New Digital Marketing Executive Interview Preparation Guide

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A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like, That's a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position?

In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide range.

This common job interview question is often asked in every type of interview. But for marketing jobs this question is especially important. It provides you with a chance to tout your interview preparation by suggesting effective marketing strategies based on the research you completed on the company.

Always use hashtags and mentions! Doing this will mean more people see your tweets and retweet. Some of these people might have big followings or clout that will benefit your company. Twitter is a great tool for conversing with customers so make sure to reply to their tweets as much as you can. Use hashtags to connect the conversation with other conversations in related topics.

It's ok to praise the competitors here if they are genuinely doing something good. Don't go overboard and make it seem like you'd rather work for these competitors but don't be afraid to be honest if you think they have a strategy that the company you're interviewing for could learn from. Always be sure to explain why what they are doing is working (or not working). Mention specific social media campaigns if you can.

You should be fine on this one as long as you have something to say. Employees are not likely to judge your decisions.

For interview questions about marketing failures there are several things to note about your answer:

► Do not get defensive. If you had an expectation that failed, admit it.
► Explain how you found out it failed using numerical, analytical measurements as examples.
► Describe the adjustments that you made in order to make the campaign more successful.

Additional Marketing Interview Question Tips
Marketing job interview questions are designed to uncover your creativity and your problem solving abilities. The knowledge you have and how you utilize it is important. Your answers should include facts, figures, and measurements as well as an awareness of the psychology of marketing. And your ability to both adapt to marketing changes and support your theories is going to be tested.

Groups tend to have a better reach and are therefore a more worthy place for sharing content. They also offer an excellent space for engaging with customers and other businesses, stresing keywords, and increasing interest in your company. A LinkedIn Page is where people go when they are already interested in the company. Thus, it should be informative above all else. Pages also function as a feed for putting out content and have at least a bit of SEO value.

Follow these three easy research tips before your next job interview:
1) Visit the company website; look in the "about us" section and "careers" sections
2) Visit the company's LinkedIn page (note, you must have a LinkedIn account - its free to sign up) to view information about the company
3) Google a keyword search phrase like "press releases" followed by the company name; you'll find the most recent news stories shared by the company
Remember, just because you have done your "homework", it does not mean you need to share ALL of it during the interview! Reciting every fact you've learned is almost as much of a turn off as not knowing anything at all! At a minimum, you should include the following in your answer:
1. What type of product or service the company sells
2. How long the company has been in business
3. What the company culture is like OR what the company mission statement is, and how the culture and/or mission relate to your values or personality

More likely than not, the interviewer wishes to see how much you know about the company culture, and whether you can identify with the organization's values and vision. Every organization has its strong points, and these are the ones that you should highlight in your answer. For example, if the company emphasizes on integrity with customers, then you mention that you would like to be in such a team because you yourself believe in integrity.

It doesn't have to be a lie. In the case that your values are not in line with the ones by the company, ask yourself if you would be happy working there. If you have no issue with that, go ahead. But if you are aware of the company culture and realize that there is some dilemma you might be facing, you ought to think twice. The best policy is to be honest with yourself, and be honest with the interviewer with what is it in the company culture that motivates you.

A typical interview question to determine what you are looking for your in next job, and whether you would be a good fit for the position being hired for, is "What challenges are you looking for in a position?"
The best way to answer questions about the challenges you are seeking is to discuss how you would like to be able to effectively utilize your skills and experience if you were hired for the job.
You can also mention that you are motivated by challenges, have the ability to effectively meet challenges, and have the flexibility and skills necessary to handle a challenging job.
You can continue by describing specific examples of challenges you have met and goals you have achieved in the past.

Talk about why the strategy inspired you but, more importantly, also detail how you would love to create an original strategy of the same caliber. Explain how you would do this and implement it in the context of the job you're interviewing for.

You don't need to have as many followers as Justin Bieber or be like Gary Vaynerchuck to impress your employers. However, your following or at least your activity on social media channels should reflect your passion for it and act as a sample of your overall communication skills.

Don't dismiss Google+ even if it isn't your favorite part of social media strategy. Even if the people interviewing you don't perceive it as being valuable compared to Facebook and Twitter, they don't want to work with someone who wouldn't be open to integrating it into an overall strategy. Explain how Google+ is a great resource for community building since it is a heavily curated and moderated community. Having a thriving community means people are talking more about your company and sharing more content. It also increases SEO which you already know is a supplementary part of social media marketing.

An interviewer will ask his question in order to assess how you handle a failed plan, as this is quite inevitable. It is important that you are able to recognise the key reasons why a strategy went wrong and what you learnt from the experience.

Campaigns may fail for many different reasons, including: poor research and groundwork, poor planning and follow-through of objectives and goals or ineffective communication. Be open about why the campaign failed, take accountability and focus on what you learnt.

A great community manager should be proficient in most of the social media platforms and social media management tools we've mentioned so far. He/she should have unrivaled communications skills and be likeable and organized. Employers also value a background in analytics even if those analytics were not directly related to social media.

Make sure to respond promptly. The longer you take, the bigger the blunder looks to the consumer. Make sure any apology you give is honest and sincere. Otherwise, followers were rip it apart even more. Respond on all channels as well even if the incident only occurred on one.

You could just answer this by saying that you used a different platform to cover the shortcomings of the other. This isn't a bad answer. In fact, it can be part of a good answer. However, you should definitely know how to overcome or at least deal with limitations on social media platforms. For example, Facebook has severe limitations when it comes to organic (non-paid) reach. One way to overcome this without paying on Facebook is to use email marketing and subscription-based methods to gently guide people to the page with links and suggestions If you have your own awesome anecdote already, that's even better!

The marketing manager evaluates the financial aspect of development. He adjusts the development with the company's financial goals and means (budget). He also assesses the relevance of the product to the current market. If necessary, the marketing manager suggests changes to product development in order to optimize its success among current customers.

You might go on a while if you list all the benefits of these platforms. They will probably only ask you about one or two but it's best to be prepared for several. Let's start with Hootsuite since it is the most likely to come up.

Hootsuite dashboard analytics
Hootsuite gives you a social media dashboard so you can manage all of your channels in one place, schedule Tweets, track analytics, find potential customers, and collaborate with team members.
TweetDeck is basically the same but only for Twitter.

TweetDeck uder interface
Customize your Twitter experience by scheduling and even managing multiple accounts!
SproutSocial is another one that creates an inbox-style way of managing all messages and engagement at once.

sprout social user interface
SproutSocial is a social media management tool created to help businesses find new customers and grow their social media presence.
There are dozens of these platforms so there is a chance that you won't be able to research all of them. If they ask you about one you're not familiar with, simply admit you don't know it while stating that you are willing to learn and should be able to do so thanks to your experience with other platforms.

It may be extensive training, but you may also mention any instruction of personnel regarding your strategies, research, possible changes, new production polices, etc. Such instruction often involves presentations. Presentations are also often used when reporting to senior management.

Interview questions about the future should be brought back to accomplishments of the past. In other words, when asked about how you would deal with possible future scenarios, refer to your past accomplishments. Your answers should focus on successful campaigns with statement such as, "While I was with company XYZ, I initiated both low cost lead generation strategies and several viral marketing campaigns, using an almost inexistent budget to boost profits by 200%."

No one likes to answer this question because it requires a very delicate balance. You simply can't lie and say you don't have one; you can't trick the interviewer by offering up a personal weakness that is really a strength ("Sometimes, I work too much and don't maintain a work-life balance."); and you shouldn't be so honest that you throw yourself under the bus ("I'm not a morning person so I'm working on getting to the office on time.")

Think of a small flaw like "I sometimes get sidetracked by small details", "I am occasionally not as patient as I should be with subordinates or co-workers who do not understand my ideas", or "I am still somewhat nervous and uncomfortable with my public-speaking skills and would like to give more presentations and talk in front of others or in meetings." Add that you are aware of the problem and you are doing your best to correct it by taking a course of action.

Interviewers expect a candidate for employment to discuss what they do while they are working in detail. Before you answer, consider the position you are applying for and how your current or past positions relate to it. The more you can connect your past experience with the job opening, the more successful you will be at answering the questions.
It should be obvious that it's not a good idea talk about non-work related activities that you do on company time, but, I've had applicants tell me how they are often late because they have to drive a child to school or like to take a long lunch break to work at the gym.
Keep your answers focused on work and show the interviewer that you're organized ("The first thing I do on Monday morning is check my voicemail and email, then I prioritize my activities for the week.") and efficient.

Never ask Salary, perks, leave, place of posting, etc. regarded questions.

Try to ask more about the company to show how early you can make a contribution to your organization like
"Sir, with your kind permission I would like to know more about induction and developmental programs?"

OR

Sir, I would like to have my feedback, so that I can analyze and improve my strengths and rectify my shortcomings.

This is the part where you link your skills, experience, education and your personality to the job itself. This is why you need to be utterly familiar with the job description as well as the company culture. Remember though, it's best to back them up with actual examples of say, how you are a good team player.

It is possible that you may not have as much skills, experience or qualifications as the other candidates. What then, will set you apart from the rest? Energy and passion might. People are attracted to someone who is charismatic, who show immense amount of energy when they talk, and who love what it is that they do. As you explain your compatibility with the job and company, be sure to portray yourself as that motivated, confident and energetic person, ever-ready to commit to the cause of the company.