A social media manager is likely one of the most crucial individuals you’ll hire for your dealership marketing team. Over the past decade, their role has expanded from making mere postings and interacting with customers to running campaigns and managing ads. It’s a role that will continuously evolve.
What should you be looking for as you select the person that will likely be the most influential in getting the word out about your dealership?
Here is our guide for hiring a social media manager:
Define What Your Needs Are
You’ll want them to understand customer service, technological savvy, and general social media management practices. However, you’ll also want to zero in on your specific needs. For example, do you want to increase your focus on paid ads? If so, you’ll want to prioritize this in the job description and the interviews.
If you need help expanding your presence and increasing customer engagement, you’ll want to look out for this experience in resumes and referrals. Ensure the candidate has broad social media management experience, but mention your specific needs and bring attention to them during the hiring and interview process.
Post a Detailed Job Description with Clear Instructions
Your job description is going to be the first filter for talent. You want to ensure it’s as precise and straightforward as possible. While you’ll want to focus on specific qualifications and listing duties, there are a few other aspects you’ll want to consider:
- Prioritize qualifications needed by what your more important needs are.
- Provide detailed instructions on how to apply (ex., by sending a resume to an email or filling out an application on a portal).
- Outline how the hiring process will go. For example, will there be an initial phone interview and then a panel interview at some point?
- Give some insight into the work environment. Is this a remote or hybrid role? Are candidates expected to work between a certain time block, or is timing flexible? The clearer your expectations are, the easier it will be to find the right fit in this area.
Be as specific as you can be. Doing so will make finding someone who can meet your hiring needs easier.
Check Out Their Past Work and Be Open to Someone Who May Not Have Industry Experience
Ideally, finding someone with experience in the automotive industry would be excellent. However, don’t feel as if this is your only option. An individual might not have much experience with dealership marketing but might have general social media managing experience and is willing to expand on automotive industry-specific knowledge through training.
So, look for key competencies like customer engagement, campaign management, content creation, and project management, and if they have experience on the social media platforms you’re on or looking to expand into.
Look at their portfolios and what they’ve done for other companies. This information can give you an idea of their specific experience and how they can be an asset.
Ask Situational Questions During the Interview Process
One of the best ways to see how they’ll fit in with your dealership team is to gauge how they’ll handle various situations. For example, you can ask questions like:
- Can you describe a time when you streamlined the content creation process?
- How would you roll -out an ad campaign highlighting a new car model on our lot?
- How do you incorporate user-generated content?
- What method do you have for identifying influencers to work with?
- How do you measure social media success? What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) tell if something is working or isn’t working?
Questions like these give you a sense of how a social media manager can fit into your dealership marketing team.
Final Thoughts
A social media manager can provide the boost you need to motivate individuals who see you online to set foot in your dealership and become customers. For this reason, it’s crucial to define your needs, set clear expectations of what you’re looking for, and get an accurate gauge of candidate experience during the interview. This person can be an excellent asset, so it pays to take the time to find the right fit.
