How To Hire For Social Media Roles

Modern companies can’t afford to have a lackluster social
media presence if they want to remain competitive for very long, but having an
amazing social media page that lures in droves of customers is easier said than
done. Many entrepreneurs refuse to avoid hiring a social media guru because
they don’t know how to begin doing so in the first place, which is
understandable but nevertheless a costly mistake that’s going to come back to
haunt you.

There’s no need to allow your company to wallow in digital
stagnation. Hiring a social media expert could be what turns things around for
your ailing business. Here’s what to consider when hiring for social media
roles, and what terrible mistakes to avoid as you do so.

Investing in
expertise

It’s important to understand that when you hire somebody for
a social media role, you’re investing in their expertise. Many individuals,
especially those who don’t spend a lot of time on popular social media
platforms, may have a low opinion of these platforms and the people who are
familiar with them. Despite the possibility that you may personally distaste
social media, it’s imperative to recognize that it’s a huge aspect of the
modern world and not something that you can afford to ignore. What’s more
important is the fact that you can’t properly master social media and its
commercial potential without having somebody who’s intimately familiar with its
ins and outs on your team.

So, how should you hire a social media guru? First and
foremost, know that there are perils to outsourcing your social media to a
lackluster individual who lacks the appropriate credentials for the job. You
should thus consider an internal hire, especially if you have low-ranking
employees who have demonstrated that they have what it takes to learn and grow
when it comes to their role within the company. By promoting an existing
employee who has the tech savvy and social media familiarity needed to succeed
in this role, you’ll also be guaranteeing that your new digital guru is already
familiar with your company culture and the image you try to put out for
yourself.

If you want experts who can lead customers to to spend more money on your business, you need to pay for them, too. Don’t think that you can pay pennies for a social media presence and expect anything in return. Treat this like a real, serious position similar to your advertising or HR team, as social media fulfills the dual function of marketing your business to new consumers while also managing how consumers react to and engage with your brand image.

It should thus be of little surprise that the common
tips for hiring a social media manager include hiring someone who
“gets” your brand. If they don’t vibe well with your employees or with your
vision for the company’s future, they may not have what it takes to meet the
demands of this increasingly important position.

Mistakes to avoid

Whatever you do, don’t consider somebody to be a social
media expert just because they’re young. While young people did grow up with
social media and may be more comfortable with it, you want to hire somebody who
has the right credentials for the job. This isn’t to say that youthful
individuals will be disqualified, but rather than youth in and of itself isn’t
a credential which should be championed. When hiring a social media agency,
rather than an individual, other rookie mistakes that you can commit include
not reviewing their case studies or investing in a company that’s almost
entirely new on the marketplace.

When hiring for social media roles, don’t be afraid to
closely assess the portfolios of the individuals seeking the position to
determine how their past work meets your standards (or doesn’t). You should
also familiarize yourself with what they consider to be key metrics. If you’re
looking for increased user engagement with your posts but they only care about
the total views your posts receive, it’s a sign you may be operating under a
different philosophy as to which metrics are important.

Now that you know which mistakes to avoid, you
can confidently make social media hires in 2020 without having to worry about
your decision backfiring.