Even if you understand the importance of digital and social media services, you may still be unsure of how to build out a marketing team, work with an agency, or hire a freelancer that is highly skilled in this area. Below we’ve outlined questions to help make sure you are getting the high-quality and relevant service(s) you need when hiring a digital practitioner.
1.) What are 1–2 digital trends that you have noticed over the past 30 days? Over the past week?
Based on their answer, spend 5–10 minutes to look up (i.e. Google or Youtube search) a few keywords, trends, or tactics they mentioned and see if their answer is relevant and being utilized by other businesses.
It may be a red flag if they state trends, stats, or tactics that are more than 18 months old. For part two of this question, they should be able to tell you what new updates and nuances were made to one of the major social media platforms or a social media campaign currently trending. This shows that they stay up to date and pay attention to the digital landscape.
2.) How do you stay updated and educated on these trends and how have you put them into practice for yourself or your clients?
It is important to know that your potential new hire or agency stays educated and are aware of social media trends. There are a lot of places to read, watch, or listen but it is also important to ask them how they have implemented what they learn.
Here are the top 5 resources we recommend:
-Rick Mulready-The Art of Paid Traffic Podcast
-Buffer Blog
-Gary Vaynerchuck-YouTube or Podcast
-Social Media Monthly
-Tailwind Blog
3.) What has been your most creative campaign, piece of content, or tactic you have created and implemented yourself or for a client? How did this perform and why? What benchmarks did you and your client set to evaluate effectiveness?
4.) What is the process of working with you?
This answer should communicate something similar to:
-Setting up benchmarks and analytics on weekly, quarterly, or annual basis
-Frequency and form of meeting-weekly or monthly, by phone or in person
-A review process for content, campaigns, strategy
5.) What have you seen that is either working or not working in our industry related to social media or digital storytelling?
Like the answer to number one, spend time researching and looking up if they are accurate. Don’t be afraid to make a phone call or send an email to your colleague in a similar industry to get their take.
Looking for more tips regarding social media services? Download our free 18-page guide here!
