When it comes to handling their social profiles, many companies think it’s enough to leave them to a millennial. While they came of age on the internet, managing a corporate account is different from that of a personal account.

Social media assistants need a wide range of skills to be successful at their jobs. From overseeing ad campaigns to providing customer service, it’s not something to pass off to an intern or treat as a side task.

Using platforms with such a big reach means making a mistake results in horrible consequences too. That’s why you need to hire someone who will make your socials shine, and here’s how.

Admit when you need help

Many startups want to avoid paying for a social media specialist and distribute the duties among the team instead. This often backfires as they don’t realize how much work goes into social media management. An employee with a full workload won’t provide the same quality as a full-time expert.

All of the potential tasks justify hiring someone, even if you’re a micro-company running out of your own home. You might be doing well on the Big Three (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter) but you never know when you need to expand into smaller platforms which is a lot of work.

Define what you’re expecting

To attract qualified candidates, spell out your expectations. You don’t want to leave your social accounts to someone without a clear vision in mind. Pick a social media marketing manager who knows where you want to go with your profiles then take you there.

Maybe you want to take a direct marketing approach and track your ROI for each network. It may also be you just want to build your branding on specific platforms. Weigh the pros and cons for the direction you’re planning to take so you’re prepared for any risks.

Set goals for new hires

It helps to have 3 levels of success for your marketing goals, and these are:

• Minimum – enough to keep things going e.g. 100 new Facebook shares each month
• Middle – good enough where you might consider expanding the project
• High – great enough to justify going on other platforms, adding more ad campaigns, and so on

Social media marketing is hard to predict sometimes. You might fail on an initial goal but realise that you’re doing well on one part of the work. For instance, you may learn that Twitter isn’t effective for generating leads but Instagram is.

Prepare for the costs

Social media assistants aren’t something you want to be cheap about. Glassdoor reports that the average base pay for a social media specialist in the US is at 46,524USD per year or 3,877USD per month. In the UK, they’re paid 25,875GBP a year or 2,156GBP a month.

Hiring from the Philippines is more budget-friendly though. According to Salary Explorer, they get around 865USD per month. An entry-level position is around 396USD every month, a fraction of the cost of someone in the western part of the world.

Decide on the arrangements

Depending on your business, your needs, and your goals, you might have to choose between a freelancer, an agency, or an in-house social media specialist. It’s best to have someone in-house so they’re aware of the happenings within the company in real time.

When you’re looking for a fresh perspective for your social branding, however, outsourcing to an experienced professional is ideal. They don’t know your brand as intimately as an in-house employee, but they are updated on industry trends which is helpful when you’re starting out.

Look for these qualities

Social media management is a demanding job that requires a lot of skills. There are certain qualities you must look for in a candidate to determine if they’ll be a good fit for your needs:

Writing: They must be capable of writing captions, posts, and sometimes blogs. Plus, you want someone who will effectively communicate your brand to your target audience.

Experience: They have to be familiar with each platform that you’re using for your business. Also, they must know about the proper tools for tracking as well as the culture of each channel.

Design: They don’t have to be a full-fledged graphic designer but they need to have an eye for what is visually appealing. At the very least, they must have experience creating simple graphics.

Paid traffic: They need to understand how to run paid advertising campaigns and boosted posts as organic reach is limited on social media. You need someone who knows how to track ROI too.

Customer service: They must know how to engage with customers effectively. Check how they handle both positive and negative interactions on different social channels.

Organisation: They have to juggle numerous tasks at once, so you must pick someone capable of sticking to schedules and meeting deadlines. Find a candidate who balances all of their duties well.

Track record: They need to be handling their personal accounts properly. Have a look at their socials to determine if they know what they’re doing and have proof for it.

There are other things that are nice to have but are optional. These include certifications for digital marketing, Google Analytics, or content marketing. The 7 qualities above are the must-haves in your ideal candidate.

Screen applicants thoroughly

As more and more people respond to your job listing, you need to know if there’s truth in their claims of knowing social media. They have to provide links that demonstrate their knowledge and experience, to begin with. Refer to social scoring numbers in their assessments too.

Don’t discriminate your applicants, even if you don’t hire them in the end. Make sure to give them a good candidate experience to improve your reputation as an employer and to attract candidates who are actually qualified.

Know where to find a social media specialist

Now that you have a good idea where your social media is headed, it’s time to search the internet for a social media marketing manager. It may feel like looking for a needle in a haystack but there is one way to simplify your recruitment—getting our help.

We at Remote Workmate specialise in connecting startups like yours with offshore professionals in the Philippines. We handle the recruitment and screening then endorse the best candidates to you. All you have to do is perform the final interview and choose the one you like most.