July 1, 2018

Get Paid to Post as a Freelance Social Media Manager

Nick Making Money 2 Comments

If you enjoy social media and want to make some extra income, offering social media management services to local businesses is well worth considering.

It’s easy to do from home, fitting the work in around your other commitments. You can start part-time and (if you wish) go up to full-time as you build your client base.

Age is no barrier, so long as you have a lively, inquiring mind. And all you really need to get started is a computer with a reliable internet connection.

Who Needs This Service?

Short answer – practically every business!

Nowadays social media is huge. Customers increasingly expect businesses to have a social media presence. If they don’t, it may even be seen by some people as suggesting they have something to hide.

Social media is also a great tool for businesses wanting to attract new clients by harnessing the power of personal recommendation. After all, what would you be more likely to act on? An ad at the bottom of page 37 of your local paper or an enthusiastic Facebook post by a friend about the great meal they enjoyed last night at a local restaurant?

Your average business owner will know this, but in many cases they won’t have the time or expertise to do it themselves. And that’s where you can come in, as a freelance social media manager.

What Does the Work Involve?

You will normally start by agreeing a social media strategy with your client, based on what they want to achieve. You will then set up social media accounts on their behalf (assuming they don’t have these already) and post regularly on them.

Posts will typically include some promotional posts on behalf of the business, along with news, tips and advice, photos, and humorous items. You might also set up (and run) contests, giveaways, and so on.

You will monitor clients’ accounts, responding to any comments made or questions asked, and try to generate activity and engagement from readers. This will help ensure that the posts concerned get liked, seen and shared by more people.

You can also offer to run social media advertising for clients, generally using Facebook. Of course, you would pass on the cost of this to clients or include it in the fee you charge them (see below).

What Skills Do You Need?

If you’re an enthusiastic social media user, you’re half-way there already!

Clearly you will need a good grasp of how social media works and first-hand experience with the main platforms. The most important is Facebook, with Twitter not far behind.

For businesses whose work can be depicted visually (designers, builders, hairdressers, and so on) Instagram and Pinterest may be important too, while LinkedIn can be relevant for professional and business-to-business services.

While you don’t need to be Shakespeare, you should be a competent writer, able to create content in a chatty, friendly style that is also appropriate to the image your client wants to project. A good visual design sense helps a lot as well.

And finally, you should have the ability to be diplomatic with visitors to your clients’ social media pages, especially when they post complaints. Pouring oil on troubled waters can be an important aspect of the job, though in some cases (e.g. dealing with trolls) you may need to be firm and decisive as well.

What Should You Charge?

In this field it’s normal to charge a monthly fee. You can offer various levels of service and charge accordingly.

To give you an idea, Oxfordshire-based agency Social Sidekick offers a basic service (which they call The Small Package) for £200 a month plus VAT, as follows:

• No fixed term contract
• 7 unique posts per week
• Up to 2 social platforms managed
• £10 per month on Facebook advertising (included within monthly fee)
• Monthly report
• Basic strategy
• Social media resources pack
• Account manager

At the other end of the scale, this is what they offer for £380 a month plus VAT in The Big Package.

• No fixed term contract
• 14 unique posts per week
• Up to 4 social platforms managed
• £40 per month on Facebook advertising (included within monthly fee)
• Monthly report
• Social media strategy
• Social media resources pack
• Account manager

To get more ideas about fees and services, I recommend searching on Google for “Social Media Management Services”. This should bring up a list of companies and individuals in this field, and advertisements for such companies as well. Spend some time comparing what they charge and what they offer in return.

Finding Clients

To operate successfully as a freelance social media manager you will need a blog or website and a strong social media presence yourself.

It’s then a matter of advertising your service through local media and/or contacting businesses directly to offer your services.

You can use traditional mailshots, telemarketing or emails to contact potential clients. Email Marketing Robot is a service I have used for the latter purpose myself and recommend. You can try it out free of charge via the website.

Another good strategy would be Facebook advertising. Facebook lets you target ads very precisely, based on geographical area and the profiles and interests of the people in question. Of course, your Facebook ads should look smart and professional, as this is one of the services you will most likely be offering to your clients.

In Conclusion

Social media management is an enjoyable and lucrative business to get into. You need only a handful of clients to make a substantial income, and they will go on on paying you month after month if they are happy with your service.

And while in this article I have focused on local businesses, as the actual work is done online there is no reason you couldn’t branch out nationally or even internationally as well.

With the seemingly endless rise of social media, demand for this type of service can only continue to grow in the years ahead. In my view, there has never been a better time than now for setting up a social media management service.