hiring for social media

HIRING FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Salima ValjiVice-President, Managing Director, Toronto

s.valji@sonicboom.com@salimavalji

BUILDING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

Finding great talent has always been a challenge, finding really great talent with fantastic social

media chops is even harder.

AGENDA

• What roles do I need in my organization? • Where do I find them?• Who do I hire?

WHAT ROLES DO I NEED IN MY ORGANIZATION?

THE COMPOSITION OF A SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

Source: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2011/12/22/data-composition-of-a-corporate-social-media-team/

AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF A CORPORATE SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

HOW TO APPLY THIS DATA TO YOUR ORGANIZATION

• Team headcount dependent on your company’s size and maturity of your program

• Use the ratios as a baseline• Multiple hats required in smaller teams• Your organization’s understanding of social

media will impact the investment they make• This model does not include agency support

Source: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2011/02/10/spend-wisely-finally-an-investment-roadmap-for-social-business-buyers-altimeter-report/

WHERE CAN I FIND THE TALENT?

LOOK WITHIN

• Find your ambassadors• Sometimes the least suspecting are huge

influencers• Have a writing competition to identify your

blogging team

LOOK WITHIN

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/stevenvanbelleghem/social-media-around-the-world-2011

USE SOCIAL TOOLS

• Go where the candidates are• Likely participating in multiple social networks• They are following people in your organization

BE SOCIAL

• Social media enthusiasts attend social media week, twitter chats, tweet-ups, Podcamp, Third Tuesday, Geek Girl dinners, etc.

• Best candidates are already in jobs, so be out there with them

SHOWCASE CASE STUDIES

• Trail blazers want to work on exciting new stuff

• Showcase your wins and losses in social media• Invite them to be part of the solution• Don’t be shy, but be certain your case study is

worth talking about

EMPOWER EMPLOYEES TO RECRUIT

• Chances are that your employees participate in the same social networks that potential candidates do

• Empower your employees to recruit through their networks – leverage their social equity

• Track your links with bit.ly and learn how your job postings are being socialized, that can give great insights

WHO SHOULD I HIRE?

THERE ARE NO SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS

• Your social media employees are always learning• Technology is always evolving• Follower/fan count is not an indication of

influence• Look for someone who is engaged in more than

just facebook, twitter and has a blog• Co-ops or interns are not the right choice for

engaging with your customers, would you trust them with your key PR messages?

QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR

• Passion• Service DNA• Nimble and can react quickly• Thirsty for staying up to date• Risk tolerance and ability to fail fast• Innovative self starter• Have the same value system and voice as your brand• Personable• Demonstrated marketing experience

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• How do you measure social media?– Everything needs to be measured– If they don’t have a straight answer, move on– “Social media is too new” doesn’t cut it anymore– Look for the same principles in marketing– Take a baseline and measure against it

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• How do you measure and derive insights from social media?– Familiar with the tools

• Radian6, Sysomos for pulling large amounts of data based on keyword searches

• Klout, compete.com for measuring influence of people, brands and websites

– Integrate monitoring of traditional media and social media

– Have a thorough knowledge of entire environment and is able to make connections using historical and real time data

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• What’s your favorite case study? – Go beyond the usual examples like Dove, Ikea or

Old Spice– Social media enthusiast are always looking to

learn so they will be familiar with other case studies

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• How do you stay up to date in this industry?– Ask for specific bloggers or influencers they follow– Jeremiah Owyang, Steve Rubel, Guy Kawasaki,

David Armano, Joseph Jaffee, mashable.com, readwriteweb.com, etc.

– Friends in the industry– Do they attend any of the free events e.g. Third

Tuesdays, PodCamp, Social Media Week, Case camp, tweet ups, etc.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• What is the value of integrated marketing to social media?– Success rarely happens on it’s own– Need other media to support– Leverage the support of email, advertising, PR,

etc. to get maximum benefit

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• What is your target customer’s relationship with social media?– Are they on facebook, twitter, youtube, G+, etc?– Look for a true understanding of your customer’s

online behaviour– Be cautious about the latest social media tool

e.g. pinterest

USE CASE STUDIES TO IDENTIFY THE BEST

• Go beyond the interview• Some candidates are really really good at selling

themselves• But can they actually engage with your customers? Can

they put together a strategic plan?• Depending on the role you are looking to hire, give them a

case study to prepare• Demonstrates their approach, their experience, their ability

to present• Gives the candidate an idea of what kind of challenges they

will be faced with in the role

CASE STUDY

• Objective• The ask• The required elements• How they will be measured• 15 -20 slides max• 15 mins to present

CASE STUDY EXAMPLES

• Social Media Strategist– Provide a scenario that exists in your organization

today e.g. reposition your brand to be hip– Provide an objective of what you would like to achieve

via social media and/or other integrated channels– Ask them to identify the opportunities and to develop

a plan to harness those opportunities– Look for an understanding of your business, budget,

measurement, resources to execute the plan and how the roadmap maps back to corporate objectives

CASE STUDY EXAMPLE

• Social Media Analyst– Identify a marketing campaign (Toronto Auto Show)

or a topic your are interested in e.g. Alzheimer patient support

– Ask for campaign reach, influencers, volume, sentiment and consumer insights

– Have them present their findings– Understand the tools they used– Look for how they tell the story so that it’s

meaningful to your organization

CASE STUDY EXAMPLE

• Blogger– Write a blog post in your company’s brand and

voice that is informative yet engaging– Choose a topic that your customer would be

interested in (ask for the rational)– How would they drive traffic to the post– What sources would they use to develop additional

content for the blog– How would they write the post for other social

channels

GIVE FULL SUPPORT

• Support your team to evolve the corporation• Get the most out of your investment• Give opportunity to take on risk safely• Clear road blocks internally• Reward with challenges and compensation

REMEMBER

• Understand the roles you need to meet your objective

• Look within• Leverage your employees social influence• Be Social• There are no social media experts• Ask the right questions• Use case studies to identify the best• Support your team

THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK BUILDING YOUR TEAM!

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