What content marketing interview questions should I ask a candidate?
From asking a candidate to describe their thought process to inquiring about the top tips for writing engaging content, here are answers to the question, “What are good content marketing interview questions to ask a candidate?”
- What is Your Writing Style?
- When Should Video Content Be Used Instead of Written Content?
- What Content Defies Conventional Strategy?
- How Do You Battle a Creative Barrier?
- Tell Me About a Previous Success
- Describe Your Thought Process When Creating a Campaign
- What Are the Top Tips for Writing Engaging Content?
- What Outlets Do You Read?
- Tell Me About Your Content Marketing Campaign Experience and Results
- What Kind of Content Have You Created in the Past?
What is Your Writing Style?
Ask a candidate what they consider their writing style to be. Is it friendly? Is it romantic or professional? This allows you to understand if their tone is a fit for the brand, and if it’s not, can they adjust their writing style to fit the role.
It’s important to find the right fit for a content marketing position that aligns with the brand’s content guidelines, so be sure there’s a connection.
Ann McFerran, CEO, Glamnetic
When Should Video Content Be Used Instead of Written Content?
Ask this question: When should video content be used instead of written content? In this age and time, video has become a preferred medium for people who wish to share or get information due to its convenience. With this, the use of video content is also becoming increasingly popular in content marketing, so it may be a good idea to ask this question to get an idea of the candidate’s experience using video content.
As writers, they must know what topics are most impactful in written form and video. Some topics work better in video form than in writing, and vice versa.
With this question, the interviewer will also get a clearer picture of how experienced they are as writers. Their answer can also demonstrate their abilities to use video effectively in their content marketing plan.
Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Agency
What Content Defies Conventional Strategy?
Why do you think some effective content defies conventional strategy? This might make for an informative content marketing interview question. This question asks the applicant to consider why and how content may be successful even if it goes against accepted wisdom on marketing strategies.
You may learn more about someone’s expertise and experience in content marketing from their response, particularly if they are able to explain why some techniques are successful even when everyone expects them to fail. Examining applicants for a position in content marketing also gives insight into how innovative their tactics and ideas may be.
Jim Campbell, Owner, Camp Media
How Do You Battle a Creative Barrier?
Usually, the best way to determine if someone is fit for a content marketing job is to see how they overcome adversity. Not in a general way, but in a way that is closely related to the job position they are applying for.
Seeing how someone thinks in an unfavorable situation is usually a good sign of how well they will perform under pressure. I’d say that the best question for a content marketing job interview would be something along the lines of: “How would you battle a creative barrier?” or “Where do you find inspiration when you hit a creative block?”
These kinds of questions usually lead to lengthier answers that reflect just how that candidate self-reflects and what they resort to when their creative capacity is either at maximum or has a blockage in the creative process.
It’s also important to discover how candidates present themselves in unfavorable positions such as the ones listed in these questions.
Dejan Kvrgic, Founder, ProContent Services
Tell Me About a Previous Success
One interview question that should be asked to a content marketer is: “Can you give an example of a particularly successful piece of content you’ve created and walk me through your process for creating and promoting it?”
By asking it, you are discovering several things about the candidate, including experience, critical thinking, and analytical skills. First, you test the candidate’s knowledge and expertise in content marketing campaigns and ideation processes. Then, you get an idea of their understanding of executing a content marketing strategy.
You also evaluate the candidate’s ability to discuss the metrics and results, which give you an idea of their ability to measure and analyze the success of their content and use data to inform future decisions.
Overall, this question allows you to assess the candidate’s experience, knowledge, and skills in content marketing, which helps you determine if they would be a good fit for your organization’s content marketing needs.
Nina Paczka, Community Manager, Resume Now
Describe Your Thought Process When Creating a Campaign
A good question to ask a content marketing candidate is to describe their overall thought process when creating a campaign. This question can help gauge the candidate’s creativity, strategic thinking, and ability to think outside the box.
It will also help you understand the level of detail the candidate goes into when planning campaigns and give you an idea of how well they understand their target audience. Additionally, it will show you how they approach challenges.
Kate Wojewoda-Celinska, Marketing Manager, Spacelift
What Are the Top Tips for Writing Engaging Content?
One of the best content marketing interview questions to ask candidates is, “What are your top three tips for writing engaging content?” This question allows you to gauge the depth of a candidate’s knowledge about content marketing and provides insight into their creative process. It also helps you identify candidates who can come up with innovative ideas.
Every business needs someone who can come up with captivating ideas that resonate with their target audience, and this is what you’ll discover by asking this question. The best candidates will be able to explain their process clearly, with a focus on customer experience. They’ll also be able to provide actionable examples of their work to support their claims.
Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, PitchGrade
What Outlets Do You Read?
Ask a candidate what outlets they read. This helps you get an idea of their interests and if they’re up to date on industry trends. Are they reading magazines such as Cosmopolitan, or do they prefer online outlets such as Refinery29?
If they don’t read anything, they may struggle to keep up with news updates in the industry and will be left behind.
Randee Machina, Director of Marketing, Simpli Pleasures
Tell Me About Your Content Marketing Campaign Experience and Results
A good content question to ask a candidate is, “Can you walk me through a specific campaign you executed and the results it achieved? How did you measure its success?”
By asking this, you get a sense of the candidate’s hands-on experience creating and executing effective campaigns. You will learn how the candidate approaches understanding their target audience, their role in campaign execution, and how they measured the performance of their campaigns.
The answers will give you a good idea of their problem-solving, creativity, project management, and analytical skills, which are crucial for a content marketer.
Andy Smith, Marketing Manager, HatchWorks
What Kind of Content Have You Created in the Past?
“What kind of content have you created in the past?” This question will give you an idea of the types of content the candidate has worked on in the past, and if it matches the content you need for your brand.
It will also help you understand their style, tone, and ability to create content that resonates with target audiences.
A third content marketing interview question to ask is “How do you stay up-to-date on industry trends and best practices?” This question will help you determine the candidate’s understanding of the industry and their ability to stay informed of the latest content marketing trends, as well as best practices to ensure successful campaigns.
This question will also offer insight into the candidate’s ability to stay ahead of the curve and adapt their content strategy to meet the changing needs of the industry.
Michael Lazar, Executive, ReadyCloud
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