Top Tips for Starting Out as a Freelance Social Media Manager
Congratulations! You've made it this far in exploring your next career as a freelance social media manager. A lot of people talk themselves out of exploring this option, so the fact you are here is a great first step. I can probably take a guess as to a few concerns you might have...
I am not good enough to go out on my own 💭
I won't be able to financially support myself 💭
I don't even know where to begin 💭
These were all thoughts that lingered on my mind when I was starting out. Even now, they still make an occasional appearance in my thoughts…and this is totally normal! I've worked with some of the biggest UK brands out and still, imposter syndrome comes into play (but that's a topic for another day).
Today, I'm here to help you kickstart your freelance career by sharing my top tips that have won over every client I have pitched for. The most common feedback I receive after pitching is "This process is exactly what we need!". So what is this magical process that my clients and prospective clients seem to love so much? Keep reading to steal my step to step process that works like a dream every time. You'll be on the road to retained clients in a matter of days.
Get Organised
First things first, set them up with their client folder that houses all the information/ assets/ brand guidelines/ passwords, etc. I use G-Drive and each client gets their own individualised folder where we can drag and drop everything we need to in one centralised spot. For example:
Client X ⬇️
Create folders for Branding, Social Media & Admin
Under Branding create folders for ⬇️
Brand Guidelines, Logos, Colour Hues, Typography, Approved Imagery
Under Social Media create folders for ⬇️
Paid Budgets (break this out if you are doing a paid campaign folder, otherwise boosted spend should sit under here), Finalised Social Media Assets, Raw Footage, Finalised UGCs
Under Admin create folders for ⬇️
T's &C's, Password Bank
T's & C's should house the engagement letter, any contracts or NDAs. Create the password bank that will house all passwords for marketing efforts across the board.
Set up your approval process
I see so many people still using Goole Sheets to get the approval of content. It's 2023... there are far better tools you can use to streamline your content, house everything in one place, as well as evolve your content into future posts. Monday.com has single-handedly won me clients due to the in-depth and strategic overview of content.
You can create groups (what I use as content pillars) and I put a percentage behind the amount of content we want to showcase every month. This keeps me in line with what types of content I need to be producing every month.
Then you can create an item which I use for content themes or topics, ie. Events, Testimonials, FAQs, Pro's/ Con's, etc. From there, you can use the drop-down arrow to create subitems, which I use as individual content going out.
The tabs at the top are completely customisable, and allow for you to categorise your content however you see fit... audience segment, date, platform-specific, content medium, etc. Not only that, but you can have a play around with colours to brighten up your board.
To view the actual creative asset, copy and hashtags, you would click on the individual item to bring you to the pulse. You can upload any media file as well as tag in the clients to chat with in the update. In the updates (kind of like a chat) can centralise everything as well as leave a bit of a paper trail in one spot ⬇️
Find your Design Platform
Now, it's no surprise everyone is using Canva, it's the go-to for content design. Now, while I am familiar with Adobe Creative Suite, the reality is, it's not fit for the purpose of social media. For web design and graphic design? Absolutely. For social media content? Not so much. Social Media Managers aren't graphic designers. Additionally, you can't add them to a team.
For a forward-thinking design platform, I recommend a far easier/more user-friendly platform called Visme. Similar to Canva, without the over-saturation of templates. When I am strolling through Instagram, I can't tell you the number of designs I see, that I've come across on Canva nearly every day. If you're looking to spice up your client's template, definitely check out Visme.
Submit Monthly Reports
The reality is, there is no point in doing social media if you don't track the monthly analytics properly or even at all. I don't write manual reports... in 2023 with all the automated software out there, I pull auto-generated PDF reports for my clients every month- just so we can see what's working, what isn't and what has room for improvement. The platforms I alternate between are Agency Analytics & Metricool. If your client has budget for a super metrics integration (I believe it is £3k a year) I highly recommend a Google Data Studio dashboard for a real-time, link dashboard.
Incorporate these 4 essential tools and you will be ready to rock n roll with your first client. They will be so impressed with your process and WoW, they will see how important this structure would be to anyone posting on social media.
What are you waiting for?! Keep going- you've got this!