There are certain questions social media managers should always be able to answer – no matter what.

While every project might be different and unique in its own right, there are certain questions that social media managers will constantly be faced with, and should always have an answer for.

Below are five questions that will almost certainly come up for social media managers in everything from a friendly roundtable discussion with other industry peers to make or break decision-making meeting with prospective clients. In each of these situations and everything in between, qualified social media managers should have an answer locked and loaded. Or, at the very least, know in which direction they would like to take the question.

1. How do you measure the success of social media?

This answer is going to differ depending on the type of client you are talking to, but no matter who the client is, or what the goals of the program might be, you should always be able to provide a detailed response outlining what constitutes success based on numbers.

There are still plenty of skeptics out there when it comes to social media. If you expect to change their minds, you need to be able to answer them with something a little more substantial than ‘Likes’ and ‘Followers’.

2. Can’t I do this for free?

There it is – that evil word: free. This is still among the most common misconceptions when it comes to social media; and it is a very easily understandable one.

I can sign up for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and any other social network for free. Why would I pay someone to do it for me? And therein lies the misconception. You need to be able to explain why social media is about so much more than simply having the account. There is an expertise involved and a significant investment of time.

Know how to answer this question and convey your point, and selling social media will be much easier.

3. What tools do you use?

Be careful – this is not as black and white as it looks. There is a lot behind this question and a very careful answer needs to be given.

Tools are great complements to a thoughtful social media strategy, and you need to be able to explain that while tools are incorporated into your program, they are not the only part of the solution.

It is also very important that you are familiar with every possible tool you can find. This question can be a loaded one aimed to test your knowledge of the marketplace. Who is going to trust a social media manager that knows less than the client?

4. What’s wrong with our current social media?

Again, there is a lot more to this question than meets the eye. For starters, if you can answer it, you have done your research and that looks great. Second, you don’t want to insult the current program, but you don’t want to make it seem like you wouldn’t change anything either.

Wow your audience by explaining how you would enhance their current social media efforts to help generate more business and provide them with some details as to how you would do that.

5. I already have an SEO program in place so why would I spend money on social media?

Finally, it is very important that you understand both the differences between social media and SEO, and how they relate to one another.

Keeping up-to-date on both the updates to search engine ranking criteria and social networks will allow you to intelligently answer this question and showcase how the two differ and help one another.

If you can answer these five questions, you stand a great chance of closing more deals. Knowledge is at the root of success when it comes to social media. In an ever-evolving field, it is important that you stay on top of your game in order to wow both your customers, your competitors and your industry.

Can you think of any other questions that social media managers should be able to answer? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!