5 steps to hiring a great social media consultant

Here’s how to sift through all the self-proclaimed ‘experts,’ ‘ninjas,’ ‘gurus,’ and ‘mavens’ and find someone who actually knows how to help your online efforts.

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The problem is that everyone nowadays claims to know a thing or two about social media. So with the ever-growing number of self-proclaimed social media gurus out there, how do businesses weed out the fakes and the not-so-greats?

Here are five steps to take:

1. Set parameters prior to hiring. Before embarking on the hunt for a social media consultant, determine the amount of time and, more specifically, the amount of control your business is willing to give your consultant.

Good questions to think about: Is my social media consultant going to work independently, or will it be a team effort? Do I want my consultant to be a creative figurehead for developing and executing social media strategies, or do I expect that he or she will simply manage and oversee platform activity?

Answering these questions first will help you decide on the type of consultant you’re looking for.

2. Do your homework. Doing your homework could be the most important step. As experts in the field of social media, consultants’ activity on social networks affords you a glimpse at what should be considered their unofficial resume.

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