I’m very happy to report that the last couple of weeks I am being asked about hiring a marketing/social media manager.

Why am I happy?

Well, people must be comfortable with the economy and our industry is finally realizing the importance of social media.

All of the conversations went the same way, so you guessed it – time for a blog post.

The most important thing to consider when hiring someone is:

Do they understand the “voice” of your company?

You wouldn’t let your designer go out without an extensive training program. How can you consider letting someone create your online persona without knowing anything about you, your company or your industry?

If they are not willing to learn who you are - than you may want to reconsider.

What can you expect and what is possible?

Yes of course we all want increased sales. No matter how good your social media marketing is I can almost guarantee you will not see an increase in sales the first day, week and probably not the first month.

This is a long-term commitment and you should be measuring shares, re-tweets, pins and overall community engagement.

Run from anyone that promises to add 10,000 followers over night.

They don’t understand the first thing about social media and chances are most of the followers aren’t real people.

You should be looking for quality not quantity.

This last tip may seem like common sense, forgive me if you have the urge to say Duh…

What is their online presence like?

How do they interact with their community?

Follow them for a week or two – and go beyond the numbers.

Do they have any fans? Yes – great!

Are they interacting with them?

I help closet companies succeed. If I can be of any assistance please feel free to contact me at [email protected]