Hiring a social media strategist. It’s a process that no one has completely figured out yet. And how could they in such a new–and constantly changing–space? As with any new field, industry or discipline, learning is key and organizations, recruiters and hiring managers will make mistakes along the way. But, we also need to learn. And get smarter about how we identify the right talent in this evolving space.
The process is filled with challenges. Many times, the folks making the hiring decisions have the slightest clue about social media. Quantifiable qualifications are hard to come by. And with so many people calling themselves “experts” these days, how do you separate the wheat from the chafe?
My feeling is, for the most part, most companies are taking a leap of faith with their social media hires right now. How do you really know the candidate you hired has the skills you’ll need in six months? You don’t. Now, that doesn’t make it that much different from any other job in your organization, but I think the odds are longer right now when it comes to making the right social media hire.
Given that, let’s talk about four ways you can minimize those odds and identify a social strategist that can effectively integrate digital strategies into your existing marketing and communications mix:
* Review the candidate’s tweet stream. You’ll be surprised what you’ll learn by digging back a few weeks. Who do they interact with? What’s their “reply” to “send” ratio? How many followers do they have? More importantly, how many people are they following–and who? It all should play a part in your evaluation.
* Look at the candidate’s “digital footprint.” Take a look at all the social platforms the candidate is active on–not just Twitter. Read their blog. Look at how often they post. Look at the number of comments. Notice the topics they blog about. Are they offering innovative ideas/thoughts? Or, are they re-hashing previously discussed content? What blogs are they commenting on? What are they saying? Do they have a YouTube channel? On Vimeo? Trying out FriendFeed? Posterous? All this information will give you a more complete picture and a much better for what kind of candidate you’re looking at.
* Go beyond social media skills. Social skills are just part of the job. What about basic marketing and PR skills? Those are essential. The ability to understand the more technical side of digital. And a solid understanding of business principles. The funny thing about social media jobs is the social work is conceivably the easy part–it’s the business, consulting and integration work that’s the tough part.
* Dig deep into LinkedIn. Go beyond the cursory review of the candidate’s LinkedIn profile. Everyone has recommendations. But does your candidate have an integrated LinkedIn profile? Does the candidate feed their blog into their profile? Does he/she update their status regularly? What do those status updates say about the candidate? What other social media thought leaders across the country are they connected with? What Q&As have they been involved in recently? Do you see any trends? Again, it’s about more than just the resume and number of connections the candidate has.
These are just a few ideas. What else can companies do vet candidates for these social media roles?
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Great post Arik. As we have discussed, one of the greatest challenges organizations have in hiring a social media strategist, is that they do not know what criteria they must evaluate.
I would add that it is essential for organizations to identify a social media strategist who understands the organizations industry and target market. The term “social media” or “emerging media” is very broad and understanding the social media landscape as it pertains to your organization is critical.
I would add just one thing: Before consideration of an SM strategist, one must strategize on what they would like to accomplish. What are the goals? How much do you want to be out there? These are questions that must be answered before evaluating. Then, you can use the tools that are at your disposal.
Also, I would google the person. You can evaluate their digital footprint easily – how popular are they?
This article helps me understand what I need to prove/provide a future employer. It also allows me to better explain to customers what to look for when hiring a SM “expert.”
Thank-you.
Great post, Arik. I think the first two are key. Anyone can sign up for all the platforms and then not interact or have an understanding of how to utilize them. So by reviewing someone’s tweet stream and digging into their digital footprint, you can get a fairly decent idea of a candidate and his or her capabilities.
@kmskala
Amen to this!
* Go beyond social media skills. Social skills are just part of the job. What about basic marketing and PR skills?
Is there room for one other type? I’m thinking of those who have worked with/for high profile clients, where it’s a bit of a faux pas to be too much in the spotlight, when after all, it’s their job to keep their client front and center.
Also wondering about many strategists I have known who do such a good job for clients, but who have no desire to prove their popularity online. Do they know the ins and outs? Are they perhaps using social media tools on behalf of a larger organization? (Rather than with their own name.)
Such folks are harder to track via Google or Twitter RTs, yet I wouldn’t rule them out. Many a great behind-the-scenes operative has kept a lower profile.
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