How To Interview A Social Media Marketing Manager: A Complete Guide

In today’s world, social media is a powerful platform used to increase brand engagement and awareness. Therefore, hiring a reliable and competent social media marketing manager is of the utmost importance. How do you do that? 

We’re here to show you how to hire the best talent. By following our interview guide, you’ll know exactly what green and red flags to look for in a candidate. Streamline the exhausting interview process and get the best fit now! 

What Technical Questions should you ask a Social Media Manager in an Interview?

Technical questions are designed to judge a social media marketer’s knowledge and expertise in their field. Let’s walk through some examples. 

Here are three examples of what you can ask in a social media marketing manager interview: 

Q) What is your experience with social media analytics tools and how do you use them?

An ideal candidate will answer this with some level of eloquence and know-how of analytical tools like Google Analytics, Sprout Social, or Hootsuite. While tools play a secondary role, the outcome they produce is very important. The applicant should be aware of which tool is used to research, strategize, schedule, and plan social media campaigns or posts.  

Q) What are the key metrics for measuring ROI on social media?  

The best response would display the candidate’s knowledge about social media sales, lead generation, customer lifetime value, and more. It is important to understand converting sales from likes, shares, comments, and website visits. 

Q) What do you know about SEO and how is it important to social media? 

The applicant should be well-versed in what search engine optimization is and what content is favoured, overlooked, or value-adding. It is important your candidate knows how to utilize search engine rankings as social media increasingly becomes dependant on it. 

Other possible questions can include:

• What has been your experience working with advertising platforms such as Facebook Ads and Google Ads?
• Have you worked with influencer marketing campaigns? What is your approach to identify and collaborate with influencers?  
• How do you use A/B testing to strategize for greater brand reach?  

What Techincal Skills should a Social Media Manager have?

A proficient social media marketing manager possesses a range of crucial qualities and skills. They should have a good command of media analytics tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Zoho Social to track social media metrics, identify trends in consumer behavior, and assess the effectiveness of the SEO strategy. Adept at data interpretation, they can measure success and identify areas for improvement. It is essential to be an expert at Lead generation, as the manager must drive revenue and sales by launching customized marketing campaigns targeted at specific customer bases to enhance brand awareness. 

Being creative and adaptable to changing trends, the manager excels in content curation, producing visually appealing content that aligns with the brand's palette and appearance. The manager can effectively differentiate the organization from competitors, contributing to increased brand awareness by maintaining a consistent brand identity,

You Can Also: Use our Job Description Generator and seek candidates with the most relevant technical skills. 

Team leaders must exhibit strong management, leadership, and decision-making abilities to inspire and support their team, allocate resources, and successfully meet project deadlines.

What Behavioral Questions should you ask a Social Media Manager in an Interview?

Q) Can you describe the last time you collaborated with a team over a social media campaign? What was the dynamic like and what were the results?

A strong candidate will produce an answer that is telling of their ability to communicate effectively with their co-workers. This question aims to assess the approach taken by the interviewee when working towards a common goal with a team. It will display their openness to different ideas, leadership skills, cooperation skills, and more.

Q) Tell me about a time you used your analytical skills to assess customer experience across multiple platforms, using it to better your social media presence. 

The ideal applicant will depict a thorough understanding of consumer psychology and behaviour. They will have data to show for their nuanced recognition of what a specific audience desires and what tools are used to cater that, therefore increasing brand presence online. This can be done through assessing key performance indicators (KPIs).

Q) What is your approach to dealing with negative comments or difficult followers across social media platforms?

A favourable response will be one that reveals the quality of a candidate’s service skills and crisis management skills. An ideal response to the situation is one that is calm, diplomatic, and prompt. Any good social media marketer will quickly attempt to resolve and client dissatisfaction or filter out unnecessary negative spam.

You can also ask: 

• Could you elaborate on a time where you had to pivot or drastically change a social media campaign? What was your approach to that?
• Can you describe your experience curating a digital marketing strategy for your brand? How did you plan it, and what were the results?
• Imagine yourself entering an organization that uses a completely different software to manage and analyse social media marketing. What would you do? 

Nowadays, behavioural questions are a common part of many organization’s hiring guide to gauge the quality of interaction between the applicant and real-life situations. Let’s discuss some potential question

What Behavioral Skills should a Social Media Manager have?

A successful social media manager should possess several essential qualities. Firstly, they need to demonstrate prompt and effective customer service skills, responding swiftly to client inquiries and complaints with empathy and suitable solutions. Adaptability and flexibility are crucial as the social media landscape evolves rapidly, requiring them to stay updated on the latest trends, tools, and technologies. 

Additionally, problem-solving skills are vital to strategize and handle crisis situations related to advertising, campaigns, or customer satisfaction with rational thinking and critical analysis. Overall, a competent social media manager exhibits a well-rounded skill set to excel in the dynamic world of social media marketing.

What Soft-Skills question should you ask a Social Media Manager in an Interview?

Soft Skills are important to build relationships, lead teams, overcome obstacles, and maintain a loyal brand following. Here are some interview questions to see if a candidate has the relevant soft skills for the role.

Q) How do you prioritize your tasks and responsibilities when managing multiple social media accounts?

The ideal answer highlights a candidate’s organizational skills and time management abilities. They should mention their plan to tackle several deadlines and responsibilities. This can include anything, from month schedules, calendar organizations, to-do lists, or social media management tools that help in streamlining workflow.

Q) Can you explain the process through which you build and sustain relationships with influencers, celebrities, and brand ambassadors? 

A good social media marketer will detail an outreach plan that displays their communication and networking skills. Influencer marketing is highly valuable, so building meaningful connections with potential ambassadors is important. The candidate should mention a research process that helps identify influencers that align with the brand and the approach to sustaining relationships.

Q) Tell me about a time where you faced conflict within a team at work. How did you navigate it?

The best possible answer will showcase an applicant’s conflict resolution and teamwork skills. It’s important to have both since disagreements are a natural part of working with different identities. The candidate’s answer should reflect an open mindedness and diplomatic nature which is able to listen to different viewpoints and solve conflicts seamlessly. 

More options for interview questions are:

• Describe a time when you had to take ownership of a mistake or failure at work? How did you approach the situation?
• What do you do when working with someone that has a different communication style and work ethic than you?
• What is your way of motivating your team members to accomplish goals and meet deadlines?

Since there are a plethora of soft skills, use our Interview Questions Generator to curate even more options to asses every kind of skill. 

What Soft Skills should a Social Media Manager have?

A proficient social media marketing manager possesses essential skills for effective communication, both written and verbal, as they interact with various stakeholders like cross-functional teams, clients, followers, partners, and investors. They demonstrate adaptability in tailoring their messages to suit different audiences. 

Additionally, teamwork skills are crucial, enabling them to collaborate effectively with content creators, designers, and data analysts to bring campaigns to life. Team leaders must exhibit strong management, leadership, and decision-making abilities to inspire and support their team, allocate resources, and successfully meet project deadlines.

Red flags to look out for when interviewing a Social Media Manager:

• Poor Understanding of SEO: Candidates lacking basic knowledge of SEO principles may struggle to drive effective social media campaigns.
• Minimum Awareness of Social Media Management and Analytics Tools: Inexperience with these tools may indicate an inability to effectively manage campaigns. While candidates are trained in the company’s preferred analytics tools through onboarding practices, they should have a basic understanding beforehand.
• Inability to Adopt Changing Trends into Brand Visibility: A Social Media Manager should show creativity and flexibility in keeping up with evolving trends.
• Overemphasis on Vanity Metrics: Candidates overly focused on likes and followers may overlook more meaningful indicators like engagement rates and sales conversions.
• Lack of Industry Knowledge: Not staying updated with platform updates and practices may hinder reaching a wider audience.
• Inability to Handle Constructive Criticism or Negative Feedback: A professional and open-minded response to feedback is crucial for improvement.
• Unable to take accountability: Candidates should show the ability to acknowledge mistakes and take prompt corrective action.
• Poor time management abilities: Effective organization and prioritization are essential in meeting tight deadlines.
• Lack of empathy in work style: Empathy is crucial for building relationships with the audience, co-workers, and brand partners, contributing to a brand's overall presence and voice. While IQ is important, EQ matters in today’s workplace just as much.

Conclusion:

Now that we’ve run through a list of key interview questions, you’re set to find the perfect social media marketing manager. Use this guide and improve candidate experience, bringing you one step closer to the dream candidate who can strengthen brand identity.