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Hiring a social media manager? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best social media managers. Read on!

In today’s digital world, social media managers are playing a crucial role in brand promotions and campaigns via various social media platforms. Be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram social media manager is being hired by companies for increasing their reach to the target audience.

The demand for a freelance social media manager is constantly increasing due to the ease of operations via a remote mode of employment. The next obvious question is, “How to hire a social media manager?”

In this article, we will extensively discuss the pre-requisites and considerations for hiring a social media manager. It is vital to be aware of the skills and qualities that need to be judged while you decide to hire social media manager for your organization.

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Market for Social Media Manager

Research performed by MarketsandMarkets, a B2B research company, predicts a CAGR of 14.1% in the social media management market worldwide. The number of employment opportunities for social networking managers is expected to rise from USD 9.2 Billion to USD 12.7 Billion between the years 2018 and 2023.

The average freelance social media manager rates vary between USD 125K to USD 140K per annum. As per historical data, between social media freelance rates 2015 and social media freelance rates 2018, there has been a rise of about 10 to 12 %.

The main reason has been attributed to the adoption of social media manager services for market intelligence and customer experience. The highest market share for social network manager jobs is covered by North America. US and Canada are the key players hiring social media manager for pursuing initiatives through partnerships and collaborations.

The industrial sectors which have proven to be the highest to hire social media manager to support their social media management strategies and plans are Telecom and IT, BFSI, Retail, Manufacturing, Travel, and Hospitality.

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Things to note while hiring social media manager

While hiring a social media manager, it is vital to note certain important things to avoid recruiting a person not suitable for your company. The 10 key things for hiring social media manager are,

1. Hire a social manager whose way or style of writing matches with your brand or product, enabling faster establishment of brand value and awareness
2. Check for both full time or part-time social media manager. Even less experienced social networking manager must not be left out from the interview list
3. Ensure the social media manager for hire, is able to match the potential customer needs with the devised strategy and plans
4. Awareness on social media traffic algorithms is a vital point to be verified while looking for social media manager
5. Seek to validate a work sample executed by the social manager for hire
6. Verify the time management skills of the online social media manager being selected for the company
7. Visit the social media handles of the candidates for a check on the competency and knowledge level
8. Ensure the social marketing manager for hire is able to demonstrate right amount of professionalism and maturity to represent the company’s brand image
9. The social media manager freelance candidate must possess strong analytical and creativity skills for designing the promotional campaigns
10. Familiarity with different tools and software for seamless communication is an important aspect to check while looking for a social media manager

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Qualifications of best social media manager

As a recruiting manager, you must be aware of the educational qualifications to check for when you hire someone to manage social media of your company.

1. A Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Public relations or Business is preferable.
2. Master’s Degree in marketing is an additional boon to be a social media manager higher up on the rank
3. An internship is also a preferable choice

The best colleges and universities in US offering courses related to freelance social media management and teaching how to be a social media manager for small business or related firms are enlisted below,

1. Northwestern University located at Evanston in Illinois. The tuition fees are almost USD 27K per year
2. University of Southern California at Los Angeles, CA. The students need to pay an amount of USD 36K per annum
3. University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The annual fees of the university is USD 26K approximately per year
4. Stanford University in California. The yearly tuition fees are almost USD 17K.
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The tuition fees are USD 11K per annum
6. Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem at North Carolina. The annual fees are almost USD 27K.
7. Cornell University at Ithaca in New York. The net annual fees are USD 29K
8. University of Georgia at Athens. Students are expected to pay a fees of USD 16K approximately per annum
9. The University of Florida in Gainesville. The fee structure is less about USD 11K per year.
10. Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. The tuition fees are almost USD 22K in a year

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Skills and qualities to look for in social media manager

Whether you are hiring social media manager for small business, medium-sized, or large business organizations, verification of the right skills and qualities is essential. Let us discuss the key skills and qualities to check while hiring top social media managers,

1. Well versed in the social media algorithms being followed across the prominent platforms for increasing traffic and reach
2. Verify the prior experience of the candidate in uplifting the brand image of a company through promotions and marketing strategies
3. Excellent verbal and written communication skills in imparting the appropriate messages to the potential customers
4. Balancing emotions and patience are the critical qualities to verify when you hire social media marketing expert for your company
5. The messages imparted must be clear, precise, and professional in nature with proper grammatical usage
6. Capable to identify the sales leads and tune the marketing or promotion strategy for converting the leads into confirmed revenue
7. Possessing an industrial domain knowledge is an additional boon
8. Must be fluent and swift to answer clarifications of potential customers

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Certifications to look for in social media manager

While looking for a social media campaign manager or social media handler, you must check additional certifications acquired by the candidates over and above the mandated educational qualifications. The key certifications to check in the resume of a social media manager pro are,

1. Hootsuite Academy offers a course on social marketing in 6 parts. The course fee is USD 199
2. LinkedIn Learning offers 60 social media marketing freelance learning courses with over 1600 tutorials. The charges are USD 25 per month
3. Udacity offers a 3-month program on digital marketing, costing USD 999 along with certifications
4. Twitter Flight School offers marketing leadership training materials free of cost for users to gain mastery of social media management freelance activities
5. Boot Camp Digital offers certification for socialmedia manager professionals, with 70 hours long video at a price of USD 997
6. Social media manager online certification from CMI or Content Marketing Institute, costing USD 595 to USD 995 per learner
7. Google Analytics IQ Certification provided by the Google Academy free of cost
8. Facebook offers BluePrint certification for USD 150, focusing on jobs related to social media manager business

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Social media manager rate per hour

“How to charge for social media management” and How much to pay a social media manager?” A dilemma of many recruiting companies and hiring managers.

In the US, the social media marketing hourly rate on an average is USD 16.77 as reported last on 10^th January, 2021. The highest paid average cost for social media management rises to almost USD 25 in an hour. San Francisco, New York, Boston, Costa Mesa, Seattle, Los Angeles, Austin and Houston in the US are reported to offer high social media management rates.

You must also check out, “How much do social media managers charge in countries other than the US for a remote mode of operations?” In the UK, the average freelance social media rates are USD 16.36 in an hour. In India and other Asian countries, the average cost of social media management varies between USD 3 to USD 10 per hour.

The social media manager freelance rates vary based on educational qualifications, certifications, skill set, and years of experience. Besides you can either determine the social media manager pricing in the form of full-time salary or fix hourly social media marketing freelance rates as a contract.

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Places to find best social media manager

By now, you have understood the average hourly rate of social media manager. The next set of common questions among recruiting companies are “How to find a social media manager?” and “Where to find a social media manager?” Here is a list below of job boards and media platforms to find a social media manager.

1. Upwork – One of the largest job boards to post jobs related to social media manager contract, full time or part-time mode of employment.

2. unremot.com – Enables you to gain access into a global workforce to hire social media marketer within minutes of search, collaborating through video calls, messaging and chats.

3. Indeed – The popular job website containing profiles of a huge pool of social media worker and managers.

4. AngelList – Recommended job board specifically to hire social media professionals. They support a huge talent pool for recruiting companies to sort and search the best profile.

5. Fiverr – If you need the best social media manager services, Fiverr is the right place for you to hire them.

6. ProBlogger – Another popular job board for businesses looking for social media managers, well suited for their brand and goals.

7. Craigslist – Great place to hire social media manger for various positions in your company

8. Facebook – If you are looking for the best social media platform to hire a social media manager, Facebook is the perfect place for you.

9. LinkedIn – One of the biggest professional networking websites connecting companies and interested candidates, ideal for recruiting social media managers.

10. Glassdoor – A prominent job website to look for freelance or personal social media manager profiles against your preferred roles and job description

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Top 10 companies hiring social media managers and salaries

Several companies in US hire social media managers, providing respectable roles and lucrative social media marketing hourly rates. The top 10 companies listed below,

1. Appen, specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The social media rates hourly vary between USD 6 and USD 16.
2. NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company. The social media hourly rate offered is almost USD 16
3. T-Mobile, a telecommunications company. The hourly social media rates vary between USD 14 to USD 20.
4. Amazon, leading e-commerce firm. The hourly social media management fee ranges between USD 11 and USD 16.
5. Lyft, leading transportation company. The hourly social media management costs are between USD 16 and USD 17.
6. GoDaddy, a prominent web service platform. The hourly social media management cost is almost USD 20
7. Hearst, a media and information company. The social media manager cost in an hour is nearly USD 18.
8. AT&T, leading communication service provider. The hourly cost of social media management is near to USD 15.
9. Lionbridge, a leader in translation and localization. They generally offer a social media manager company or a freelancer USD 16 to USD 20 per hour.
10. WebFX, a web design and development agency. They offer hourly rates of USD 6 to USD 10.

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Steps involved in hiring best social media managers

As recruiting companies, before you hire a social media manager you must be aware of the steps to be followed. In this section, we will discuss on the key steps to hire someone to manage social media.

1. Ask yourself “Why I need a social media manager?” Utilize the answer in framing the job expectations from the manager social media individuals and the roles to be performed by them. Accordingly determine the social media manager hourly rate, mode of employment, and job description
2. List out the Interview Questions to ask when you hire social media marketer, focusing on technical and soft skills.
3. Post the job opportunities in job boards and social media platforms. You can search the registered profiles to hire social media manager.
4. Shortlist the potential candidates after scrutinizing the experience level, educational qualifications, skills and qualities.
5. Arrange an interview session with the shortlisted candidates.
6. Finalize and float the offer letters to the selected candidates after agreement on the freelance social media manager salary or hourly rate for social media manager.

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Top 10 interview questions for social media managers

The above sections elaborately spoke about, “What to charge for social media management?” and “How much does a social media manager cost in different companies?” Now let us dwell into the interview questions for the candidates applying for the job,

1. How to be a freelance social media manager (imagine the interviewer as a novice)? OR How to become a social media promoter?

Rationale: To verify if the candidate has undergone the education needed and gathered experience for the job

Expected Answer: The education degrees, internship, learning courses and certifications, attending   forums are the probable answers

2. Which of the following is the type of advertising that the media run free of charge?

Rationale: Helps to understand the knowledge of the candidate on the basics and types of advertising methods and techniques

Expected Answer: Public service advertising must be the response from the candidate

3. What are your recommended social media channels for promotion?

Rationale: To check the awareness of the candidate on the social media platforms that are effective

Expected Answer: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter are the key answers

4. Describe your strategies to generate leads

Rationale:  A vital question to understand whether the candidate is able to identify or create leads for revenue generation

Expected Answer: Identifying potential customer through interviews, market intelligence, etc are the probable responses

5. Explain the relationship between SEO and social media

Rationale: A verification of the candidate’s SEO understanding in increasing the traffic in social media

Expected Answer: Explanation of the search engine algorithms and social media platform strategies must suffice.

6. Which of the social media management tools have you used?

Rationale: To check the awareness on the tools to be leveraged for social media management

Expected Answer: Tailwind, Hootsuite, Kicksta, Canva, Lightroom, BuzzSumo, Animoto etc are some the tools the candidate must mention.

7. Do you know about the ROI metrics measured in social media management?

Rationale: To ensure the candidate understands how to measure the performance starting from lead generation to conversions.

Expected Answer: Google Analytics, web page views, confirmed customers, etc determine in calculating the ROI.

8. How do you keep yourself updated with the latest trends in social media management?

Rationale: To check the continual learning and eagerness of the candidate to be acquainted with the latest updates

Expected Answer: Check if the candidate mentions forums, social media news articles, attending conferences, reading books, etc.

9. How do you calculate social media budget?

Rationale: To understand the candidate’s expertise in listing down the activities calculating the budget for the social media projects

Expected Answer: The candidate must be able to mention about running ads, preparing content, deploying tools, user communication, etc as the parameters for budget calculations

10. Why hire a social media manager?

Rationale: To check whether the candidate is able to mention the values and benefits of the social media manager role.

Expected Answer: To increase brand awareness, targeting potential audience and promotion of products and services.

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Top 10 tools to use while hiring social media managers

As recruiting companies while you hire social media manager for small business, medium scale or large business, it is essential to understand the tools to be leveraged for hiring. Illustrated below are top 10 tools to use while hiring a social media head or manager,

1. Job Boards – You can post your job requirements on the job boards or websites like Indeed.com, unremot.com, Upwork, FlexJobs etc. along with your offer for social media freelance rates

2. Assessment tools – Use Tools Pymetrics, HackerRank etc. to judge the candidate’s basic IQ level, personality and behavioral characteristics

3. Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots – Trending digital tools Zoom.ai, Textio, Ideal etc. to shortlist candidates, analyze the submitted information and enable virtual chat or messaging.

4. Social Media Platforms – Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit etc. are powerful social media platforms to find and hire social media manger or social media manager companies

5. Tracking system for applications – Use a tracking system or portal to track the applications received from candidates, screening out candidates and other processes.

6. Recruitment Portal or Tools – Leverage recruitment tools or portals like Yello, SmashFly, Avature etc for constant communication and collaboration with the candidate to be hired.

7. Audio and Video Conferencing Tools – Utilize audio and video conferencing tools and software like Zoom, GoogleMeet, Microsoft Teams etc. to conduct interviews when you hire a social media manager.

8. Tools to aid advertisements – Tools like Textio assist in creating the right content for job advertisements.

10. Onboarding tools – Usage of onboarding tools like Click Boarding, Applicantstack, BambooHr etc. for induction into the company’s payroll and culture.
11. Background Check Tools – GoodHire, Intelifi, Sterling etc. help in verifying the authenticity of the candidate profiles.

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Dos and donts while hiring social media managers

The Dos and Donts to hire a social media manager for your company.

The Dos,

1. Check the candidate’s knowledge on social media algorithms and various social media platforms
2. Verify the soft skills of the social media managers for hire
3. State concisely and clearly the job expectations to the candidate
4. Recruit a person with excellent verbal and written communication skills
5. Hire candidates who are backed by good references and strong credibility
6. State the vision and objective of your company to the candidate
7. Verify the prior roles and experience of the candidates
8. Conduct a thorough background check for security verification
9. Video or in person interview must be the norm for selecting candidates
10. The resume details must be validated by asking the appropriate questions

The Donts,

1. Never offer incompatible social media contractor rates to the candidates
2. Avoid compromising on quality while interviewing text writers
3. Do not recruit a candidate who fails to provide the relevant supporting documents
4. Do not hire a person who is not aware of lead generation
5. Never recruit a person without a credible prior work experience
6. Never miss out asking questions related to SEO
7. You must not wrongly state the job role and description
8. Health and insurance benefits must never be stated incorrectly
9. Salary negotiation must not be avoided as you may lose out on talents
10. Never be rude or unprofessional while interviewing candidates.

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How much does it cost to hire a social media manager?

Well to answer your question on, “How much does social management cost?” or “How much does a social manager charge?” The average rate varies from USD 6 to USD 20 per hour depending on the skill level, years of experience, educational qualifications and regions.

How do I hire a social media manager?

Finalize the roles and job description of each. Check on websites’ responses to questions related to how much to charge for social media freelance? Fix the rates as per the responses returned. List your job opportunities in websites and look for potential profiles. Schedule interviews and hire.