Social Media Specialist

A huge part of a social media role is to understand the trends within the industry – so you want to make sure that you understand everything that’s going on in the social media world before you step into that interview.

Have a look at social media websites and sign yourself up to social media updates – this way if you get asked about any social media trends, you’ll be as a cool as a cucumber. With this answer you could also talk about your predictions for any future trends. This will show the employer that you’re on the ball, and you’re constantly looking at what might come next in social media and how you can use that to communicate with customers.

Because EdgeRank is complicated, this question serves as a litmus test in social-media job interviews

Bandwidth limitations, API calls, character limits…social networks come with limitations. Beware of an social media professionals who have never run into limitations and don’t have experience overcoming them. If they haven’t run into limitations, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist but, instead, likely means that this so called “expert” hasn’t had the range of experiences you might need.

While I think there have been many exciting new social media platforms to hit the market recently, I still find myself spending the most time on Facebook. The diversity it offers is truly unparalleled. The ability to share articles and videos, the use of preview windows, the ease of updating statuses and the increased ways in which it allows you to interact with friends and pages makes it my go-to platform. It also works well for both personal and professional purposes and allows me to easily manage my various pages with just one account.

Google+ is a great platform for building communities, which is the core of a strong social media strategy. The fact that it is highly curated and moderated differentiates it from the other platforms out there. I would run special campaigns on Google+ and promote them on our other social media outlets to encourage people not familiar with the platform to become part of our community. Since posts on Google+ often rank higher on Google than regular blog posts or landing pages, it is a great SEO tool to attract new qualified leads.

Content marketers should have their own voice and writing style. However, they also need to be able to adapt to fit the company, the audience, and the content format. Ask for specific examples of how they’ve modified their style — and why doing so was important.

☛ How do you monitor trending topics?

☛ Who are the leading topic influencers in this industry?

☛ How do you stay current on all the shifts and innovations in social media?

☛ Are there any hot new social media platforms on the horizon we should be aware of?

☛ Ask for a portfolio that shows their most recent successful content (if they have not created company content, accept personal content.)

☛ How do they organize their content (have they used a content calendar)?

☛ What is their philosophy for content distribution on Facebook?

☛ Do they know the difference between likes, reach, and engagement?

☛ Can they give you an example of a creative recruiting campaign they have run on Facebook?

☛ How do they measure success?

☛ What is your strategy for social media and content?

☛ What sites do you think the company should be on that we are not?

☛ How would you design an optimal social media experience for our customers/users?

☛ How do you use and leverage the benefits of both LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn Pages?

☛ How do you measure the success of a social media strategy?

☛ Do they know about Instagram updates and which images get the most views/traffic? How would one acquire these images?

☛ Do they understand the value and necessity of hashtags on Instagram?

☛ Have they used and promoted a company hashtag? Did employees regularly use it?

☛ What creative ways have they used Instagram to attract and/or engage talent?

Don’t forget to ask if they are knowledgeable of other social platforms and how to use them. If a candidate passes the first interview, bring them back for a second round and have them critique your current strategy.

☛ What are you passionate about?

☛ How would you add value to our social media department?

☛ Which social media experts or influencers do you follow?

☛ How would you handle a crisis on social media?

☛ What are some of best practices on social media?

☛ Which social media brand strategy has inspired you? Why?

☛ What innovative things are our competitors doing on social media?

☛ How do you measure the ROI of a specific social media campaign?

☛ Do you have experience with Google Analytics?

☛ Does social media affect SEO? How?

☛ What social media monitoring, analytics and publishing tools do you use?

☛ What type of experience did you have at your previous job with analytics, trends, etc., and how did you improve website traffic?

☛ Do they know what is free and what costs money?

☛ Do they have experience writing copy for the free promoted posts on LinkedIn?

☛ How do they decide when and when not to use a paid media campaign?

☛ What do they think about hashtags on LinkedIn?

☛ What do they think about volume of content on LinkedIn?

☛ How have they engaged with employees in a LinkedIn campaign?

☛ Have they ever trained staff or other recruiters on how to effectively use LinkedIn for branding, advertising, and/or sourcing?

☛ How do they know whether LinkedIn is successful in hiring?

☛ What is Web 2.0?

☛ What does Web 3.0 look like?

☛ What’s the “next big thing?”

☛ What is the difference between social media and social networking?

☛ What do you think of social media consultants?

☛ What’s the scariest part of social media?

☛ What’s the most exciting part of social media?

☛ What social media blogs do you read? What research do you follow?

☛ Who’s your favorite social media expert?

☛ Which social media sites do you recommend for businesses? Why?

☛ What social sites do you use personally? Why?

☛ How does your personal social media presence impact your employer?

☛ What social media pages or profiles have you created and managed in the past?

☛ What conversation domains do you focus on?

☛ What is a limitation you experienced on a social media platform? How did you surpass it?