20 Social Media Interview Questions for Social Media Managers

With so many business accounts active on social media platforms, it’s no surprise that owners are considering various strategies to attract more attention. But managing different social media channels and adapting them to each audience’s specific taste is incredibly time-consuming. 

This is where social media managers come in. To help you determine what business owners are looking for, we’ve collected 20 social media interview questions to help you ace your next job interview.

Top 20 Social Media Interview Questions

1. What Is Social Media Marketing (SSM)?

This question might sound a bit unnecessary, but for many business owners, it’s important to hear what a potential digital marketer says about SSM. While they should list social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat), it would also be wise to incorporate a few main goals of social media: 

• building an audience
• building brand awareness
• selling more products online
• gaining more likes and followers.

2. Why Does a Business Need Social Media Marketing?

From brand awareness to increasing sales, businesses can benefit from social media in numerous ways. This social media interview question reveals whether you understand how social media helps customers communicate with the business.

3. What Social Media Channels Have You Managed in the Past?

Anyone can create a social media profile and post content and links, but only good SSMs can build and engage an audience. Asking about past community management is one of the most vital social media marketing questions, not only because it reveals experience but also whether you can adapt your strategies to the business' specific needs.

Note: If you’re eager to learn and have creative ideas, some business owners may prefer training a newbie for their business needs. Don’t overpromise your experience!

4. Which Social Media Platforms Do You Recommend for My Business? 

This is another interview question for social media specialists as it shows whether you’ve researched the brand before coming to the interview. Any experienced SSM knows that businesses don’t need to be present on every platform if there isn’t a strong purpose.

For example, if video creation makes the most sense for your product, TikTok and Instagram may be good places to start. If blogging is your main focus, LinkedIn might be a better choice. 

5. What Goals Should I Set for Social Media Accounts?

Experienced professionals will understand that each business requires different goals across social channels. They also recognize that these goals must shift over time, depending on the results and reception.

6. How Can I Generate More Leads Using Social Media?

This will reveal how much you know about social lead-gen strategies, like. For example, a good social media manager will name a few strategies, such as lead magnets, sharing testimonials, or paid advertising and retargeting ads. You can even mention the importance of authenticity and provide a few examples of authentic brands (in similar sectors) that generate plenty of leads. 

7. Does Social Media Improve SEO?

A social media job interview question that comes up consistently relates to social and its relation to SEO. Any qualified digital marketing professional knows that link sharing across social media channels impacts SEO and improves your brand's visibility. An experienced social media manager will also know how to use keywords on social media to increase your organic ranking. 

8. What Sort of Social Media Marketing Metrics Do You Track?

Posting on social media without tracking results is almost as useless as not having any social media presence. A strategy requires listening to your audience and making adjustments accordingly. You’ll need to track metrics such as comments, audience growth rate, video views, and click-through rates (CTRs).

9. Do You Use Social Media Tools?

In a nutshell: The more tools you know, the better. 

Successful SSMs use a breadth of tools to help them achieve more. For example, you could be using tools like:

• Buffer to schedule posts 
• BuzzSumo to research hot topics on social media
• Ahrefs to monitor your competitors and get content ideas based on trending keywords
• Canva to create appealing posts for social media. 

Related: This Google Forms and Sheets Masterclass will help you manage your data like a pro. 

10. How Do You Deal With Negative Comments on Social Media?

First of all, interacting with your community on social media is extremely important. It’s vital to reply to client questions and make them feel seen and valued. The same goes for dealing with negative comments – maybe more so. 

An interviewer might ask you how you’d solve a potential social media crisis. If your only solution is to delete the comments, you likely won’t be the best candidate: deleting comments only frustrates clients more By acknowledging your mistakes, you show maturity and readiness to face your mistakes and improve your services. 

It's also crucial to differentiate offensive content (e.g., racial slurs, sexist comments from users on the internet) and comments that share negative experiences with your brand. 

11. What Was Your Biggest Social Media Mistake?

Everyone makes mistakes, and they’re an important part of every profession – including social media management. Your interviewer will want to know how you dealt with specific errors and anything that you learned. The interviewer should know that you’re the kind of person who avoids repeating mistakes. 

12. What Was Your Most Successful Social Media Campaign? 

Sharing details about your biggest successes is a huge part of any job interview. Firstly, it helps the interviewer understand your past experience and any projects you were responsible for. Secondly, this social media specialist interview question reveals your success in terms of metrics. 

Avoid bragging about the number of likes a post has. When discussing campaigns, mention social media ad spend, sales you generated, lead conversions, percentage of people who signed up, or the number of leads.

13. What Is Our Competitor Doing Better on Social Media? 

Have you prepared for the interview? Creating a quality social media strategy isn’t possible without analyzing the competition and improving your own strategy. This social media interview question reveals whether you went the extra mile by doing brand research.

14. What Would You Change About Our Social Media Channels? 

You don't need to conduct an in-depth analysis of your interviewer’s web presence, but SSMs should have a few suggestions on how they’d improve their web presence and what the company is doing well. Experienced social media managers will provide some “low-hanging fruit” ideas but shouldn’t go too far with their suggestions. 

15. Do You Have Social Media? What’s Your Favorite Channel?

In many cases, SSMs have personal accounts that showcase their preferred type of content. If you have a strong social presence, the interviewer may have a clearer idea of the practices you could bring to their business. Maybe you’re a more private person. If you only have private accounts, the interviewer should respect that. 

Whatever the case: You should be able to discuss your favorite social channels, including the elements that you like the most. 

16. How Do You Create a Social Media Calendar?

This practical interview question reveals your social media strategy process. Be sure to mention some best practices for several different platforms. For example, what you’ve learned about the best time to post on Instagram, how many LinkedIn posts should be published weekly, and the best day to post on TikTok. 

17. How Do You Keep Track of the Latest Social Media Updates?

The world of social media is always shifting, and marketers need to stay on top of these changes. This is an ideal time to mention the blogs, websites, newsletters, and influencers you follow to keep track of the latest updates and innovations. You can mention people like Neil Patel, Seth Godin, Amy Porterfield, or other respected industry individuals. 

18. What Do You Think About Pinterest?

SSMs need to know everything about social platforms, even if you personally don’t use them. For example, if they ask you about Pinterest, you should know that it’s still an extremely popular platform with millions of users looking for decoration, cooking, travel, and fashion inspiration. Based on your research of the interviewing company, you should be able to give them advice on whether it could be valuable to them. 

19. How Would You Get More Retweets? 

An interviewer might ask you for practical advice on getting more retweets on Twitter. This is where you need to share your Twitter knowledge, including the best time to post, hashtag usage, which images or videos to use, and other popular Twitter trends (like tagging influencers and popular brands for greater visibility). 

20. Why Is YouTube Still Relevant for Marketing?

After Google, YouTube is the second most popular search engine. With billions of daily views, the platform presents massive potential for brands. Think of the types of video content your interviewer’s business can create, the keywords they could use, and keywords/hashtags that can be added to descriptions and timestamps.

How Do You Prepare for a Social Media Interview?

Over the last few years, it’s become increasingly important for businesses to hire social media managers. This isn’t surprising: As social media users grow, so do online business opportunities. But because so many people want to become digital marketers, this field is incredibly competitive. 

To nail a social media interview, here are some tips for setting yourself apart from the competition:

Do Your Homework

Many people come to interviews without even checking the company's website. This is a big mistake. Interviewers love to see candidates who have taken some time to research the company's current social media accounts. 

Learn everything about the company, its competitors, and what they’re doing well on social media. Be sure to provide a few suggestions on what can be improved. Explain why you think these changes would benefit from your experience and what you've done to make similar changes work for other clients. 

Showcase Your Experience

Interviewers also love to hear how candidates have previously dealt with big projects and difficult situations. For example, if you used to manage big budgets for your clients in the past, make sure you mention all the important details: 

• How much money you invested in the campaign
• How you organized the budget
• Goals you set for the campaign
• Which social media reporting software you used to track results
• The most impressive social media engagement data
• Biggest engagement rates
• Most video views
• Largest clicks, shares, etc. 

Feel like you're lacking experience with campaigns? Don't worry: You can always learn a lot from social media marketing strategy courses, then apply that knowledge to your next big project.

Show Your Creative Side

Although strategy and gathering data are important for social media management, creativity and authenticity can separate leaders and followers in the marketing world. 

Besides asking you social media questions, the interviewer might also ask you to write some social copy. This is your chance to shine and show just how creative you are. Digital marketing is all about analyzing your target audience – just don't forget the importance of telling them an interesting story! 

What to Expect From a Social Media Job Interview

A social media job interview is no different from any other job interview. There’s usually an interviewer who provides details about the position you are applying for, including your responsibilities. They’ll also ask a series of industry-related questions. 

Every interview is designed to showcase your skills, motivation, achievements, experience, and whether you’re a good fit for the company culture.

For example, if the company values investing in education, mention your favorite digital marketing courses and what you learned from them. If they’re focused on teamwork, emphasize your past group projects and how you helped coordinate them. 

During the social media job interview, the interviewer might also ask you about the following:

• Your preferred salary range
• Possible employment gaps
• Why you left your last job (or are considering leaving your current one)
• Where you see yourself in five years
• Your reasons for wanting to work for the company
• Your biggest strengths and weaknesses
• Why the company should hire you

In some cases (unless the position is fully remote), the interviewer might give you a tour of the workspace and even introduce you to some of the team members. 

How Do I Ace a Social Media Marketing Interview?

Besides preparing to answer the social media job interview questions listed above, go the extra mile with the following: 

Show That You’re Passionate about Social Media

You don't have to have public profiles or thousands of followers to show that you’re great at social marketing. Finding a passionate, successful SSM isn’t so easy to find.

• Share your biggest wins 
• Include recommendations 
• List your favorite influencers and experts
• Consider newsletters, blogs, and other relevant sources that add value to your social media experience. 

Ask Questions

A job interview is a two-way street. While you’re being asked questions, you also need to determine whether the company is a good fit for you. 

• How big is the marketing team? 
• Why is there a vacancy for social media manager? 
• What is the company's vision for the future? 

Follow Up

It’s always a good idea to send a follow-up email to the interviewer. Thanking them for their time is a simple gesture that shows your appreciation and enthusiasm for the job. 

The Bottom Line

These social media interview questions and additional tips will help you ace any interview and help you move toward the next step in your career.

This Complete Digital Marketing Guide shows you how digital and social media marketing fit together! From YouTube to Google Ads to SEO, this tutorial collects 23 courses in one place! 

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