in producing quality work. Imagine going to a sales pitch and not having a sample of the product. Without a product sample, clients would not even consider placing an order.
11. How would you allocate your social marketing advertising budget.
Social media managers should be able to describe how to allocate advertising budgets and how to determine if they are successful. You should provide specific metrics and KPIs. They should also be analyzed and reported. You can also gauge the opinions of your customers about which advertising platform they prefer, and how they feel that your business should be promoted.
12. What are our responsibilities as clients?
A social media manager doesn’t operate in a vacuum. They must be involved in all aspects of your marketing activities. They will also need to be able to access any marketing information and resources. You, as the client, should be clear about your role and that of a social media manager. These guidelines should be communicated to both you and the social media manager before you establish a working relationship.
13. What is the social marketing strategy of our competitors?
If you value your job opportunity, any social media manager will conduct initial research before meeting with you. It should alarm bells if they don’t know anything about your competitors. Social media managers should be able to give you an insight into how your competitors use social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn right away. Although this information can be further researched later, it will give you an insight into the organization and proactiveness of your competitors.
14. How can you assess new social media platforms? How can you keep up with the latest developments and innovations in Social Marketing?
Social media landscapes are constantly changing. Even the most skilled social media managers must continue to improve their skills, learn new strategies, and try out new techniques. Social media managers should be able to build engagement across multiple platforms using multiple tools. While there are some platforms that are considered the juggernauts, you should remember the days when AOL, MySpace, and eBay were the dominant ones. Would you hire someone to manage your social media accounts and pitch engaging your I.T customers via MySpace? I doubt it. It is important to remember that social media landscapes are constantly changing. Social media managers should continue to evaluate new platforms and make recommendations on which ones to consider.
15. Are you able to offer community management as part of your Social Marketing services
Your Facebook page doesn’t mean that social engagement ends. In fact, the most difficult part of the process is creating profiles. Executing the community management strategies that follow is the most difficult and expensive. It is crucial to understand how your social media manager approaches the community management process and which strategies and tactics they will use in interacting with your audience. This will give you a clue about how your social media manager will manage your brand online. It is important to get feedback and guidance on how your business is perceived online.
16. Do you own a blog? Are you currently writing content for different social platforms?
Managers of social media should live by what they preach. Ask to see their blog and check if they post regularly. Social media management is more than just updating Facebook and Twitter. Balance is key. Otherwise, your social media streams will be cluttered with irrelevant articles or giant advertisements. Social media managers who are skilled at writing will allow you to create engaging and interesting articles. They will be SEO-savvy, and their content will be optimized to include the correct keywords at the right places, linking back to your company. Ask to see the articles they have written before so that you can decide if their writing style would suit your business.
17. Which blogs and social media sites do you read regularly?
Social marketing is constantly evolving. Marketing on social platforms can feel a lot like trying to hit a moving target. Within a year, Google+ had been used by 40% of marketers. This is a significant gain in such a short time. This is how social marketing works. In a flash, new blogs and social media sites appear and disappear. Social media managers must keep up with these changes. This requires a lot of reading. They should be able to list several reputable social media sites and explain why they are important to them.
18. How do you understand Edgerank?
Social media managers who are experts in their field will be able to explain Edgerank to you. Edgerank is the core of Facebook posts. They won’t have the ability to optimize Facebook campaigns if they don’t know this. Edgerank shows who, what, when, and how often they see it. This gives Edgerank a clear picture of their technical knowledge and understanding in social marketing.
19. What is the most important thing that a Social Media Manager should do?
You should search for solid answers such as monitoring or ‘listening to’ your audience within your social media domains. Although it’s a complex question, the answers will give insight into how they think about managing social media campaigns. Social is the keyword that many people fail to include. If the answers do not reflect a social dynamic, they are missing the point.
20. Can you tell us your story?
These types of answers are often used in interviews to gauge how an individual responds to random questions. It’s a well-thought-out question, for two reasons. First, social media managers who can tell compelling stories will be able to give you an advantage at all levels of social marketing. It puts them under pressure, and it allows you to see how they respond to unexpected situations.
21. Why should we hire your services?
Although I don’t really like the question, I believe it is fair to ask social media managers this before hiring to find out how they can market themselves. If your campaigns are geared towards lead generation and sales, this could have serious implications. Social media managers should be able to demonstrate their value and how they are different from others in your situation.
There are many more questions you could ask. Some questions will be relevant to your industry or business. These questions will hopefully help you choose the right social media manager to fit your needs.
Which questions would you like to add to this list of questions?
Last thought… This is not a job that I would recommend for someone who considers themselves to be a beginner. Social media managers are the lifeblood of your company and can speak to an unlimited number of customers. Expertise and experience are crucial to successfully managing a variety of social marketing campaigns. A new CEO with no experience would be a risk to your business. What would you trust an inexperienced social media manager to lead your brand online?
