18 Interview Questions to Ask a Freelance Programmatic Marketer

You determined which marketer you need, posted a job description, and found a few potential candidates. The next step is an interview; navigating this crucial step requires a solid understanding of the role to ask the right questions.

What is a Freelance Programmatic Marketer?

A Freelance Programmatic Marketer is a self-employed specialist who manages and optimizes online advertising campaigns using automated software to target specific audiences. When hiring, it's crucial to ask insightful questions to assess their expertise and ensure they can effectively tailor strategies to your business's needs.

General Interview Questions

1. What industries do you specialize in?

What You'll Learn: This response reveals the candidate's experience in various sectors and whether they have a niche. It helps understand if their expertise aligns with the industry your company operates in.

2. How do you bill for your services?

What You'll Learn: By asking about billing methods, you'll gain insight into the candidate's business practices, including their pricing structure, whether they prefer hourly rates, project-based fees, or a retainer, and how flexible they are with negotiations.

3. What questions do you have about our company?

What You'll Learn: The questions a candidate asks can indicate their interest in your company and the role. It shows how much research they've done and what aspects of the job or company they care about most.

Technical Skill-Based Interview Questions

4. Can you explain how real-time bidding works in programmatic advertising?

What You'll Learn: From the first response, you can understand the candidate's grasp of the foundational mechanism behind programmatic ad buying and if they can articulate complex processes clearly.

5. What strategies do you implement for audience segmentation in programmatic campaigns?

What You'll Learn: The answer to the second question reveals the candidate's ability to effectively target and engage specific user groups, which is crucial for campaign success.

6. How do you ensure brand safety and avoid ad fraud when setting up programmatic buys?

What You'll Learn: The third response provides insight into the candidate's awareness and proactive measures for maintaining a brand's reputation and ensuring ad spend isn't wasted on fraudulent activities.

7. Which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) do you prioritize in programmatic marketing campaigns and why?

What You'll Learn: By knowing which KPIs the candidate focuses on, you learn about their goal-setting priorities and how they align campaign objectives with business goals.

8. How do you optimize programmatic campaigns that are underperforming relative to your initial KPIs?

What You'll Learn: The last answer indicates the candidate's problem-solving skills and flexibility in adjusting strategies to improve campaign performance and achieve desired outcomes.

Scenario and Experience-Based Interview Questions

9. Describe a time when you had to adjust your programmatic campaign strategy due to unexpected changes in the market. How did you identify the issue and what was the outcome?

What You'll Learn: From the first explanation, you'll discover the candidate's ability to monitor market trends and respond to unforeseen events. It will show how they tackle problems and measure the success of their revised strategies.

10. Can you walk me through a scenario where you successfully scaled a client's campaign while maintaining or improving ROI? What was your approach?

What You'll Learn: The second explanation will reveal the candidate's capacity to expand campaigns without compromising returns. It highlights their strategic planning skills and understanding of efficient scaling.

11. Tell me about a situation where you had to negotiate ad placements or rates for a programmatic campaign. How did you ensure the best value for the client?

What You'll Learn: The third explanation will provide insights into the candidate's negotiation skills and their knack for securing cost-effective ad placements, reflecting their dedication to delivering value.

12. Share an experience where you leveraged data from past campaigns to inform your programmatic strategy for a new client. What insights did you gather and how did they influence your approach?

What You'll Learn: The fourth explanation will indicate the candidate's proficiency in data analysis and their method of applying historical insights to newer campaigns, demonstrating analytical thinking and strategic foresight.

13. Recall a time when you had to explain the complexities of programmatic marketing to a client who was unfamiliar with the practice. How did you approach the conversation to ensure understanding?

What You'll Learn: The fifth explanation will assess the candidate's communication skills, particularly their ability to simplify complex concepts for clients, showing their client service abilities.

14. Describe a situation where you dealt with a substantial amount of unstructured data to target a programmatic campaign. How did you organize and utilize this data effectively?

What You'll Learn: In the sixth explanation, you'll learn about the candidate's data management skills and their ability to handle and interpret large sets of unstructured data for targeting purposes.

15. Can you tell me about a time when you had to quickly adapt a programmatic campaign in response to a competitor's unexpected move? What actions did you take and what were the results?

What You'll Learn: The seventh explanation will gauge the candidate's agility and resourcefulness in adapting to competitive pressures, showcasing their strategic adaptability and result-oriented mindset.

16. Can you describe a challenging moment you faced while working with multiple stakeholders on a programmatic marketing project and how you handled the situation?

What You'll Learn: From the first explanation, you get insights into the candidate's problem-solving skills, their ability to navigate complex environments with different demands, and their communication effectiveness when coordinating with various parties involved in a project.

17. How have you managed a situation where you had conflicting deadlines across different programmatic campaigns you were managing as a freelancer?

What You'll Learn: The second explanation reveals how the candidate prioritizes tasks, manages their time, and deals with pressure, especially when juggling multiple projects with tight schedules, which is common in freelance work.

18. Tell me about a time when you received constructive criticism regarding a programmatic campaign you ran; how did you respond and what did you learn from that experience?

What You'll Learn: In the third explanation, you learn about the candidate's openness to feedback, their capacity for self-improvement, and their approach to refining strategies, which are essential for the iterative nature of programmatic marketing.

Explore further with our tailored interview questions for Freelance Marketing Virtual Assistant, Freelance Marketing Analyst, and Freelance Amazon Expert to ensure you're equipped to select the best professionals across the board.

In choosing your next freelance programmatic marketer, let these questions guide you to find a candidate who is not just skilled, but also a perfect fit for your team's ethos.

Happy hiring!