Hiring a Social Media Employee – Part 2

In part 1, I posed the questions of how to hire a full time Social Media emloyee to three people I respect in the Social Media.

DocNow, it’s Darin Berntson. otherwise known to the free-world as “Doc”. Doc is the owner of All Aces Marketing, Inc. Throw a comment on Doc’s Blog and follow him on Twitter.

  • Hire within if possible: It may be easier to train someone from within the company as a brand evangelist if they already love working for you. Then you can teach them the proper listening and engagement tools that will work best for the particular company.
  • If possible, a proven track record of existing social media knowledge. Do they have a good following on their platforms of choice (twitter, facebook, blogs)? But more important than the following numbers, how well do they communicate? Do they engage? How well do they interact already. How clean is their online reputation right now?
  • Ask the candidate “What can social do for our company?” Rather then telling them what you want, ask them what they can do, what they bring to the table, and what social media means to them. Do they talk about goals, building influence and trust, or are they just talking about power in numbers (followers), hits on websites, and all the people who can see your message?
  • Ask the candidate what platforms do they recommend for this company to use? Do they just mention the basics, or can they name 2-5 other platforms that would be a good fit, and why, as well. Do they talk about reaching out, and engaging on other blogs, forums etc, or do they only talk about how to broadcast your message?
  • Are they capable of learning and staying on top of new platforms and techniques? Are they a self starter, or do you have to point them in the direction of what to do? Are they an early adopter? Can they spot possible trends and hotspots on where to take your business next online?
  • How social are they? Do they love talking to people and interacting? Can they also be the social face of your company? Can you send them to events on your behalf? Do they look and act the part of the “care agent” for your business?
  • Do not look for or hire a huckster… a person who promises thousands of followers, and preaches how easy it is to build a follow base with automated tools. Social media is not about atomization, it is about caring, listening and engagement. I write a Blog post about this called Don’t be a Social Media Huckster.
  • Do you trust this person you are about to hire? Trust them 100%? If not, you need to find someone you do trust 100%. This person will be the voice of your company on many digital channels, and possibly in person. This person MUST represent you well, and have you and your business in mind at all times.
  • Bottom line: If you hire in house, make sure this person loves your business. You do not want to hire someone just because they want the money or the JOB. They have to really care about your company, product and/or service. If not, it will show. In Social Media, people can smell BS.

It’s Will again. I loved reading all three of these posts. The ongoing theme with all three of our experts seems to be:

  • It’s not about how many connections or accounts that they have.
  • It’s all about how the engage with their connections – Listening and responding.

I’d like to thank Erika Napoletano, Carmen Villadar and Darin “Doc” Berntson for contributing to my Blog with some great information!

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