RECRUITMENT GUIDE
How To Hire a Social Media Marketing Specialist
A social media marketing specialist is responsible for creating and publishing content that promotes the business, and its products, to online social media platforms. Their role is to position the business in such a way that will attract their target audience, increase engagement, overall leading to an increase in sales and revenue.
Through social media platforms, marketers can connect with customers in a more direct and intimate way. Their aim is to maximise website traffic, page clicks, and optimizing content to ensure customer retainment and expand reach.
Day-to-day tasks of this role:
- Create content and post it to social media channels.
- Engage with customers.
- Track data, engagement and trends from posts.
- Create and follow a social media schedule.
Recruitment Process
UNDERSTAND THE ROLE
Skills profile for a Social Media Marketing Specialist
Most companies require a social media marketing specialist to have a bachelor degree such as a Bachelor of Business (majoring in marketing), Communications, Public Relations, Journalism or another relevant field. Relevant industry experience is also favourable when applying for this role. There are some common skills required for this position.
A social media marketing specialist must be able to come up with effective strategies to execute. They must have a strategic mindset when it comes to social media, and understand that each action has a purpose. They must be forward thinking when planning for content and campaigns, and use data from past posts to analyse results and make necessary adjustments.
They must also be very extremely creative. They must have inherent creative abilities to think outside of the box and generate new, engaging ideas. They must have the ability to work across different brands, and also think on behalf of the customer and consumer.
A social media marketing specialist must also be skilled in stakeholder management. They must have the ability to manage multiple stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and businesses, and be confident in providing clear guidelines, and stand their ground to stakeholders if needed. They must also provide clear expectations to clients about timeframes, projects, and completion dates, to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position.
SOURCE APPLICANTS
Social Media Marketing Specialist Job Description
Summary:
- Why is this role being filled?
- How does this role fit into the organization and the team?
- What makes your company unique?
- What would it be like to work for you?
Requirements:
- What technical skills are needed for this role?
- Which soft skills are applicable?
- What are the nice-to-have experiences of your ideal candidate?
- Include availability preferences in this section
Responsibilities:
- What are the key deliverables for this role?
- What does the day-to-day of this role look like?
Benefits:
- Compensation & bonuses
- Employee benefits & perks
- Ongoing training benefits
PRO TIP #1
As a social media marketing specialist will need to be competent at using many different social media platforms, it is important to include which ones the successful candidate will be using in the job description. This will ensure that the business hires an applicant who knows how to use these programs, how they work, and the most effective ways to market on them.
PRO TIP #2
Ensure that the entire recruitment process from job description to assessment to interview reiterates your company vision and values. This will help you identify the right people for the role, and applicants will know whether your company is the right fit for them.
Sample skills assessment
Question 1
Strategy
Question Type: Document
When provided with a new client brief, what is your usual process for developing content strategy? Please outline this on the document below.
Question 2
Creative
Question Type: Text
Describe the most creative campaign you have created and executed.
Question 3
Stakeholder Management
Question Type: Video
Describe the toughest stakeholder you have managed. Why were they the toughest and how did you manage this relationship?
INTERVIEW
Interview guide for a Social Media Marketing Specialist
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The PDF interview guide contains structured questions against each of the competencies for this role.
This interview guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the Vervoe skills assessment. Where a candidate has scored Low – Medium on a skill, focus on asking more questions from that skill to gain deeper insight into their level of competency.
PDF INTERVIEW GUIDE
Get your copy of the interview guide to complete the hiring process. Includes questions against each of the skill competencies for the role.
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