Top Social Media Marketing Interview Questions And Answers

Updated 23 November 2022

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Interviews for social media marketing positions cover questions about issues, trends and strategies related to social media and marketing. Most employers look for candidates with a thorough knowledge of popular social media platforms and expertise in online marketing. By understanding the different types of questions interviewers ask during a social media marketing interview, you can prepare ahead and improve your chances of getting a job in this field. In this article, we outline frequently asked social media marketing interview questions and look at sample answers you can use to practise your interview responses.

Types Of Social Media Marketing Interview Questions To Expect

Interviewers can ask different types of social media marketing interview questions depending on their organisation's specific requirements. Some organisations may limit their marketing focus on a few leading social media platforms their customers use. They may prefer candidates with knowledge and experience of those platforms, and their social media marketing questions are most likely to be related to them.

General Interview Questions About Social Media Marketing

Interviewers may ask you general interview questions about social media marketing to assess who you are and if you can fit with their organisation's work processes. Here are some social media marketing questions that you might encounter:

What made you decide to pursue a career in social media?
Why did you apply for a position with our organisation?
Do you consider yourself a team player?
Can you work well without frequent supervision?
What do you think are the three of your greatest professional strengths?
Can you talk about one of your professional weaknesses, and what you did to overcome it?
In your opinion, which brands have the best social media marketing strategies currently?
What are some of the social media accounts that you follow?
What do you like the most about working in social media marketing?
What do you do to find marketing inspiration?

Questions About Background And Experience

After getting to know you, the interviewers may ask specific social media executive interview questions to understand if your background and experience are suitable for the position. You can expect these questions about your background and experience:

What social media platforms do you regularly use?
What is the total social media marketing experience you have?
How is social media marketing different between B2B and B2C companies?
Can you name some industries for whom you have done social media marketing?
Can you describe a social media campaign you led in your previous company and its outcome?
What metrics do you implement to analyse the ROI of a social media campaign?
Please explain how you measure social media success.
Can you explain the best ways to use hashtags?
What would be a reasonable budget for social media advertising?
If we hire you, what can you do to improve our social media marketing strategy?
What are the tools you can use to track brand mentions online?

In-Depth Questions

An interviewer may ask these in-depth questions to learn more about the social media campaigns you have worked on and how you problem solve any issues on social media platforms:

Which social media platforms have you found the most effective and why?
Why do you think it is essential to have a communications plan?
Did you ever have to manage a social media crisis, and how did you handle it?
How do you engage followers and develop a community on social media?
When do you refrain from engaging with your social media followers?
How can you integrate customer service and social media management?
Describe your experience with promoting products or services on any social media platform.
How important is it to develop independent marketing strategies for different social media platforms?
How can you create compelling content for the social media accounts you manage?
What methods do you adopt to enhance a brand's social media presence?
How do we get our employees excited about engaging with and sharing our brand on social media?
What strategies do you use for building social media platforms from the beginning?

Sample Interview Questions And Answers

Review these interview questions and example answers and use them as a model to craft your own responses:

What qualities do you possess that can make us want to hire you for social media marketing?

This is a common interview question, and many interviewers ask this to assess the candidate's self-promotional ability, social media knowledge and understanding of the organisation's social media requirements. In your answer, it may help to explain your suitability for the position. You can mention how you intend to use social media to promote the organisation's business interests.

Example: "You might want to hire me because of my ability to get the desired results on social media. I have extensive experience in marketing a range of products and services on various social media platforms for over five years. I know how to build relationships with customers, use trending topics for promotional purposes and increase brand visibility to increase conversions. In my previous position as a social media manager, the marketing campaigns I worked on got us around 80% ROI."

How do you respond to negative reviews or comments?

Since social media gives everyone a platform to express their opinions, a business may receive negative reviews or comments from its customers at some point. Interviewers ask this question to determine if you can competently handle controversial situations and maintain a positive brand image. How you answer can affect the sentiments your audience holds about the brand.

Example: "My policy is to post a genuine and helpful response at the earliest to negative customer reviews or comments. I use the person's name or social media handle to address them directly and let them know that our company is willing to resolve their issue. If resolving the issue requires consulting with someone else in the company, I may direct the customer to the right people or provide them with their email or phone number and request that they get in touch with them."

Explain how you might make a social media post go viral.

A positive viral post can bring a lot of attention to a brand and its products and services. Companies want social media experts who can make posts go viral and increase their reach, which is why interviewers are likely to ask this question during interviews for social media marketing positions. Your response can show your understanding of social media and how posts go viral.

Example: "There is no exact science for why a social media post might go viral, but there are specific steps you can take to increase its chances of going viral. For instance, you might create a post on a trending topic and ensure that the post is visually appealing and has attention-grabbing text. It is essential to post it at the right time so that a maximum number of people can see it and share it. You can also reach out to social media influencers and ask them to share it with their followers."

How can you use social media and SEO in a marketing campaign?

Interviewers ask this question to test your knowledge of different social media and search engine optimisation techniques that you might use in a marketing campaign. A successful marketing strategy consists of knowing how and when to use different marketing elements simultaneously to make a better promotional impact. You can mention this in your answer.

Example: "The top social media platforms have higher visibility on search engines, and you can improve this with SEO to get your brand to rank higher. By creating valuable content with relevant keywords, you can gain a higher authority and position in the search rankings. It can also help to include brand and industry keywords and your website links in your social media profile so that your brand shows up every time someone searches for those keywords. This can bring more visitors to your social media platform and business website and increase your chances of acquiring new customers."

Do you prefer to work independently or with a team on social media campaigns?

Depending on the organisation and its promotional requirements, social media marketing can be a one-person or team operation. Some campaigns may require several people to create and post content and engage with followers at different hours. You can reply to this question by giving an example of your previous social media marketing experience.

Example: "I have experience working independently and with a team on various social media marketing campaigns. I do not have a specific preference, as the essential part is getting the campaign right and achieving the desired results. For some campaigns, working on my own can produce quicker results. In others, it may be necessary to create content with writers, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers and videographers and to collaborate with other company departments to ensure the information is correct."