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The role of a social media manager is among the most important ones that businesses hire for today. This role acts as the only voice of their brand on social media channels and represents their initiatives. In present times, social media is an essential component of digital marketing. That is why social media managers are responsible for developing and implementing a strategy that leads to customer acquisition and business growth.
How do businesses select the best social media manager among all applicants? They do this by asking the right questions during the interview. Let’s look more closely at what type of interview questions would lead businesses to find the right social media manager for themselves.
Who is a social media manager?
A social media manager is someone who, on behalf of a company, creates and implements a content strategy that leads to customer engagement on the company’s social media channels. A good social media manager needs to be attentive to detail, have an interest in design, know how to tell stories, and understand what drives engagement with audiences.
In recent years, social media has become an essential marketing medium due to its ability to connect with customers and learn more about their preferences, frustrations, and desires. That is why having someone who knows how to leverage social media for gain could be a great investment for those seeking to grow their organizations via digital marketing. The job of a social media manager is ubiquitous as almost every industry today hires for it. Nonprofits, government organizations, businesses, celebrities, etc., employ social media managers to run their accounts and communicate directly with followers.
What does a social media manager do?
In general, social media managers are responsible for designing strategies that produce content, implement marketing campaigns, monitor analytics, and so forth. The responsibilities of a social media manager will vary according to the size of the organization that they are working in. For instance, in small companies, social media managers are mainly responsible for creating the entire content either alone or with assistance from one or two other employees. In larger organizations, managers typically provide content direction and approve copies and videos.
Here is a list of tasks performed by social media managers:
- Providing a strategy for campaigns and content: The most important task of a social media manager is to devise and execute social media campaigns that align with an organization’s broader marketing objectives. They may also develop ideas for timely content or use user-generated content to further drive engagement.
- Posting on and monitoring social media channels: Based on the size of a company’s marketing team, the manager could be responsible for posting content on all social media channels. They schedule all posts and observe the responses of followers. They also respond to comments and questions posted by followers.
- Increasing subscribers and boosting engagement: To continually increase the number of followers, social media managers boost their company’s profile across all social media channels. They also boost the amount of engagement they receive in the form of comments, likes, and shares. Written and visual posts might be needed to achieve both.
- Examining data: In addition to the creative side, social media managers also track and measure analytics to understand how their campaigns are performing. Daily analysis can include studying reports or activities like social listening, which includes listening to what users say about a particular brand.
- Reporting metrics to crucial stakeholders: As social media critics are key drivers of customer engagement, companies will want to know how their digital campaigns are performing. Social media managers are tasked with reporting these metrics to their marketing team or senior leadership.
Best interview questions for a social media manager
As the need for a social media manager rises across industries, leaders are uncertain about what they should be looking for when recruiting for the position. After all, most people know how to use social media, but not everyone has the skills to manage them.
To know whether a candidate would be a good fit for you, here is a compilation of various types of questions you can ask while hiring for a social media manager. You can ask the same questions or use a variation of them in your interviews.
Why are you interested in working on social media?
Starting the interview with a general question like this is a great way to make the candidate feel welcome and motivated about discussing their interests. Knowing why someone is interested in social media can help to gauge if they are willing to build a career in managing social media.
Which social media tools do you prefer to use?
Making this question open-ended will allow you to learn more about the types of social media channels that are popular among users. Also, you may or may not have a social media management tool already, and in the latter case, you might be looking for recommendations. If a candidate is only aware of free software that allows them to schedule posts on Facebook and Twitter, then that is not a positive sign. Try to learn why they prefer some channels over the others and which features they like the most.
Which virtual channels have you managed in the past?
The purpose of having a person dedicated to running your social media channels is not just for posting and sharing content. It is also to build an online community of connected and interactive users. Knowing which social channels someone has managed before will separate them from an average social media user.
For an organization like ours, which social media channel(s) do you recommend?
Asking this question allows you to determine two qualities in your candidate. Firstly, it will show whether the candidate has performed sufficient research on your organization. Secondly, you can also learn if the candidate has a solid understanding of different social platforms. Look for in-depth knowledge of social media strategy, style, demographics, frequency in messaging, etc.
What are some goals that should be set for our social media accounts? How should we measure success?
A good social media manager should have concrete goals for measuring success with their social media marketing efforts. If the candidate prioritizes getting more likes and shares, then they may not be the right choice for you. Instead, their goal should be measuring conversions and what that looks like on different social platforms. Most companies are typically focused on attaining conversions to assess how they are performing on social media.
In addition, a good candidate will also be able to articulate strategies and tactics for regularly monitoring performance on social media. A properly conceived and well-reasoned answer to this question will differentiate the ideal candidate from the rest.
Which metrics do you use for tracking performance?
Related to the same question as above, the right candidate ought to be able to name the types of metrics they presently use to measure performance. Not only conversions but also brand reach, lead generation, and user engagement are good indicators of any company’s return on investment. A good social media manager would be comfortable discussing Google Analytics, the types of software they use, and the type of data they can find on each platform.
Remember that only user engagement with your content is not enough. Social media managers should be able to promote conversions, i.e., downloads, site visits, leads, and so forth. Improving conversion rates should be a vital focus of social media managers.
How important is SEO for social media?
Improving your ranking on search engines is an essential component of good social media management. The right candidate should be well-versed on how to improve their SEO ranking by using social media. They ought to know the latest social media policies and algorithms. They should also be aware of Google Analytics, the latest Google algorithms, and what is rewarded or punished.
How would you allocate a social media budget?
You could provide a hypothetical figure while asking this question. Try to learn how your social media manager would allocate funds to different avenues percentage-wise. Talk about certain specific metrics and key performance indicators and how much budget should be allocated to them.
For instance, a good percentage of your budget could be spent on Facebook Ads as they can enable you to connect with users belonging to different demographics. Also, investment in training, human capital, and social media tools are highly necessary for a positive return on investment.
What is your biggest failure on social media?
Everyone experiences failures and social media managers are no exception. By asking this question, you can determine how a person sees failures and how they address them. Learn what their coping skills are and listen to how they dealt with negative experiences. Understand what they learned from a failure and whether they are committed to avoiding the same in the future.
How would you respond to criticism and hateful comments on social media?
Notice how your candidate describes crises like encountering and dealing with hate online. This reflects how much experience they have in dealing with crises on social media. If your candidate has not had any experience in this field, they at least must have some knowledge of reputational damages that may have occurred to brands in your industry. Being able to address negative reviews and comments is crucial for this position.
How do you remain connected with the latest innovations and updates on social media?
Managing social media requires individuals to remain alert about ongoing trends and updates in the industry. Not only should your candidates be aware of the latest industry news and emerging social platforms, but they should also be flexible and adapt to these changes. Asking this question will enable you to learn more about whether your candidate tries to stay informed about innovations and new techniques.
What is the most important duty of a social media manager?
This question will help you gauge how your candidates think about social media marketing and how it should be executed. You should be looking for an answer which emphasizes monitoring or observing the behavior of your customers and competitors. Observation and analysis are essential skills of any good social media manager.
How do you keep up with what our competitors are doing on social media?
This question will help you to learn whether a candidate has performed sufficient research about your industry prior to their interview. You can also compare the social media initiatives performed by your competitors with those happening in your organization. The right candidate will have sufficient knowledge on this topic and be able to offer insights on improving your existing social media strategy.
Do you regularly publish on your own social media platforms?
Although being active on social media does not necessarily make someone a good manager of it, it is nonetheless useful in determining their interests. The right candidate would be a thoughtful creator of content and adept at publicizing information using various mediums. Creative writing, graphic design, and successful SEO practices are also good skills to have. Not having these skills might prohibit them from successfully producing and assessing content.
How would you communicate with the rest of our organization?
A social media manager should be able to support other marketing and related customer service initiatives in your organization. They need to be informed about other aspects of your business and should be able to interact with employees in other departments to attain positive results. To make this process easier, make an outline of all responsibilities of every department for your social media manager.
How does customer service fit into your strategies?
Being attentive to customer needs and preferences on social media is greatly important for businesses that wish to grow using their digital marketing efforts. In addition to posting content on social media, social media managers should also ensure that customers are getting adequate support. The right candidate should recognize this and know how to address each type of conversation.
Conclusion
Finding the right social media manager is not an easy task. Often, hiring managers are not sure about what they should look for when it comes to qualifications or years of experience in social media management. However, asking the right questions during the interview can help you to narrow down the best candidates and select the one whose profile most matches your requirements.
