It’s the age of social media!
Nearly everyone, including business owners, has a presence on social media – whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or all of the above!
Social media gives us the ability to connect with people on a wider scale, promote our businesses across platforms, and network with some of the greatest minds in our industry.
For that reason, having a strong presence and dynamic social media strategy can be essential to growing a business. The problem? Not everyone knows how to do this
Becoming a Social Media Manager
This is where you come in!
Many business owners struggle to manage their social media accounts effectively and are willing to outsource it to someone who does. You can make big bucks if you know how to harness the power of these platforms to help businesses attract more followers, leads, and so on.
Becoming a social media manager goes beyond just being well-versed in social media, though. It takes skills, strategy, and great business sense to begin taking on clients and making good money as a social media manager.
In this post, we break down the steps to becoming a successful social media manager and start making the big bucks!
1) Pick Your Platform(s)
One of the keys to becoming a successful social media manager is focusing on one or a few platforms to specialize in.
Many entrepreneurs new to the industry try to be a generalist and apply their skills to a range of platforms, but this makes it much more difficult to brand yourself and stand out in the sea of other social media managers.
It is best to pick one platform to become very good at and market yourself as an expert for that platform. You will then instill more confidence in potential clients who see that you are highly skilled on one platform rather than a “jack-of-all-trades”.
Think about it… many people can call themselves “social media managers”, but there is far less competition if you focus on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and the like. You can then create a cohesive brand that stands out and can scale up as you just get better and better.
2) Refine Your Skills
This is a rather obvious step, but it is amazing how many people enter this industry with little to no experience. I do NOT recommend offering services that you have no experience. Not only do you risk not being able to give your clients a return on their investment, but you can tarnish your brand before you have even started.
Instead, I recommend that you learn as much as you can about your chosen platform(s), even going as far as to take a course to get some extra knowledge.
A good idea is to create your own social media accounts and test your strategies there. Then you will quickly figure out what works and what doesn’t.
3) Brand Yourself
As I mentioned in point number 1, it is important to brand yourself so that you stand out from the bunch.
It is easy blend in with the tons of social media managers out there and as with any industry, it really helps you to niche down and have laser focus when it comes to your target audience.
For example, you may decide that you want to do Instagram management for fitness trainers, or Pinterest management for lifestyle bloggers.
Though this may seem counterintuitive at first, you are actually positioning yourself to be an expert in a particular niche – which means more money in the long run. If you are too broad, you will be constantly competing with other generalist social media managers over price.
You may want to work with a branding expert to establish a solid website, logo, and more to really take your status from “freelancer” to “entrepreneur”.
Related:
4) Grow Your Social Media
If you are a social media manager, it doesn’t hurt to have the numbers to prove it!
Though having a large following isn’t necessary, it can only help you to show that you know what you are doing – and work to attract more customers.
At the very least, you should have a presence on the platform that you are planning to do social media marketing for, and make it professional and engaging. Many potential clients will look to this as an example of your work.
This also gives you a great medium to test your strategies without risking messing with a client’s account. Having some “social proof” can really help you stand out as an authority in your niche.
Related:
5) Get Experience
One of the best ways to get experience without the stress of trying to land your first clients is to offer work for free or at a discounted rate.
When you are first starting out, people may be hesitant to hire you without any case studies. Fortunately, you can often offer your services for free in exchange for a testimonial or to feature the results on your website.
I have found that Facebook groups are the best place to offer up free services. Look for business owners in your niche and work out a deal with them if you can. You don’t need many – just a couple solid examples to refer potential clients to once you are ready to start really doing business.
6) Gather Testimonials
Once you have done some work for people, you will want to start gathering testimonials.
An easy way to do this is to create a business Facebook page and refer past clients to that page. Having testimonials here will be good proof to potential clients that you are skilled in what you are offering.
If you have a website, I recommend showcasing these testimonials there as well. Just a few can go a long way!
7) Build Out Your Offers
Once you think you are ready to start approaching potential clients, it’s time to establish what your services and offers are going to be.
When it comes to deciding on your offers, it is best to do a bit of research into what your target audience is looking for.
Talk to people you have helped in the past and other social media managers to figure out what offers make the most sense for your platform(s). You may also get an idea of costs as well.
To secure consistent income, it is ideal to create packages that will keep clients on a retainer. For example, you may offer to schedule 5 Instagram posts per week and Instagram Story management for $400 per month, or Instagram engagement for $600 per month. That way, clients will know what to expect month-to-month and you won’t have to depend on one-off projects.
8) Network Online
Don’t underestimate the power of networking!
Social media marketing is a rather competitive industry, and now more than ever it is important to grow your online network.
Trust is a big part of potential clients hiring you on, and having a referral makes it that much easier to make that leap.
Connect and partner up with digital marketing agencies who may need to outsource social media marketing for their clients. Reach out to influencers in your niche. Do all you can to forge that meaningful connection, build trust, and cultivate relationships with people who are open to sending business your way.
9) Land Your First Clients
Landing your very first client can seem like an intimidating feat, but once you do, the process just gets easier from there.
Be confident in your offer and be prepared to show past results. Speak to what their pain points are and how you can address them. Don’t be afraid to compromise a bit on price if they seem like a good fit, as you can later use their case study to justify higher rates for the next client.
Over time, you will learn where you target customers “hang out” and how to market to them. This varies depending on your niche and the kinds of clients you are after. Stay in tune with their needs and match them.
In my experience, Facebook groups are a great place to start. Find a group that includes your target audience, and share value in there. Avoid being salesy. Soon enough, people will come to trust you as a source of information and will inquire about your services. Then it will flourish from there!
Ready to Become a Social Media Manager?
Hopefully, you have found this post helpful in paving the way for your future as a social media manager.
With the right skills and business know-how, you will be making money in no time! By branding yourself and forging those important connections, you can scale up and really make waves!
Related:
- How this Digital Nomad Funds Her Dream of Traveling the World
- How to Make Money Blogging
- Free Editorial Calendar in Google Sheets
- 5 Ways Millennials Can Build Their Personal Brand
What do you love most about social media? Do you have plans to turn it into a career?
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
Hi Jessica,
This is a great article. Social media managers are in demand lately. Everyone realizes how important they are to their companies, especially that each platform requires a different kind of management. So, hiring a specialist in that field is very profitable.
I would think, as a business owner, that it’d be better if I could find a person who can manage the platforms I work on. That means I wouldn’t want to hire three people for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I’d rather have one person do all three.
So, if it is possible, a social media manager should come up with a strategy to define his client base depending on 2 or 3 platforms they know very well and are the most used in a certain niche.
Thank you for the amazing article!