As a business owner, there may come a time when you can no longer manage all the day-to-day operations of your business. At this point, you’re ready to start bringing on subject matter experts, and you’ve decided you’ll bring on someone to specialize in social media marketing.
Only, you don’t know where to begin. You’ve been managing social media for months now and you know exactly what your process is, but you’re an entrepreneur, not a social media marketer. How do you find the best talent to not only support you, but improve upon the foundation you’ve established?
When is it time to hire?
When you can no longer keep up with publishing posts at a regular cadence, it’s time to find someone to support you. While you may be tempted to scale down your efforts to a level that you can manage, it’s imperative not to lose any momentum you may have established. By slowing down posts or, worse, stopping altogether, you can detrimentally impact your engagement.
However, it’s important to appreciate that it may take you some time to find the right fit, and if you’re too busy to manage your social media, you’re probably too busy to hire someone. Try to anticipate your needs as much as possible and begin this process slightly sooner than you absolutely need someone.
The bottom line: Hire before you’re in a pinch.
Which skills should you look for?
PPC, SEO, short-form, long-form, it’s hard to know what exactly you should look for!
When it comes to a social media manager, the answer will depend on what your goals are. If you’re hoping to run paid ads, make sure you hire someone who’s fluent in them. Similarly, it can help to find a resource that’s already familiar with your industry.
However, if you’re starting early, you can also consider going with someone who is less experienced and will take some time to ramp up. This option is far more affordable than springing for a fully-fledged expert right out of the gate.
The bottom line: Hire based on your unique needs, not industry standards.
Where should you look for talent?
If you’re in the early stages and don’t need someone full-time, Upwork can be a great way to find a part-time contract-based resource. Upwork also makes it easy to test out a relationship since they protect payments — if you don’t get work, the contractor doesn’t get paid. If you find someone you really enjoy working with, you can make a bigger project, or work with them outside the platform.
You can also put an ask out to your network on LinkedIn and Twitter. Share the details of what you’re looking for and ask if anyone has any recommendations. It’s nice to get a recommendation from someone you know and it always helps to see someone’s background.
When you’re ready to hire a full-time resource, consider publishing the job officially on LinkedIn, posting it to your website, and sharing it on sites like Indeed. Be descriptive in your post and include the salary range. While you may feel it’s better to give people more details when you first meet, you’ll save yourself a lot of time by weeding out bad-fit candidates.
The bottom line: Use a variety of platforms depending on what type of resource you’re looking for.
What should you ask in an interview?
In an interview, you should be able to get to know the person. Especially if this is someone you plan on working with long-term, you want to make sure your personalities mesh well. However, that doesn’t mean they should have the exact same perspective as you. It’s important to find someone who will challenge your thinking at the right moments and encourage you to follow best practices.
Consider asking a mix of these questions:
- What past experience do you have in roles like this?
- Have you worked in this industry before?
- Where do you feel your strengths lie?
- How do you deal with ambiguity?
- How much guidance do you need in your role?
- Do you work well in a team environment?
- How do you handle stress and tight deadlines?
The bottom line: Ask a variety of questions that allow you to get to know the candidate.
Empower Your Team with Missinglettr
Hiring your first social media manager is an exciting and terrifying time. It’s scary to hand off all your hard work to someone else, but offloading your social media management is an essential step toward scaling your business.
Whether you’re running social media yourself or have a team supporting you, Missinglettr makes it easy to keep everyone on track and optimize your time. Discover how Missinglettr can streamline your efforts without a full-blown marketing department.
