Who to Hire for Your Social Media Launch
These days, nearly all types of companies have some form of social media presence. This is true for 1-man startups operating out of the owner’s garage, and just as valid for the world’s largest and most influential multinational corporations. If you’re a bit late to the game, you may be wondering what type of person might be best to develop a coherent strategy to launch your social media presence. Are millennials the only generation to really understand social? Do you want a creative type or an analytics buff? To help you out, we’ve listed a few skills to look for when hiring the person who’s tasked with your corporate social media launch.
Someone Who Knows Your Industry
Perhaps this goes without saying, but understanding what your company offers is vital to developing a solid social media strategy. This doesn’t mean that the person you hire needs to be a seasoned marketing professional in your industry. Even someone who dabbles in your industry as a hobby would work. If you’re a fitness brand, an enthusiastic gym-goer should do the trick. If you’re a photography studio, an amateur portrait-taker will know the ropes sufficiently. However, the better your social media manager’s familiarity with your products or services, the more effective they will be in your social media launch.
Someone Who Fits Your Corporate Culture
Your social media manager is one of the most important crafters of your corporate social media voice. It is imperative that your social media launch not only be well-organized, but it is just as important that your voice is representative of your company and the way that you do business. How important your social media voice is depends on your company. However, a goofy, fun-loving social media voice may not be the best idea for you if your company is a corporate law firm. On the other hand, it may be absolutely perfect for your small digital creative agency. When looking to hire a social media manager to introduce your company to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and so on, be sure to meet with your marketing team. Develop an idea of the general direction you want to take your social media voice.
Note: It is a great interview tactic to introduce your social media manager candidates to your general culture. Then, ask them what they think an appropriate social media voice would be for your company. This way, you get an idea of how they would fit in with your team, and how well they would represent the company.
Someone Who Understands Website Analytics
A Google Analytics certification or an equivalent knowledge of website analytics is an invaluable trait to look for in a social media manager. This knowledge allows them to not only formulate your social media launch strategy, but also empowers them to track the success of your social media presence, and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy that they implement. Social media done right is a two-way street. It is one thing to broadcast your message to your fans and potential customers on social media. It is an entirely different thing to listen to them in return, and divine what your target audience is and isn’t liking. Their behavior and interactions with your website provide valuable insight, and unless you have a separate, dedicated team member in charge of web analytics, it’s a key trait to look for in your social media manager.
Someone Who Knows Social Media Automation
No corporate social media account is leveraged fully without using social media automation. Key functionalities like post scheduling, link shortening, and engagement analytics can help your digital marketing team to take your social media launch to the next level. Ensure that the person to whom you entrust your corporate social media launch is familiar with a tool like Hootsuite, Spredfast, Klout, Buffer, or something similar. For a bonus, see if you can’t find someone who has worked with more than one social automation tool in the past. This knowledge will empower them to decide which tool will work best for your company, voice, and brand.
Note: Like the issue of your corporate voice on social media, this matter makes for an excellent interview question. To find out just how much the candidate understands social media automation, explain your company (and perhaps envisioned social media voice) and ask which automation tool they would recommend, and why?
What else do you look for when hiring? Share your ideas for your dream candidate here!
