Social Media Specialist Interview Preparation Guide

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Look for signs of excitement and enthusiasm. You likely have a keeper if the person touts the personal benefits of creating great content.

Show that you know about the social media efforts of major brands. Glamour Magazine, for instance, is taking advantage of Google Hangouts to engage their fans in ways that print cannot. This Hangout campaign by Glamour features staff, online personalities, and brands, while cleverly and subtly advertising products.

There's no one right answer to this. The best answer will come from doing your homework. Research your potential employer's current activities across all channels. Then, produce a plan, with action items and metrics for success.

If you’re applying for a social media job, then your prospective employer will probably want to see/hear about what you’ve done in the past. They’ll want to see how you can use social media on a commercial level – so this is a brilliant chance for you to showcase your talents.

A great way to tackle this question would be to tell them about a project you’ve ran or assisted with and talk about the success of this. Remember to focus on stats in particular – if you increased the engagement of your social media platform, make sure you state by how much. You want to wow your potential employer by your past achievements, so make sure you’ve got some stats at the ready.

The answer for this questions proves you have spent time researching the company’s current social media campaigns, and have taken the time to find workable solutions for any problems with the current campaign.

This question is a great chance for you to give the interviewer an inside look at your personality and to talk about what media brands and personalities inspire you. When preparing your answer, be honest but don’t pick the most obvious choice. “Don’t say that it’s Birchbox because that’s cheating,” Juliette jokes. Instead, show that you know the social media space and that you’re familiar with brands and influencers who are making a difference. Mention the name of your favorite account, approximately how many followers they have and give a specific reason for why you like them such as the fact that they post funny memes on Instagram. This will show that you understand what goes into making a successful brand or personality on social media.

This is probably one of the first questions many social media employers will ask – they want to know that you’ve got passion and commitment to the industry, and asking you what attracted you to social media can be a brilliant way of working it out.

A good answer would be to state that it’s an up and coming industry with plenty of room to progress and enhance your skills. This shows that you’re in it for the long haul and you’re a candidate that thrives under pressure – they want someone who will actively seek out ways to improve themselves.

Social media managers need to know how to define success for social media campaigns. Do you utilize social media campaign tools such as Klout? How do you use KPIs and analytics to prove the success of your campaigns? Need to add some tools to your kit? Check out this post.

“This is a really essential question because it shows that you’re thinking ahead and you understand that social media is a fast-moving industry,” Juliette explains. When she asks this question during an interview, she wants to know that candidates are thinking several steps ahead and that they’re able to anticipate new trends before they happen. “I want to know that you’re thoughtful and creative and are thinking more than just ‘in the now’,” she says.

To nail this answer, do some research on new platforms and trend forecasts for the upcoming year. Come prepared with at least two examples to discuss. One of these should focus on a trend for an existing channel while the other should mention an emerging platform that could be the next big thing.

There are some universal answers to this question, including engaging with fans and responding promptly to comments and messages. Beyond these, many of the platforms differ in the ideal cadence and content of posts. Analyze the potential employer's social media activities and prepare to discuss best practices for every network it uses.

The social media world can be a very dynamic and opinionated place, meaning that there are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong. Your potential boss wants to know that you can keep cool in these situations and deal with it accordingly.

Make sure you state that you would stay calm and inform the correct parties if necessary – they want to know that you wouldn’t crumble under the pressure! So maybe bring up a previous occasion when something went wrong for you and how you resolved it – giving an example can be a brilliant way of proving you’ve got what it takes.

Most people are unaware of the power of Google+ and have a profile because they heard that it is useful for search engine optimization (SEO). Being a fairly new social network, on Google there is camaraderie that is rarely felt in more established networks. You can join communities (types of forums for different interests), host hangouts, troubleshoot technical problems, or do subtle product promotion. Social updates will rank on Google, and search results will feature in the top pages in your followers’ search results.

“Oh, shut up”. Perfectly OK, especially if the expert turns purple for a moment first. They’re just sick of hearing this question, which means they’ve been around the block a few times.

“It’s complicated, but here’s a high-level view…”. Nice!!!

“I track clicks from Twitter”. Nope, sorry.

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.

Watch their body language and listen for cues that indicate they see feedback as an opportunity to improve — and that they willingly apply it to their writing.

Ability to align content with readers’ needs
Content marketers must understand the market, industry, and audience they’re serving. That means listening to customers and influencers, identifying customer needs, and providing content relevant to the industry. Ask:

“Blogging and Twitter and stuff”. Excuse yourself for a bathroom break and don’t come back.

“All of the conversations going on between people and people and businesses and such online”. Not bad.

“A trendy term to describe a new kind of mass media”. Totally acceptable.

The constantly changing world of social media requires managers to stay on top of the latest developments. How do you update your skills and knowledge of social media?

This is a chance for you to show off your own social media presence and talk about how the insights you’ve gained will help you increase engagement for the company’s brand. “I want to see that you have your own following,” Juliette says. She’s also interested in how you’re able to maintain a cohesive voice across different platforms while ensuring that you’re posting content that works best for each one. “I want to see something that shows me that you really understand social media so that you can bring that experience into working for a brand.”

When talking about your social presence, frame your experience in terms of goals. If you’re aiming to a thought leader in a specific area (like entertainment or politics), mention that. Then talk about the strategies you’ve used to increase engagement and reach your goals.

I follow several social media blogs, including Hubspot, Hootsuite and social media guru Rebekah Radice’s blog. However, there is so much information that I also rely on my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn news feeds to keep me up to date on tips, tricks and changes in the social media world. I also read industry publications such as Social Media Today and the Social Media Examiner, and I am a member of the Social Media Club.

“It doesn’t”. Slap them and tell ’em that’s from Ian.

“It builds links”. That’s half the answer.

“It builds relationships that turn into links later”. HIRE THEM NOW.

Candidates must be able to define what “success” is when it comes to generating content. As they respond, you should hear the words “traffic,” “repeat visitors,” “retweets and likes,” and “search engine ranking” to show their understanding. Even better if they provide details about their own successes in those areas.

“I auto-follow 20,000 people on Twitter”. If you’re OK with it, kick them in the groin for me. If not, nod politely and move on.

“I follow interesting, relevant people on Twitter, comment on relevant blog posts and try to get into the conversation”. Home run. Try not to weep with joy.

“We need to figure out the campaign first”. Good answer. Give them a hypothetical campaign to be sure, but clearly you’re on the right track.

Facebook EdgeRank is the algorithm Facebook uses to determine where posts show up in a user’s news feed. It is important every Facebook post has the highest EdgeRank possible. How can you use affinity, user interactions, and timeliness to increase a post’s EdgeRank?

A successful community manager needs good judgement, strong communication skills, a 24/7 attitude (which is a feature of the social media lifestyle), the ability to manage multiple platforms and track feedback. This person needs to have an analytical mind and be capable of sharing information with superiors. The person should be adaptable, calm, and be able to solve problems. As a community manager, you have to eat, sleep and breathe the brand. You also require people skills, and have to be outgoing, friendly and relatable. Finally, you need to be comfortable interacting with people offline as well as online.

Every business and organization is not the same, so a one-size-fits-all social media strategy is generally a bad idea. If you’re in non-profit, you might want to look for a social media professional with experience in that sector. If you operate in a regulated industry such as pharmaceutical, tobacco, alcohol, finance, insurance, or a host of others….it would be a good idea to find a professional who has significant experience in your industry and understands any limitations or restrictions.