How To Hire a Social Media Manager

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Social Media Manager hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER RECRUITMENT GUIDE

What does a Social Media Manager do?

Having consistent and relevant content in your social media channels is paramount for any business to succeed in the 21st century. Your existing and future customers want a one-stop-shop to find any information they need and want to stay up to date with your business. Social Media is increasingly becoming a viable source for attracting and converting customers, so it’s essential to have a strategic approach to socials.

Typically, a Social Media Manager will be responsible for planning, executing, managing, and monitoring a company's Social Media strategy to increase brand awareness, improve marketing efforts and increase sales.

Day to day tasks of a Social Media Manager

Planning, creating, and implementing social media strategies;
Content management across multiple platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.;
Identify insights and trends of campaigns through data analytics;
Collaboration with copywriters and other stakeholders such as brand teams and digital agencies;
Management of leads generated through campaigns and managing communities;
Monitor, engage and grow online communities through best-practice community management;
Provide regular social media reports

Recruitment guide role overview illustration

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER DEFINITION

A Social Media Manager plans, builds, and manages a company’s social media strategy and social channels. This includes platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. In addition to being the public voice of a brand, Social Media Managers analyze their campaigns’ success by tracking important engagement data metrics such as likes, clicks, and shares. They also work closely with the sales team to understand how this has translated into leads and new customers.

HIRING PROCESS

Social Media Manager Hiring Process

1
STEP 1
2
STEP 2
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STEP 3
4
STEP 4
5
STEP 5

STEP 1

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

STEP 2

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

STEP 3

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

STEP 4

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

STEP 5

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.

BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Skills needed for a Social Media Manager

A Social Media Manager must have a sound understanding of modern social media platforms and how to market a brand or product on them. The social media space is very competitive and having an analytical edge is paramount to performing better than your competitors. A Social Media Manager needs to have excellent community engagement, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and a thorough understanding of data analysis and the psychology behind consumer behavior.

Social Media
Analytical
Community Engagement
Copywriting

WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS

How to write a Social Media Manager job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Social Media Manager job description:

Job Title: What position are you hiring for?
Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer

Use our sample Social Media Manager job description

SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

Sample skill tests for a Social Media Manager

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Question 1

Social Media

Question Type: Video

Describe a previous campaign that you have run and how it was successful. Alternatively, can you share a campaign that wasn't a success and what you learned from it?

Question 2

Community Engagement

Question Type: Text

How would you build a community for our brand? Why is this important?

Question 3

Analytical

Question Type: Audio

What metrics on social media platforms do you look at when evaluating the success of a campaign?

INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS

How to interview a Social Media Manager

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

MAKING AN OFFER

How much does it cost to hire a Social Media Manager?

The US average for a Social Media Manager is $104,080, according to Salary.com, while the reported average salary on Glassdoor amounts to $86,932.

United States

Social Media Manager salaries in the United States range from $90,800 - $118,808 (USD). Social Media Manager salaries usually depend on the industry, location, and commission structure / profit-sharing (if applicable).

Source: Source: Salary.com

United Kingdom

Social Media Manager salaries in the UK range from £35,000 - £50,000 (GBP). Social Media Manager salaries usually depend on the industry, location, and commission structure/profit-sharing (if applicable).

Source: Source: Hays UK Salary Guide 2020

Australia

Social Media Manager salaries in Australia range from $71,000 - $153,000 (AUD). Social Media Manager salaries usually depend on the industry, location, and commission structure/profit-sharing (if applicable). Location makes the biggest difference, with the major cities paying more.

Source: Source: Hays Australia and New Zealand Guide 2020