What to Look for When You Hire a Social Media Manager
The questions to ask, the red flags to catch, and the instincts to look for before you hire your next social media manager.
Signs Your Strategy Is Failing
Have you ever been in an interview to be hired as a Social Media Manager and the company tells you they’re failing? The first time I heard someone tell me this I was shocked. I didn’t think a large company would admit to their social media strategy failing so hard… it wasn’t just a slight fail… their social media was dying.
I joined a company with a team that was non-existent and numbers that were plummeting. For a company this large I was surprised they didn’t have a Social Media Manager. All the platforms were being run by three different people in different departments. They were all great at their jobs, but none of them knew how to be a Social Media Manager.
This is a lot more common than you might think. From the outside looking in, it seems like a fairly easy task. We all have social media, how hard could it actually be? Anytime I’m interviewing for a prospective client, my go to interview question is: “who’s currently running your social media?” The answer I hear way too often is that it’s being done by someone that’s wearing too many hats to handle it so they finally decided to hire.
It's Not In-House vs. Agency, It's Speed and Proximity
So where do you go from here? Do you hire a Social Media Manager that’s in house or do you find an agency?
While I was working for Russell Brunson, our community was full of entrepreneurs. Someone in our community was doing so well growing their social media agency that they reached out wanting to give us some advice and feedback. I think it’s always great to get an outsider's perspective, so it was an easy yes to meet with them… and soon after that we agreed to work with them!
This was my first time working with an agency and after the first couple months I began realizing the biggest differences between them and me had nothing to do with their work… it was their proximity to Russell and the business. They weren’t attached to Russell’s hip like I was. One thing that never changes about entrepreneurs and their businesses: they change constantly. And you have to be able to do the same. I had to move quickly, change direction, and adjust our content almost immediately based on what was happening.
This was a struggle because we would only have a high level check in with the agency mayyybe once a week. But there was way too much happening between those conversations for them to have the same context I did. They would ask why we went in a different direction, why things didn’t get posted, why are we talking about new topics. Sometimes I’d have to do a complete 180, and I’m sure they would open up Instagram and feel like their work wasn’t being appreciated or that we were always changing our minds about what we wanted. From my perspective it was all about working in a very (VERY!) fast paced environment.
Going through that made me realize one key thing: the biggest factor isn’t necessarily in house, or an agency, or even a freelancer… it’s speed and proximity to the business. If a company moves quickly and you need a team that moves quickly, then hiring a Social Media Manager that’s deeply embedded in your company can have huge advantages! But if your business is more defined with processes, you have clear communication, and a longer planning cycle, then an agency or freelancer might be a different direction for you.
What Actually Makes a Great Social Media Manager
You know that hiring a social media manager is a step in the right direction. Here’s my core belief in what makes a great Social Media Manager:They’re adaptable.
Social media platforms and algorithms change constantly, daily, if not by the hour. This means your content calendar that you planned for the week, or even the month, is only good until it isn’t. It’s great to plan ahead, have content readily available to share with your audience, but what if the tides change? What do you do then?
Algorithms are always pushing new people to your content, so I always like to hold onto the book title “What Got You Here Won't Get You There”. This new audience might be pushing you in a new direction, and that’s okay! Listen, adapt and go with them. They will quite literally grab your hand (leave you a comment) and drag you down the road (tell you what content to create). All you have to do: listen and act. A bad Social Media Manager will ignore their audience and post whatever they want. A successful Social Media Manager will listen to their audience and grow with them.
After you’ve picked your unicorn Social Media Manager, there’s a reality check you need to have upfront that you may not be thinking about.
There are 15 major social platforms… yes, you read that right, 15. But a standard business usually runs around 8 platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads). A lot of time and energy goes into learning 8 different audiences, curating content specifically for them, posting, listening, and engaging with all of those communities. Remember when you didn’t have a Social Media Manager and you were struggling with just running the company’s Instagram account? Imagine doing that for 7 other platforms. It’s quite a lot… so this team will need to grow or else your Social Media Manager will burn out fairly quickly.
The fix? Companies need to understand this role needs to scale into a team, not a single person being hired, as the brand grows. Keep this in mind when you’re hiring a Social Media Manager because you’ll want them to be excited for this growth!
How do you know they’ll be the right person to join your team? Make sure you’re asking them some solid questions!
Good interview questions to ask
How do you stay on top of social media trends?
Which metrics measure success and what's a vanity metric?
Tell me about a relationship you've developed through social media
Bad interview questions to ask (and why)
"How often will we go viral?" — prioritizes reach over relationship building, going viral doesn't equal a loyal community
"What's your favorite platform?" — personal preference has nothing to do with their strategy, their favorite app isn't necessarily where your target audience lives
"How many followers did you grow your last account by?" — follower count is a vanity metric, new algorithms mean follower count no longer equals reach
Red Flags
Have you ever heard of “The Red Flag Guy” on social media? If you haven’t, he’s famous for running through public parks with giant flags and posting relationship commentary ("red flags" and "green flags"). Let me take a second and be your personal “red flag guy” while you’re trying to hire your next Social Media Manager.
Red Flag #1: No strategy or focus – they’re a jack of all trades instead of someone who’s a specialist who understands content, planning, data, or how to grow on a specific platform
Red Flag #2: Focus on vanity metrics – Followers? Likes? Pretty posts? If they’re focused on this over real KPIs like leads, engagement quality, and conversions then they’re not the right fit for you
Red Flag #3: Vague reporting – they hide performance numbers, or send a basic screenshot once a month with no explanation of what the numbers actually mean or what will change next week/month
Red Flag #4: Ignoring comments & community – if they’re treating social media as a one way broadcast instead of a place to build a loyal community and solve your customer’s problems… it’s time to show more love
Time to Make the Hire
If your social media is failing, it's time to hire someone who actually knows how to fix it. Check out my portfolio and let's talk about your channels.
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