It seems like every business and brand is suddenly on the prowl for a social media manager. Dozens of my friends are now being headhunted at salaries even I am envious of for positions that require them to manage the online - and sometimes offline - communities of the organization. Many companies unfortunately dive head-first into hiring these community managers without thinking about actual role or responsibility of this new hire - or even what the potential candidate is really bringing to the table. Econonsultancy recently wrote about this trend, and what red flags these companies should look out for when hiring a social media manager.
They essentially found that while it is notably easy to hire a social media manager who fails to create leads and sales, it's hard to hire someone who can actually succeed. Econsultancy found that when asking questions about "social selling", brands should watch out for candidates who say things like;
"Marketing and advertising are long-term, not instant"
Econsultancy says, "this is a clear hedge against creating leads and sales. This position presumes the only sales that happen are those happening instantly." Obviously, marketing and advertising is not short-term and instant, and social marketing should not be a short-cut to instant sales. That said, a social media manager should be in the right mindset to generate quick leads that eventually assist conversions.
"Social media marketing is mostly (only) about building brand equity"
Again, Econsultancy explains, this a hedge. They say, "this belief presumes getting and maintaining brand equity is not about selling." As Econsultancy chides, 'If your business (and its brand) is not fundamentally all about selling then what it is about... charity?"
While social media should not be a soapbox for your brand, it is a place for brands to provide the resources, answers, and help current and potential customers may need about products. It's also a place for these current and potential customers to communicate about products and information related to the brand, such as promotions or events. This community, when built and moderated appropriately with engaging content, can help the brand sell itself. This doesn't necessarily mean the content needs to be advertorial in nature; but indirectly promotes the brand.
As Econsultancy says, your social media manager needs to understand this; and that "saying, 'social media is mostly about building brand equity' is misguided.
"People are not on social media to be sold"
Building upon the last piece of advice, people use social media to solve problems. Econsultancy breaks down the general pattern of social media as this;
- query Google about a problem they need solved or a goal they want to reach;
- end up at a blog;
- sign up for an Ebook or educational video series;
- end up buying from the blog owner a few months later.
For a potential social media manager to say "that people are not on social media to be sold" is to miss the point entirely: People use social media in ways (e.g. problem-solving) that sometimes direct them toward things to buy. It's critical that a community manager think about ways that they can use your social platforms to "sell" your brand by primarily addressing the needs of your current and potential customers - and then building out content (that, again, isn't directly advertorial) from there.
So What Should You Want To Hear?
The country - especially suburban centers - are crawling with agencies and freelancers looking to take a chunk of marketing budgets from brands and businesses needing help with the digital marketing efforts and strategy. It's critical that you not only look for these red flags, but listen and hire that person who wants to produce a positive ROI as your social media manager.
In Econsultancy's article, the author recounts a meeting with Todd Giannattasio of Tresnic Media. At the end of a recent meeting, Giannattasio told the author, "I tell clients all the time, 'I don't want to be just another expense item on your budget.'"
And that is the kind of social media manager the author - and you - should want working for your team.
