10 Essential Questions to Ask During a Social Media Marketer Interview

To help you navigate the hiring process of a social media marketer interview, we’ve gathered ten insightful responses from professionals, including CEOs and digital marketing managers. Their advice ranges from assessing industry-specific interest and knowledge to exploring creativity under constraints. Dive into their expert tips to make your next interview a success.

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Assessing Social Media Marketer Interview with Industry-Specific Interests and Knowledge

The last time I was doing a social media marketer interview, I was keen to ask them one single question: “Why are you interested in recruiting?”

Those that stumbled over the answer were an immediate no. While I understand that social media marketers need to work in a breadth of industries, I want someone with a specialization in my field. In the past, when I didn’t prioritize that, I wound up with talented people who nonetheless failed to get the results I’d hoped for.

Turns out, fashion, music, and pop culture (where the majority of social media marketers cut their teeth) are completely different ball games, and few techniques cross over. 

So now, I’m careful to look for someone whose background matches my niche, with the experience that ensures they understand my unique needs.

Travis Hann, Partner, Pender & Howe

Evaluating Platform Expertise and Strategic Thinking

When doing a social media marketer interview, my go-to question would undoubtedly be, “Can you share your comfort level and expertise with various social media platforms?” 

This query not only gauges their technical expertise but also offers insight into their strategic thinking. This is a practical and straightforward way to assess a candidate’s readiness for a role. One’s comfort and competence with the correct platforms can make all the difference when hiring for roles requiring skills with specific social media apps.

Bryor Mosley, Talent Acquisition Partner, Bryor Mosley

Probing Problem-Solving and Analytical Skills

One insightful question I’d ask during a social media marketer interview would be: “Can you describe a social media campaign you managed that didn’t perform as expected, how you analyzed its performance, and what steps you took to pivot or improve the campaign?” 

This question cuts to the heart of their problem-solving skills, adaptability, and analytical abilities. It’s not just about their successes but also about how they handle challenges and learn from their experiences, which is vital in the ever-evolving landscape of social media marketing. It also gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their strategic thinking and ability to use data to drive decisions.

Aaron Friedman, Founder, AMF Creative

Understanding Viral Content Creation

During a social media marketer interview, I’d lean in and ask, “Tell me about a campaign where you were genuinely taken aback by its viral success. What elements made it catch fire?” 

I remember back when I was just getting my footing in the sportswear industry. We launched a modest campaign featuring local athletes, hoping to just gain some traction in our community. But the combination of authentic stories, eye-catching visuals, and perhaps the timing just clicked. It blew up beyond our expectations! The power of genuine connections and relatable content was a lesson I took to heart.

Jay Barton, CEO and Founder, ASRV

Grasping Organic Social Media’s Role

“Explain organic social media’s role in optimizing conversion rates for a successful brand campaign.” I would ask this question during a social media marketer interview because there are so many components that must work together correctly for a strategy to succeed. This question will tell me if they have the knowledge of how all the different components of organic social media for brand campaigns should work together to achieve the goals you’ve set out.

Sam Roberts, Digital Marketing Manager, Connect Vending

Inspecting Understanding of Consumer Behavior

“Can you provide an example of a social media campaign you’ve executed in the past that yielded successful results? What strategies did you employ, and how did you measure success?”

Asking a question like this on a social media marketer interview will give you a lot of insight into whether someone actually understands social media, consumer behavior, and effective strategies versus someone who’s just going to go through the motions, slapping pictures of your products over sunsets and various backgrounds.

John Frigo, Ecommerce Manager, Best Price Nutrition

Testing Familiarity with Social Media Trends

“What was one of the most impressive social media campaigns you followed, and why do you think it was such a success?”

In the era of social media’s omnipresence, many people are convinced that working in this field is an intuitive and easy occupation. However, being a user of Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok doesn’t make one a professional social media marketer.

For that reason, it’s crucial to verify the candidate’s familiarity with the latest trends and tendencies. Asking them to do a short case study of one company’s social media presence will allow you to check their knowledge.

But the essential part is to observe how they justify their choice. For example, can they distinguish some of the applied SEO techniques? Do they notice a particular strategy in the channel’s approach? Can they elaborate on the use of paid advertising?

A competent candidate during a social media marketer interview won’t ramble on about general features of the campaign but will showcase their adequate expertise in the subject.

Martyna Szcześniak, Community Expert, MyPerfectResume

Checking Data Skills and Analytics Usage

Which social media analytics engines have you used in the last five years, specifically? Data-driven social media marketing campaigns are the name of the game, and any good social media marketer needs to have fairly strong data skills to be effective. 

When doing a social media marketer interview, I’m looking for someone that has one or two tools in their toolbox that they can use to create impactful content targeted at the right people. Otherwise, it is just shouting into the void at best and actively annoying people at worst.

Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms

Looking into Engagement and Crisis Handling

During a social media marketer interview, I focus on one question on engagement and community building. To understand how the candidate would handle certain situations, ask a question like this: “How would you handle a situation where you receive negative feedback or a complaint on one of our social channels?”

Kelli Anderson, Career Coach, Resume Seed

Exploring Creativity Under Constraints

During a social media marketer interview, a question I often ask is, “Can you describe a campaign where you had limited resources but achieved significant engagement? What strategies did you employ?” 

This question not only gauges their creativity and problem-solving skills, but also provides insight into their ability to maximize results with constraints, a crucial aspect in the ever-evolving world of social media marketing.

Jon James, CEO, Ignited Results

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