In last week's post, I wrote about the wide variety of companies now offering social media management services and the need to be able to critically evaluate their capabilities. While this seems obvious, I'm often surprised by how many companies hire a social media consultant,  self-proclaimed “expert,” or social media agency simply because they were solicited or have attended a seminar where the social media firm had a speaking role.

I've found that companies who are not yet using social media, and those whose leadership doesn't personally utilize social networks, often make these hiring decisions without asking too many questions—largely because they aren't sure what to ask. Others don't want to reveal their lack of knowledge or experience using social media, so they tend to ask questions about what services are included and pricing.

While included services and pricing are important, they in no way help you understand how well the agency can drive business results for you, and whether or not they actually have the necessary depth of experience and support team needed to achieve the goals you've jointly set.

Here are five questions you can ask that will help uncover whether a social media agency is able to translate (and achieve) your business objectives in the social space:

1> What is your process for developing our social media strategy?
The use of social media, like any other regular business activity, should be directed by a plan that achieves business goals for you. The process the agency goes through is key to making sure that the firm clearly understands your company, what your company wants to achieve, your positioning in the marketplace, and clearly identifies how their social media efforts contribute. The strategy is not something that the firm goes back to the office to complete and hand to you; it should be a process of collaboration that involves you and your team.

The plan should include goals, SMART objectives (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound), strategies, and tactics. It is a translation of how your social media efforts will achieve bigger company goals. Here are examples of the types of business goals a company could be seeking: increasing sales, expanding customer service availability and response times, streamlining recruiting, developing new markets, or increasing customer feedback on products or services, etc.

Of course the social media strategy will need to be developed, so you won't be able to review a strategy prior to hiring. However, listening to how the agency describes what they will deliver and the process they will go through to create the strategy will often reveal whether they have strategic competency.

2> How will you determine which social networks we need to participate in?
Depending on your industry and the markets you target, there are between five and eight primary social networks you could be in, and countless secondary networks you might want to consider. That said, a solid understanding of your target markets, client base, and stakeholders will be key determinants of what social networks you should be in along with an evaluation of your resources. A good agency will not recommend being in as many as possible, but will instead help determine which networks will benefit you most and evaluate which you have the resources to properly participate in while staying within budget. It's far more effective to be in fewer networks but to participate fully than to be in many networks with inconsistent or poor participation.

Avoid firms that simply ask "which networks are you in now?" and suggest that they will continue those (without any evaluation of whether these are the networks you should be in). Your social media management firm may suggest dropping a network or two, especially if you have not been maintaining them or they are not a good fit for your company.

3> How will you measure our success?
This is a very revealing question; the answer should be twofold. First, the social media strategy will be very specific and will have measurable benchmarks against which progress toward achieving the business goals can be evaluated. Second, there are tools which provide robust, comprehensive statistics on your social media activity, engagement levels, audience development, etc. The number of likes or follows is one small component of your social media analytics; if this is offered as “the measurement,” you've got the wrong firm.

4> What strategies have they implemented to grow and engage their own audiences in the social networks?
Many social media management companies sign confidentiality statements with their clients, which means they are unable to reveal who their clients are or the specifics of what has been done for them. However, social media agencies can always discuss their own social media efforts and results. How successful have they been in using social media for themselves? Over what period of time have they been active, and how strong is their own audience engagement? Do you see activity, comments, and shares on their posts, or are they simply posting irrelevant material that garners no interest? Have they grown their audience over time?

5> What are their resources for implementing your program?
When we think of social media management, it's easy to simply consider the act of posting. The reality is that there are numerous activities that are involved: content creation, research, graphic design, content curation, photography, videography, compliance review (if you're in a regulated industry), editing content for grammar/spelling, audience development work, “liking,” and commenting on others' posts and profiles, etc. How many staff members does the firm have who will be working on your account? Is graphic design, photography, or any videography included? Are there services that are available but which incur additional expense? What amount of time or internal resources will you need to contribute on a weekly or monthly basis?

The key to making a good hire is remembering that successful social media programs are planned to support the business objectives and are developed and evaluated as other business functions are. The best social media management candidate (firm) knows more than how to operate the tools of the trade; it understands how to achieve business objectives through the use of these tools.