4 Tips on Hiring a Social Mediaist: Big Box May Not Fit

If you have achieved the level of business success to now hit the ‘Hiring Stage’ it is time to be overly concerned with who you hire, especially when it comes time to hiring a social media expert.

The biggest mistake, and one too many business are mistakenly doing, is pawning social media marketing off onto an interns, assistant or making it a double duty for CEO’s secretary.  Doing this is just not going to cut it.  Social media marketing requires dedication, intelligence, execution, and guts.

In order to get the most out of social media you need to have someone you can depend on being focused on your business’ image online nearly 24/7.  The warehouse forklift driver who just got a new iPhone4 is not going to be able to hold up to the hundreds of conversations needed to improve upon a business’ customer base and get those trucks loaded as well.  The receptionist is not going to be able to clear out Twitter spam and direct calls to the business at the same time..though that seems to be what I am hearing many business people actual are doing.

To get you over the hump and into the mainstream of how business is done today every business is going to have to have a “Social Mediaist”.  Here are four Tips on what to look for in hiring someone to handle your Social Media.

Social Media Hiring Checklist:

1. Do they practice what they preach? It might be good to go to SocialMention.com and place the business name, or the name the social mediaist use for business, in the search bar to find out what they’re doing in the social space. Just remember, programs designed to judge a business’ performance can be manipulated..and most are.  These evaluations sites will answer how a social mediaist has grown their exposure and how they communicating in the social space. What these reports will not show is how the social mediaist would do the work for you.   Most of the time it is good to just do the search of the social space yourself and see first hand what a candidate is saying or doing online.  Many people who call themselves social media experts means they know the URL for Twitter and maybe Facebook.  It generally is proven most social media experts have little to no experience in what actually works or does not work in promoting a business in a social space. They will base their experience in the dribble that many of the social media marketing sites dredge out as being what works on paper.
2. Prove it! It is good to know the social mediaist can produce a ‘balanced’ image.  Being all ‘smiley face’ all the time is proven to turn consumers away.  Never base anything on the reports they provide as their results.  Anyone can produce figures.  What you should be looking for is how the person or company you are hiring appears to YOUR market and the tone of voice they use in the social space.  Numbers on conversions and market penetrations can be created in any form.  No need in seeing a person has converted a trillion Charlie Sheen fans or has a ream of reports to provide you showing their previous performance.  That will only impress upon you that they have the latest version of Radian6 .  The proof is in the company or person’s fitting the social space the business needs to reside.
3. Portfolio  It is always good to check to see what the social mediaist has done or is doing in the social space.  If you look at the work they do and the content looks contrived it more than likely due to them ‘cooking the books’ of how they usually socialize online.  If a social mediaist provides you the same information as is posted LIVE online that generally is a sign they are proud of what they have done and are doing.  Even if the content or tone of the socializing is not an exact match to your business’ mission it shows what they are capable of doing in the social space.
4. Big Box vs Small Space Businesses…. It is no debate Facebook is huge! But if all a social mediaist talks about is Facebook they are probably just getting into the mix or an old school big box PR firms trying to make the change to using social media. Beware of the wolves in sheep clothing.  Your business will end up looking very foolish online with the old school methods these social media companies use.  A true social mediaist will talk more on why Facebook maybe better than others and back it up with practical experiences or first hand studies they have made. A good social mediaist will mention the importance of having a social media plan (which is the first thing they should discuss) consisting of popular social media sites, blogs, forums, review sites, social bookmarking and outbound content strategy. The bottomline: Make sure your interviewee knows more than the basics – Facebook & Twitter.

The economy has changed the way business people think.  Those who are successful today look for more realities and sound ways of doing business.  Success comes from finding what fits and what works instead of what someone who seems to be popular online feels they should be doing.  Social Media is NEW to everyone and will continue to be new since it changes nearly everyday.  This is why it is important for businesses to have someone dedicated to managing their social space. More importantly, having that person on hand enables the business to continue to be successful.

Let me know how I can help.