• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Services
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Ongoing SEO Services
    • SEO Expert Witness
    • Google Penalty Recovery
    • Mini SEO Audit
    • Link Audit
    • Keyword Research
    • Combine Websites SEO Services
    • PPC Management
    • Online Reputation Management
    • Domain Name Consultant
    • Domain Names & Expired Domains
    • Domain Name Appraisal

Bill Hartzer

GoDaddy Airo: Register your .com domain name today!
Home » Social Media » 10 Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Social Media Consulting Firm

10 Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring a Social Media Consulting Firm

Posted on March 20, 2014 Written by Bill Hartzer

According to Social Media Today, the rate of social media usage rose by 18% in 2013. This brings to nearly 25% the number of subscribers using social media today. This includes personal and business accounts. Social media has defined the marketing fronts of most companies with many of them registering phenomenal success. With this rapid growth in social media uptake, the demand for social media training and consulting has risen tremendously. Business, individuals, and even governmental institutions are all looking to hire experts to help them in their social media functions.

The question, however, remains, “what do you ask when seeking to hire social media consultants?” Well, there are many professionals out there and they do not come in black and white as many would imagine. You need to interrogate them and establish various aspects that will make them fit for the task ahead. Below are some of the questions that you need to ask:

How well do you understand my business environment?

Competent consultants need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of your marketing niche. The reason behind this is that different markets have different approaches as far as social media is concerned. You can ask if he has any articles, blogs or researches done on your industry to demonstrate his competency.

Which clients do you serve?

Knowing the list of current and past clients can help you in drawing a conclusion about their general social media workmanship. You can sample the clients at random and ask them about their experience working with the consulting firm. This should give you an idea of what to expect.

What is your degree of connections with the influencers in my industry?

Influencers generally help in giving a product or service publicity. By looking at the followership on twitter or LinkedIn connections, you should be able to find out how connected the consultants are in the industry. You can also check their Facebook profiles and scrutinize their likes.

How successful are you in your personal and professional networks?

There is a common Latin truism that says, “nemo dat quod non habit” which means you can only give what you have. The consultant needs to provide verifiable evidence of his own personal success in his networks and how often he updates them. If the firm cannot do it on its own networks, it would probably fail on yours too.

Do you have past work that I can look at?

Success leaves identifiable marks and trails. The same case applies to social media consultancy. Looking at links to previous work, analyzing the portfolios provided and studying the social media campaigns that the firm has successfully carried out should give you a clear picture of their industry experience.

What type of social media are you a specialist in?

Social media is a wide discipline with lots of platforms. You need to ask the consultant firm the kind of platforms that they specialize in so that you get the perfect fit. If you need to build professional business networks, the best consultant would be one whose specialization is in LinkedIn.

How do you measure your return on investment?

Return on investment (ROI) is a very crucial parameter in social media performance measurement. The kind of tools and techniques that a client uses to measure social media performance will inform you about their competence and skill base. They need to focus on more insightful metrics such as conversion rates other than leveraging on followers and fans.

What is your approach to solving a social media crisis?

You need to know how the firm will handle a crisis. Social media crisis do occur and how a firm responds is very important. It can either avert a crisis or reduce the damages likely to occur. The consultant you hire should be well versed in such areas.
Can you give a demonstration of the campaigns you will run for me?
A genuine consultant who is up to the task should be able to demonstrate some of the campaigns and strategies that he will develop for your business. The firm should also clearly show how those campaigns will be instrumental in getting the desired results.

How is your payment regime?

Different consultants have different payment terms. Some may request for a retainer while others charge you for the project done in terms of hours. This is very important to establish so that you get things clear from the onset.

These questions may not completely bring into the open every issue but will go a long way into ensuring that you get the right consultant for your task.

Marcus Ho is a highly sought-after Social Media Strategist who specializes in revenue-driven campaigns on social media for businesses. Well known for his cutting-edge, fresh insights and proven strategies, Marcus has successfully helped over 200 corporations and SMEs to rake in hundreds of thousands within very short periods of time. Some of his clients include Qatar Airways, 3M, PernodRicard, DassaultSystèmes, FreshKon, Home-Fix, Scanteak and Singapore Management University. Most recently, his campaigns have also won internationally acclaimed awards such as Smitty’sTravel+Leisure.

Filed Under: Social Media

About Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer is the CEO of Hartzer Consulting and founder of DNAccess, a domain name protection and recovery service. A recognized authority in digital marketing and domain strategy, Bill is frequently called upon as an Expert Witness in internet-related legal cases. He's been sharing insights and research here on BillHartzer.com for over two decades.

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

Recent Posts

  • Internet Marketing Ninjas Acquired by Previsible.IO July 9, 2025
  • Metricool Brings Real Analytics to Personal LinkedIn Profiles July 8, 2025
  • This Cleveland Agency Found a Smarter Way to Rank in Every Suburb—Without Opening More Offices July 8, 2025
  • Survey: Gen Z Reuses Passwords but Demands Bank-Level Security From Small Businesses July 8, 2025
  • Liftoff Reveals What’s Actually Working in Mobile Ads July 7, 2025
  • EasySend’s Big Move: AI Tools That Make Static Forms Obsolete July 7, 2025
  • Is Social Media Failing Small Businesses? New Survey Reveals a Hidden Blind Spot July 7, 2025
  • Why Cloudflare’s Pay Per Crawl Is a Trap for 99% of Websites July 2, 2025
  • The Hidden Risk of Double Letters in Brand and Domain Names July 2, 2025
  • GEO Verified™ Launches to Help Brands Survive the AI Search Shakeup July 1, 2025
  • RetailOnline.com Hits the Market After 25 Years—And It’s Built for the Future of E-Commerce July 1, 2025
  • AI-Powered Task Planning: The Future of Business Efficiency and Personal Productivity June 30, 2025
  • New Yoast Add-On Turns Google Docs Into an SEO Power Tool June 26, 2025
  • Simon Data Flips the Script on Marketing with AI Agents June 26, 2025
  • IAB Lays Down the Law for Gaming Ads—Here’s What Brands Need to Know June 26, 2025
  • Google Review Extortion Text Message – Scam Warning for Business Owners June 25, 2025
  • Google Names SearchKings Top AI Innovator for Transforming Lead Quality June 24, 2025
  • Marketing Exec Buys Social Media Firm in Deal That Signals Big Plans June 24, 2025
  • Amsive Takes on ChatGPT and Gemini with Next-Gen SEO for the AI Search Era June 23, 2025
  • Reddit Sued After Google’s AI Overviews Allegedly Gutted Traffic June 19, 2025

Hartzer Domains

Bare-Metal Servers by HostDime

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:

Industry Friends

I Love SEO
WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Brian Harnish
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Scott Hendison
Dixon Jones
Brian Hartzer
Navah Hopkins
DNAccess
SEO Dallas
Confirmed Stolen

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on BlueSky
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (109)
  • AI (201)
  • Bing Search Engine (8)
  • Blogging (43)
  • Branding (19)
  • Domain Names (315)
  • Google (260)
  • Internet Marketing (51)
  • Internet Usage (95)
  • Link Building (53)
  • Local Search (63)
  • Marketing (232)
  • Marketing Foo (34)
  • Pay Per Click (9)
  • Podcast (19)
  • Public Relations (9)
  • Reputation Management (14)
  • Search Engine Marketing (46)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (60)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (94)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (189)
  • Search Engines (223)
  • Social Media (302)
  • Social Media Marketing (58)
  • Tech (16)
  • Web Analytics (21)
  • Webinars (1)

Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.

 

Hartzer Consulting

Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 ·