What to Look for When Hiring a Social Media Manager

If you haven’t thought about this already, your company’s social media presence is likely one of the first things that you’ll want to outsource once you’re ready to take that next step in expanding your team. Delegating your social media marketing can:

• Give you more time to focus on sales and business development
• Improve your online presence due to the help of a professional
• Support other components of your business

Although these outcomes are highly desirable, it’s critical to ensure that you’re hiring and working with the right person who will understand your vision, meet your needs, and have your best interests in mind. Additionally, there are expectations for both your company and the social media manager you hire in order to be successful, which is helpful to keep in mind. As you prepare to set up consultations with potential social media managers, find out what you should look for in these professionals.

Qualities of a Trusted Social Media Manager

Depth of Their Experience

Experience goes beyond a college degree nowadays, especially in marketing, where many professionals are self-taught and innovators in the field. Instead, look for their depth of knowledge and experience that demonstrates the work they’ve done and the skills they have. That may include:

1. The number of years they’ve worked in marketing, which shows their ability to adapt to change
2. The types of clients and industries they’ve worked in, which reveals their flexibility with working in different fields
3. Their success rates and case studies, which explore the results they’ve brought to their clients
4. Any press features or awards, which gives credibility to them as experts

If this information isn’t readily available on the social media manager’s website, don’t hesitate to ask them to share client examples or talk about the results they’ve achieved for their clients. Another important thing to note is not to disqualify the social media manager if they don’t have direct experience with your specific industry or type of business. Although that’s a benefit, it isn’t necessarily a requirement. If they’ve worked with several industries before, that shows their ability to learn and be successful in industries they haven’t worked with before.

All of these items above will help to give you a better understanding of the quality of their work and their capabilities.

Ease and Effectiveness of Their Process

Although it’s important to still be involved in your marketing when you hire a social media manager, the whole point of delegating this part of your business is to relieve you from as much time and energy as possible. That’s where the social media manager’s process of working with you comes into play. Ask yourself, and them, these questions:

• Is their process helping save you time?
• Do they give you enough leeway to review and approve items?
• How often do you communicate with them?
• What tools will they use to streamline everything?
• What are the timelines and expectations?

Ultimately, you want to work with someone who takes this load off your plate and makes things convenient for you. If you find that working with a social media manager may require even more time and energy on your end than before, that may be an indication that they may not be the right fit for you. You’ll want to make sure that the person you work with is a go-getter, completes tasks on time, and provides great solutions.

The Size of Their Team

It’s helpful to know if you would be working with a team in an agency setting or one person in a freelance setting when delegating your social media marketing, as both options have their own pros and cons. When working with an agency, having access to more than one team member allows for additional support and attention on your accounts. On the other hand, working with an agency may feel transactional (unless you’re working with the right one, like Dash of Social®, of course!). When working with a freelancer, you may feel more supported by working with one person directly. However, if that freelancer has too many projects on their plate, you may not always get the time and care you deserve.

Truthfully, there’s no right answer in this situation — it really comes down to learning about each business that you may potentially hire, finding out what their organizational chart is like, and learning more about who you’d be working with to know what’s best for your needs.

Their Passion for Marketing and Your Business

Although it might not come to mind immediately as a priority, whether or not the social media manager has a passion for marketing and your business is important. Think about it: your social media manager will be the person who’s acting on behalf of your company, and when someone feels excited about something, that passion and excitement shine through.

That means it’s crucial to work with someone who not only loves what they do but who also feels excited about your business and mission, as that’s where the true magic happens.

How to Know If A Social Media Manager is Right for You

Book a Consultation Call

How can you get all of these questions answered? The best course of action is to meet with a few social media managers and run through this checklist. From there, you’ll be able to get a better handle on which person or company may be the right fit for your brand. Don’t hesitate to “shop around” — it’s a big investment in both time and money, so you want to ensure you get it right from the start!

Reach out to us for a free consultation if you’d like to explore what it’s like to work with our agency and how we can support you.