Best interview questions for Content Marketing Managers

Content Marketing Manager Interview Questions

The role of a content marketing manager is to drive traffic and increase brand awareness through content concepts and campaigns.

A good candidate should:

Know how to build online audiences, have a creative mind to come up with engaging marketing campaigns, and have analytical skills to determine data and make decisions based on it.
Content marketing managers should have at least a few years of experience in this role or similar, for example SEO, community management, or content writing.
Should be able to work in cross functional teams effectively.

Content Marketing Managers should have at least a few years of experience in this role or similar, for example SEO, community management, or content writing.

Ideally they will be a people person, with great communication skills and be able to work in cross functional teams effectively.

Need help attracting more talent for your interview? Multipost your job ad on 10+ job boards with JOIN—for FREE!

Try it now

Interviewing a Content Marketing Manager

Are you searching for an excellent Content Marketing Manager? Then it will soon be time to get to know the candidates a little better in an interview. With our Content Marketing Manager interview questions, your interview is prepared quickly and easily.

Please note: Our interview questions are suggestions for the earlier stages of the application process and for candidates with average work experience. They are therefore a little more general.

How to open the job interview

Interviews naturally breed nerves, so the first part of your interview should aim to make the candidate feel comfortable speaking with you, you’ll get much more information out of them and a better sense of the person they are if they feel like they can trust the environment they are in.

To do this you can ask some fun and interesting questions linked to the role, they should be open-ended and encourage conversation.

Job Description available

See our Content Marketing Manager Job Description here

For the interview

A positive opener to start

What do you enjoy most about creating content?

What has been your journey so far?

Behavioral Questions

What do you enjoy most about Content Marketing?
Gives you a good idea of their personality, how they work, and their skill level. Knowing what they enjoy most about their job will give you a good scope of their strengths and projects they'll excel at.
Can you talk me through some of your favourite content campaigns?
Another personality question, also gives an indication of style and how they approach projects. Ideally they will talk through the planning of the project, through to execution and then analysis.
How do you keep up to date with changes and new tools in the industry?
Shows the level of dedication and passion they have for their role and how proactive they are when it comes to improvements.
Can you give me some examples of some campaigns or brands that inspire you in content?
Shows awareness and a level of dedication.

Soft Skills

What sort of working environments and management styles do you work best with?
Gives you a better idea of whether they will fit well with the team you have already built.
Have you worked in cross functional teams before? What was your experience?
A good candidate will be a great communicator and feel comfortable working with many stakeholders at the same time.
How would you approach writing about a subject that you’re not familiar with?
Should be able to explain complex issues in an easy to understand way, a lot of research and reading should be done before completing the project, possibly talking to industry experts.
How would you stay up to date with trends and interesting campaigns that our competitors are working on?
Staying in the know and being aware of what competitors are doing will give a fresh sense of creativity. Good content marketing managers will be able to notice a great campaign and then adapt it for their specific industry.

Hard Skills

How would you determine the right style and tone for the company you’re working for?
Should display knowledge that different platforms need different tones, and be mindful of the overall brand and communication you’re trying to convey.
What metrics do you pay attention to most when measuring the success or failure of a marketing campaign?
Candidates should list significant metrics, they should know the importance of KPIs such as page views, conversions, bounce rate and unique visits.
Which steps would you take to begin a content marketing strategy?
Should mention what has worked in the past, and give initiatives on a content overhaul or improvements.
How familiar are you with SEO?
SEO is a big part of content marketing, a candidate should at least know the impact it has on campaigns and the relevant metrics used like CTR, Bounce Rate, and the effects of rankings.

Operational / Situational Questions

Could you outline the steps you would take to create a content marketing campaign?
Should already have a preferred process and concrete knowledge of end to end steps from ideation, through to execution and analysis.
How would you respond to a campaign that received negative feedback?
Candidates don’t have to have a full action plan, but some awareness of the impact it could have and some ideas on solutions would be a good answer.
Could you tell me about a time you have had to overcome a content marketing challenge?
Shows problem solving skills and how much experience they have in leading and creating solutions to problems.