Red Flags To Look For When Hiring A Social Media Manager

Red flag or white flag? Potato, Potatoe 😉

Since the pandemic began, people started looking for ways to earn an income on the side, or after being laid off, and a top choice has been social media manager. I am here to tell you, that it is a great career to get into or to earn a little income on the side if you know what you’re doing. The pandemic taught me that there are a lot of people that don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re usually the ones talking the loudest about the most obvious things.

Don’t get me wrong – if you’re interested in social media, and you have a background in marketing, it can be a relatively easy jump. However, social media isn’t easy and it involves a lot more than posting. Posting is probably the easiest part, whereas all the work behind the scenes to get that post ready is what seems to be forgotten about.

Social media management is hard work. I don’t know how we’re still in a place where people think that social media is an easy job for one person to do. Social media involves a lot of different strengths, and knowing what we’re good at, and what we’re not, helps us to refine how we can help businesses achieve success on social media. Proclaiming you’re good at something, when you’re not, can land you in hot water pretty darn quickly.

If you’re on the lookout for someone to help you with your social media, this is the article for you. 7 red flags for you to look out for as you embark on hiring a freelancer or an agency to help you with your social media.

A quick note

Social media isn’t rocket science, obviously, but it is a key part of your business strategy. You’ve worked hard to get to where you are, so protect your investment. Use these red flags as a guide, and trust your intuition. If your gut feels off about something, trust it. And just because someone is new to working in social media, doesn’t mean they’re not good. I know plenty of people who are still new to the industry and they’re off and running. Experience doesn’t always mean better.

Red Flag #1: They guarantee you __ followers in a specific time frame

You can’t guarantee anything on social media.

Red Flag #2: They are focusing on getting you to go viral.

Y’all. I can spend time planning out a reel for my own social media, and then I randomly throw one together if there’s a fun trend or something, and the thrown-together one will all of a sudden take off. You can’t guarantee what will go viral, but you can help your odds of “going viral”. But what is the purpose of your getting your business to go viral? What does going viral bring to you? What does that content offer your target? Does going viral even mean you’re hitting the correct target audience?

Red Flag #3: They mention the use of bots and automation

Bots are never the answer. EVER. EVER. Bots can get your account banned on social platforms. If someone says this to you, run for your life.

Lack of personalized engagement on social media will deter your followers, or possible followers, from following you and engaging with you. Community management takes time, and engaging with your followers and potential followers is super important. Just like focusing on the quality of posts instead of the number of posts, engaging authentically with your community will help you build a strong community online, which can help you attract more followers.

Red Flag #4: They will set you up on every platform

RUN. You don’t need to be everywhere. You know your target audience, and even if you’re unsure about where you should be online, the person or agency you’re going to work with will confirm where your business should be.

Red Flag #5: They’ll have you posting every day

Posting every day is not a necessity for the majority of businesses. Posting every day requires having enough content that isn’t duplicating itself and tends to be of lesser quality and value to your audience. Post less but higher quality content, on a consistent schedule.

Red Flag #6: They don’t use quality tools to schedule, engage, and analyze

Tools are the most important piece of the puzzle. You can’t be successful in social media without some tools. You need to plan out your content, you need a content approval plan in place, and you need to be able to schedule and analyze your social media posts. For myself, I use AirTable to sketch out and get content drafted for approval, and then I use Later social scheduler to batch schedule my content, and analyze the data monthly and quarterly.

Without those tools, it’s confusing to plan out campaigns, posts, and track analytics.

Red Flag #7: They promise you everything under the sun, and then some

If you’re chatting on a discovery call with someone, and they’re saying yes to everything, and promising you everything, proceed with caution. There are limitations and workload capacities and when someone is saying they can do it all, how well are they able to do it all? This one is a H U G E red flag, so be on the lookout for this.

Red Flags + Intuition

These red flags should be used as a guide, but you should also use your intuition. If you feel like someone is saying all the right things, but something feels off, you should take that into consideration. And if someone is pressuring you to sign on, don’t feel obligated. They are discovery calls for a reason. They allow you, and the social media manager, to assess each other, the company, their skillset, and the goals of your business.

If you’re looking for a general rule of thumb, I would suggest no less than a 3-month contract, but preferably a 6-month plus contract. It can take a while to get your strategy sorted out, scheduled, and analyzed. It takes time to see results (see red flag number 1), and adjust your business marketing strategy as needed.

Have you had a bad experience with an agency, freelancer, or full-time employee before? What other red flags would you add to this list?