Studies show that 87% of consumers would like to see more videos from brands. What forms of content do you currently produce to promote your business, products, and services? Are you looking to hire a person that specializes in creating content? Having a strategic approach to content is important to stay relevant in today’s content-hungry world. Keep reading to learn more about the right questions to ask when you are filling the content role in your company:
What defines a successful piece of content?
This question can tell you many things because everyone defines a successful piece of content differently. You may see a viral piece of content successful, while a content marketer may see a 70% conversion rate as a success.
Being aware of what they define as content success will allow you to evaluate their past work with a new eye, knowing that your metrics and theirs can be different. Once you have heard their perspective, it would be beneficial to share your current view on what a successful piece of content within your business would look like.
Which forms of content have you created in the past?
Experience, experience, experience.
When you look at a creative’s resume or portfolio, experience is usually the focus. Discovering what content they have experience creating will help you figure out if they will be a fit for the position.
Do they have a depth of writing experience, but none with digital ads? What about having a knowledge of video production, but no experience with certain social media operations?
Identifying their areas of strength based on past work can paint the picture of what needs more focus or training and what they can run with autonomously upon starting with your company. Allowing them to explain certain pieces of their portfolio will help you get a better idea of how they have worked through previous projects and campaigns.
How do you consistently plan to deliver new, unique content?
In a content-saturated world, your business needs content that stands out from the rest. Asking a potential hire about their vision for new and unique content approaches is a great way to have them think like they are already on the job.
Will they use conversion rates on your content marketing to determine strategy? Where will they find new ideas?
Their ability to think on their feet for this question can give you insight on how they are able to problem solve and plan ahead for content marketing campaigns.
How do you plan to promote the content that you produce?
This is a great question to ask a content marketer because they are responsible for both creating and distributing content that both attracts and provides value to your target consumers.
Learning how they plan to promote the content will ultimately lead to how well it performs. If you interview a content marketer that is able to create compelling content and distribute it well with a planned strategy, your business can grow in the online market quickly. Knowing the purpose behind the use of social channels or ads and where budgeting is going within your content strategy is key.
What are your expectations for this role?
This is an important question for any interview but especially for the role of content marketer.
Finding out how much creative freedom they expect to have or what their monthly content budget will be is crucial because you want to avoid any negative surprises later. You could really like a candidate’s vision, but they may have expectations of a massive budget that you can’t match yet as a startup.
Confirming expectations on their goals for promoting brand awareness as you grow from a startup to a larger company will be a large part of the journey of working together for years to come. Setting goals and mapping out new ones is a cycle that the employee and employer relationship will thrive on.
The overall purpose of this question is to hear their expectations and explain yours in return if there are differences in some areas.
Get Started Today
Your startup needs content and now you are ready to hire a content marketer to fill this role. Keep in mind that being on the same page will be important as you look to grow and scale your company and its content for years to come. Someone who brings a fresh perspective to your team with a diversified content approach can do wonders for your company.
Have any more tips for finding and hiring a content marketer? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
