By Ady Wilson
Having a business presence on social media is more important than ever, when it comes to increasing brand awareness and interacting with consumers. However, while you might be familiar with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for personal use, using them for business can be a bit more challenging. From knowing when and how often to post to dealing with customer service issues, you may not have time to run these accounts properly and might be thinking of hiring a social media manager instead. If you are ready to start looking, here are a few tips that may make the search simpler.
1. Pay Attention to the Details
An effective social media manager is typically detail oriented and is able to express his or her creative ideas in an articulate way. As such, when you are interviewing individuals, it is important that you listen for cues that let you know which prospective employees possess these qualities. For example, if you ask a potential hire to walk you through a social media model that he or she might create for your business, he or she should be able to offer several ideas and communicate them clearly.
2. Consider Communication
The individual you choose to handle your company’s social media should be willing to communicate openly with you. Because this is an important detail, you might want to consider how each potential hire has handled any communication so far. Note their tone, their willingness to use a variety of communication options, and how they interact with others on their social media accounts. This should give you some idea about how they might deal with your customers and coworkers.
3. Weigh Both Work and Experience
Few companies ask potential hires for their college transcripts these days, but that does not mean you should dismiss a potential social media manager’s education completely. Some of today’s higher education degrees, such as a USC MMLIS, may prove to be quite useful in the field of social media for business. This degree focuses on a number of areas related to the field, such as information technology and database management.
If prospective hires have more experience than education, you may want to ask what type of role they played at previous jobs. Some questions you might ask could include whether they created all posted content for themselves, if they were in charge of scheduling social media, and if they interacted with those who replied. The more hats they wore in the past, the better fit they might be if you are looking for someone to completely take over your business accounts on social media.
4. Beware of Guarantees
As you search for a social media manager that is the right fit for your company, you might encounter those who offer guarantees of success. However, since the race to a successful social media campaign for business is a marathon and not a sprint, you may want to be cautious about such promises. Focus on prospective hires who share ideas and prize creativity over how many followers they can bring you in a short period of time.
5. What Do They Know About Your Company?
While a social media manager can learn the little details about your company once he or she is hired, any individual who applies for the position should know what your company does, the products and services it sells, and at least some of its history. Applicants who come in blind to any of this information should probably be passed up. After all, if they were not interested enough in your company to do some research on it, their level of enthusiasm for promoting will probably not be suitable for your needs.
Choosing a social media manager for your Canadian company can be a daunting task. However, if you take the time to create a select set of qualifications, finding the right person may be a little easier.
Author Bio
Ady Wilson is a senior full stack database admin and web developer with a penchant for languages – digital and human. On weekends he’s usually marathoning dramatic HBO shows (Game of Thrones) or at the park with the family dog. He loves writing about general tech, cloud, social media and SEO.
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