Some brands and businesses face a series of growing pains once success has been achieved. This can result in many different decisions needing to be made in a variety of areas, which can create a whole order of magnitude more stress for CEOs and managers. Whether a business is based solely online or straddles the fence between virtual and physical, a comprehensive web presence is always necessary. Some brands will sooner or later require a full-time social media manager in order to stay on top of things and continue to outwit the competition. If you find yourself in the position of needing a social media manager in the near future, then be sure to cover these areas during any interview.

Past Platform Experience

Above all else, it is necessary to establish which platform(s) any potential hire has had experience with in the past. If you need assistance with Facebook and Instagram, for instance, then someone well-versed in the Twitterverse is probably not going to be the best selection. Social media managers must know how to constantly be pinging users with the right messaging and in the right format. Since every social media network has its own unique dynamics, you’ll want to make sure that any hire is well-experienced on the platforms you need to target.

Tools and Utilities

The next important question to ask in regards to testing a potential social media manager hire relates to what he or she uses to measure performance, success and everyday metrics. The primary goal in asking about this is to understand what metrics a social media manager uses to determine success or failure, and how familiar they are with particular tools and utilities. It’s important to know how they translate data collected from social media into concrete results; in order for them to do this in any way, shape or form, they must use a variety of tools. It’s important to know which ones.

Reactions to Changing Circumstances

Social media performance – regardless of qualifications or effort – can sometimes change drastically. People may suddenly flock to a brand’s posts or pages, or they may suddenly do the opposite. Any potential social media manager hire needs to be able to answer how he or she would react to such circumstances. In the case of a sudden boon of attention, it’s important to know how the manager would take advantage of the situation. In the case of an exodus, it’s important to know how they would handle pinging users in order to stabilize the situation.

Past Experiences with Crises

It is only a matter of time before a bigger brand has a social media snafu or crisis. These can be caused by in-house decisions or by something completely out of the brand’s control. Nevertheless, any social media hire should be able to answer how he or she would handle a sudden and dramatic problem on social media. Most experienced social media managers have experienced such a crisis when working for others, so it’s often a good idea to ask for specific examples of crises they have handled in the past.