As you review your marketing budget and plan throughout the year, you may realize that you have a lot of ideas for how to grow and increase revenue this year, but not enough time or resources to make it happen with your current marketing department.
Instead of pushing your ideas off until next year or waiting until you have the money to hire more full-time marketing professionals, you may be able to hire contract and freelance marketers to help supplement the workload.
However, it can be difficult to sort through the thousands of social media marketing freelancers available to take on new projects and find someone that fits your role. Also, you need to make sure that the person who is going to manage your company’s online reputation and brand voice has the right experience and skills.
Discover five characteristics you should look for when hiring a top freelance social media marketer to make sure you hire the right person and help you reach your online marketing goals.
Self-Discipline
Many companies make the mistake of using a job description for a full-time social media marketer when hiring for a part-time or contract marketer. Although a lot of the skills will be the same, you will have to tweak some of the characteristics and job duties, depending on how long or how many hours you want the contact to be.
One of the characteristics you should include in the job description is someone who is self-motivated or disciplined with their approach to marketing. Oftentimes this person will be working multiple projects or working remotely, and they need to have the motivation to complete tasks on their own and under a tight deadline
One way to determine if the candidate is self-disciplined is to use interview questions that identify a candidate’s work ethic and make sure the candidate’s answers demonstrate a strong commitment to meeting expectations. Also, make sure to check references and ask questions that will help you determine if they were performing all their job duties and responsibilities.
Accountable
A common concern from marketing leaders when hiring a contract social media marketer is that the freelancer is juggling too many projects and is not going to devote enough time to dedicate to their company’s social media accounts.
While it’s true that freelancers are often working on many projects at once, there are many social media marketers that can keep up with this pace and are very dependable. You might have to do some digging to make sure they’re a fit. Ask questions about their time management skills, how they handle deadlines, the amount of work they can handle, etc. It’s also important to contact their past clients and see if the candidate was able to meet all of their needs.
If you aren’t able to find a candidate who you think will be dependable, then you should consider hiring a contract marketing specific recruiting firm to help you find your ideal candidate. Oftentimes they have a database of vetted and trusted candidates that you will be able to choose from.
Wide Range of Industry Experience
Another concern for companies when hiring a social media freelancer is the candidate won’t know the ins and outs of their business or won’t be able to portray the right branding.
While you don’t need to hire someone with 20 years of experience for a company exactly like yours, you should still look for someone who has a basic understanding of your industry or audience. For example, social media is very different for a B2B company, so you shouldn’t look to hire someone who only has experience marketing for B2C companies.
Make sure to evaluate what type of companies the candidate has the most experience working for and you can even ask them questions about your industry to see how much they know and understand.
Tech Savvy
There are many different platforms and tools social media marketers use on a daily basis and these may be different from the ones you currently use for your company’s social media. It’s important that the candidate will be able to pick up on new social media technology that they’re unfamiliar with, but also be able to seek out new technology and utilize the technology they’re already using to make an impact on your business.
Many social media freelancers will list the tools they use on their resumes, but you can still ask them questions about which tools they prefer or have the most success with. It’s also important to find out what past success they’ve had when managing campaigns.
Writing Skills
Images are essential when creating content for social media, but great writing skills are also a necessity. People often skim through the news and their social media feeds so it’s important to write catchy headlines and blurbs that will stand out.
One way to do this is to look at their past writing samples and social media campaigns to evaluate the content. Also, ask questions about what they think about when beginning a new writing project or post. The audience should always be at the top of their list.
Use these 5 tips to help you find a freelance social media marketer who fits all of your needs and requirements. Not all companies are comfortable with hiring freelancers, but asking the right questions and knowing what to look for will ensure you make the right hire.
