SMM Executive

You could just answer this by saying that you used a different platform to cover the shortcomings of the other. This isn’t a bad answer. In fact, it can be part of a good answer. However, you should definitely know how to overcome or at least deal with limitations on social media platforms. For example, Facebook has severe limitations when it comes to organic (non-paid) reach. One way to overcome this without paying on Facebook is to use email marketing and subscription-based methods to gently guide people to the page with links and suggestions. If you have your own awesome anecdote already, that’s even better!

A great community manager should be proficient in most of the social media platforms and social media management tools we’ve mentioned so far. He/she should have unrivaled communications skills and be likeable and organized. Employers also value a background in analytics even if those analytics were not directly related to social media.

SEO is a desireable skill for social media marketers and marketers in general since companies always want their content to rank as high as possible on a Google search. Explain how social media helps make this happen by boosting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs…you should know what these are!), making content more share-worthy and perhaps even viral, stressing keywords, and by simply increasing the amount of content attached to a brand. Talk about how you always factor SEO into any social media strategy and detail exactly how you did it in the past.

Ask them to describe the “personality” of your company brand in 3 words. They should have done research on your company and your customers before assessing the potential across today’s social media channels. Facebook, Twitter, your company blog, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube are awesome channels and each has different marketing tactics.

I prefer to write my own content for social media and digital marketing updates and campaigns, because I already have the end goal and strategy in mind. My creative process includes planning sessions, content reviews, the use of a social media content calendar, a posting tool if I’m posting to multiple sites per day. The content should all be guided by the strategy to ensure that the company is exceeding the set goals and expectations.

☛ Engagement. Whatever the channel, there needs to be measurable conversation around your company brand. Content is what drives social marketing success so if your content stinks, you won’t see people engaging. Your candidate should be well-versed in writing and curating relevant content for your audience.

☛ Leads. Have they run a social campaign that generated leads? What’s their track record with Facebook ads? Organic (non-paid-for) leads from social media look very different than the ones you see from advertising. Listening and responding timely to social media leads is crucial. Just like in real life conversations, when people talk to you, they expect a response.

Don’t dismiss Google+ even if it isn’t your favorite part of social media strategy. Even if the people interviewing you don’t perceive it as being valuable compared to Facebook and Twitter, they don’t want to work with someone who wouldn’t be open to integrating it into an overall strategy. Explain how Google+ is a great resource for community building since it is a heavily curated and moderated community. Having a thriving community means people are talking more about your company and sharing more content. It also increases SEO which you already know is a supplementary part of social media marketing.

Social media employers often stress conversation, storytelling, and engagement. Give examples of how you have conversed with clients and consumers, created interesting stories, and increased measures of engagement such as clicks, likes, reach, etc. Any campaign you mention should have these three elements at the very least. Be sure to save dashboards and results from your campaigns so you can show them off later!

You don’t need to have as many followers as Justin Bieber or be like Gary Vaynerchuck to impress your employers. However, your following or at least your activity on social media channels should reflect your passion for it and act as a sample of your overall communication skills.

A solid answer would be monitoring and/or listening to the audience within the brand’s Social channels. Engaging regularly with fans and followers is evidence that you’re there – you care – and you’re interested in having them as a customer.

When you listen, you learn how to help them buy.

Show the hiring manager that you are able to react quickly and face a crisis with self-confidence and efficiency. You may use examples of famous brand reputation crises to tell what you think was done well and what not.

(There are many examples to analyze!!)

Here, you can mention how big the accounts you managed were, the number of followers, the strategy you followed, etc. Not enough big brand experience? No problem, you may also talk about your personal social networks but make sure they are “job seeking friendly”.

Groups tend to have a better reach and are therefore a more worthy place for sharing content. They also offer an excellent space for engaging with customers and other businesses, stresing keywords, and increasing interest in your company. A LinkedIn Page is where people go when they are already interested in the company. Thus, it should be informative above all else. Pages also function as a feed for putting out content and have at least a bit of SEO value.

Ask to see their blog in action and make a note to see if they’re posting regularly.

Pro Tip: ask to see links to content they’ve written on the web. Many times, candidates will produce content for places like LinkedIn Pulse and Medium, without having their own personal blog.

It’s crucial that your candidate has a working understanding of how content drives everything in digital marketing – SEO, content, and social media.

As with the previous question, this answer depends on each company and on the specific needs they have. Again, you should investigate what they have done in the past on their social networks and also what they could improve. Hint: Make sure to share reachable and measurable goals.

If you are a social networking enthusiast, you surely follow some blogs and influencers. Let the recruiter know you are always up to date and share your favorites!

When you answer this question, spend the most time talking about the platform you’re most skilled with and explain why this is the case. However, you should mention all the major platforms and details their strengths. Talk about how Twitter is best for conversations, Facebook is great for advertising, LinkedIn is best for recruiting and sharing career-related articles, and how Google+ is an underrated tool that is actually valuable for creating a social media community.