Are you ready to take your marketing efforts to the next level by hiring a social media consultant? These days, every social media consultant claims to be a professional in their field. However, you have to somehow comb through their claims to find out who is worth it and who isn’t. These are 10 questions you must ask.

1. What Social Networking Tools Do You Plan to Use for My Business?

If the social media consultant performed the proper research on your company and niche before sitting down with you to talk money, they should be able to outline exactly what platforms and tools they’ll use. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other types of tools are all great, but they are tools that are better suited for certain types of clients rather than others.

2. What Metrics Do You Plan to Monitor?

If this prospective hire knows his stuff, you should get one or two answer. These should be “engagement” and “leads.” These are the two things that the consultant should be most concerned about.

3. Are You Also Experienced in Social Customer Service?

Not only will social media help your company gain exposure, but leads and customers will also use it to complain about your business whether you like it or not. Does the social media consultant know how to address these types of engagements?

4. What’s Your Top Priority?

Every social media consultant’s number one duty is to listen to the audience and monitor what happens as far as engagement is concerned.

5. How Did You Handle Your Worst Social Media Crisis?

Social media crises can and do happen; it’s up to the social media consultant to know how to handle them. How do they plan to resolve a situation?

6. What Do You Plan to Do with My Budget?

If the social media consultant is decent, they will have a budget outlined in detail for your review. Additionally, they should be able to tell you how they know it will be successful.

7. Where Can I Look at Your Blog or Social Media Channels?

You’ll want to see what types of tactics they employ for their own blogs/social media channels, and determine whether or not they are successful.

8. What Do You Plan to Do First?

There is a significant chance they will start babbling attracting massive amounts of followers; this is not the answer you’re looking for. You want to know what they will do first in terms of engagement.

9. How Will You Generate Leads?

If the social media consultant can’t give you a detailed overview of how they draw leads and where from, it’s best to steer clear.

10. Can I See Your Portfolio?

Lastly, most social media consultants have portfolios or past projects that are available for new clients to look at. If they don’t have anything to show, it may be worth it to stick with an experienced hire that has proven success.