Hiring a Social Media Manager: 14 Questions to Ask

By: AngeloBrinkley

The Social Media Manager has become the individual for companies who need assistance with their marketing efforts that are internet. It is no secret that the impact marketing can have on the benefits and a company its brings. And it’s also no secret that their marketing can not be handled by business owners all.

A Social Media Manager does a good deal more than simply posting status updates. Social networking management encompasses figuring out the who when and why. Who does your company want to attain? What is required to reach them? Where are they most active? Should we use media? Many businesses are discovering that outsourcing or hiring someone is becoming an important part of using media. An individual that is outside can see the picture .

But is it really for everybody? Honestly, are a great deal of networking managers that are social. Some. Some. How do you filter out the bad ones and find the ones that are good? Well, the fantastic networking supervisors will know their stuff and they know what it takes to succeed.

1. How do you define success?

The quantity of followers is not the only indication of success in marketing. A managed social media ought to have the ability to assist you define success on a strategic and tactical level, to be able to support your bigger marketing objectives. If a social networking manager has a restricted view of success, or is not able to clarify performance measurement beyond the quantity of viewers, they won’t have the ability to offer you greater level strategic solutions.

2. What sort of results can we expect?

A excellent networking manager allow you to know what results you may achieve and will handle your expectations. Bear in mind that media managers aren’t psychics. They ought to act in your behalf using the industry’s best practices, but there is. They need to be able to give you a rough idea about what they bring to the table according to their previous results and experiences. If a social networking manager can’t communicate this effectively to you, then they probably don’t have the amount of experience you require.

3. How is ROI defined in social marketing?

In marketing, ROI can be measured contrary to popular thinking. However, it can be perceptual. What are your targets? Were they achieved? If so, you then had a positive ROI. Did your campaigns help your company at all or have any positive results? If they did, then you’re successful. Social marketing ROI is not tied to business benefits. Ask the social networking manager which variables can be quantified and how they’ll be reported to demonstrate the value they bring to your enterprise.

4. What social platforms do you specialise in? Why would these particular platforms be right for our business?

Networks that are different have practices and different audiences. Not every network is best for every company or industry. By way of instance, how can a pharmaceutical business possibly take part in drug marketing on Twitter? The truth is that most businesses are able to benefit from the networks out there in some manner, but if there are constraints, you would like your social networking manager to know about them.

5. Should we be on every social platform?

A social networking supervisor who has done their research on your company should know your target audience. This is answered is the key as it provides you with an instantaneous comprehension of their perceptions of your company. If a social networking manager extends your organization visibility to a lot of networks, then your marketing efforts may spread too thin and imply a few of the campaigns might endure. They ought to pick where your target audience is already located and concentrate on maximising performance on these platforms.

6. Could you give us an example of a limitation on a social platform that you have experienced? How did you overcome this?

A social networking supervisor should know that social networks include constraints; API calls, bandwidth constraints, character limitations etc.. . If a societal manager has never encounter limitations and has not experienced the way to overcome them, then this probably means that they aren’t very experienced. In actuality, they will most likely be totally new to the societal landscape. Asking how they overcome any barriers with their current or past clients will provide you a great indication of how they react to adversity.

7. Can we run a “Like and Share to Win” style contest on our Facebook page?

If a social networking manager doesn’t know the response to this, then proceed. Its imperative you find somebody who understands the principles and rules of each and every social platform and that will not have your company in breach of any Terms of Service. As a heads up, on Facebook you need to use a third party app to host the competition and can’t use the’Share’ button,’Like’ button or demand a comment so as to be entered to win.

8. Have you ever had to handle a social marketing crisis? If so, could you provide an example?

Asking a social networking manager to specify what that’crisis’ means to them may emphasize their level of experience. If their main crisis is made up of miss-typing a URL on a Pinterest snare and not noticing until their customer asks why there is so many messages regarding broken links, then odds are they’re vastly inexperienced. Additionally, it is insightful to ask what measures they took to solve the crisis and how the situation was handled.

9. Could you show us some of the clients or projects you are currently working with?

Any respectable social networking supervisor will show you their customer accounts. And be proud to do so. Some profiles will most likely be doing better than others based on every campaigns aims and strategies. If they dodge the question or can’t show you anything, then it should rightfully lead one to believe they’re hiding something. Social networking managers who take pride in doing quality work should wish to show you their portfolio. Imagine turning up with no product sample into a sales pitch. Unless they could see what they’re currently buying clients would never even consider placing an order.

10. How would you allocate our social marketing advertising budget?

A media manager ought to have the ability to describe a strategy for they would know if it is successful and how best to allocate your advertising budget. Metrics and analysed KPIs should be granted and reported. The option of marketing platform will let you gauge their understanding of to what and where they think your company should be encouraged, in what format audiences.

11. What will our responsibilities be as a client?

A networking manager does not function in a vacuum. They’ll have to be in the loop with your marketing activities. You have to offer materials or any resources and marketing information. A networking supervisor should have yours as a customer, and guidelines for their function. Before establishing a relationship, this should be communicated to you.

12. What are our competitors doing in social marketing?

Before sitting down with you, will do research. It should raise alarm bells if they doesn’t know what your competitors do. A social media manager ought to have the ability to offer you insight to the way that your rivals are using the significant social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube directly from the counter. This can be researched but will provide you an idea in organisation and their proactiveness.

13. How do you evaluate new social platforms? How do you stay on top of the latest updates and innovations in Social Marketing?

The landscape is changing. Upgrade their approaches even the media supervisors will need to enhance their skills and practice techniques that are new. A networking manager should have experience with building demonstrating and engagement results with distinct tools and across platforms. There are some platforms thought of as the juggernauts but recall the days of MySpace, AOL and eBay? Would you employ a networking supervisor who pitched engaging your I.T clients? I doubt it. The point is that the social landscape is dynamic and a social networking manager should be continuously evaluating new platforms and making recommendations to you on if they are acceptable for you to research.

14. Do you offer community management in your Social Marketing services?

When you publish your Facebook page, social engagement does not end. Creating profiles is the’easiest’ section of this procedure. The implementation of this community management plans that follows is the harder (and more costly ) element. It’s important that you know how your social networking manager approaches community direction and what tactics and strategies they will use to interact with your viewers. Then you’ll not have any clue on how they are going to handle your brand online if you do not know this. You ought to have guidance and give feedback into how your company is positioned and wishes to be perceived on the web.