After taking many certified courses on social media management, many social media managers ask themselves questions like how to get clients as a social media manager, how to pitch to clients, how to get recurring clients, and many more.
So as a social media manager and a blogger in the social media marketing niche, I would like to use my experience and a little research on this topic to show you practical and winning tips on getting clients as a social media manager.
As someone who has just finished studying social media management or finished interning for a few businesses, starting your career as a social media manager and attracting clients could be a daunting task. But after going through this article, you will gain practical tips on how to get clients as a social media manager.
The tips I will show you in this article will work for freelancers, coaches, social media managers, and newbies.
Let’s get started…
7 Ways on How to Get Clients as A Social Media Manager
1. Gain Visibility for Yourself Through Content Marketing.
People don’t know what you do until you tell them. If you don’t tell people what you do, no one will know what you do, which can be done through content marketing.
Content marketing is an effective way to show potential clients on social media what you do as a freelancer, coach, social media manager, etc. leverage the power of content marketing to attract potential clients on social media.
Before starting on content marketing, you need to decide which content marketing format you are good in and create.
There are many types of content marketing formats, and they include:
- Blogging.
- Video.
- Podcasting.
- Infographics.
- Email.
- Visual content.
- E-books.
- Lead magnets.
- And many more
But the most popular ones are blogging, video (vlogging), podcasting, and lead magnets.
After deciding on the content marketing type, you want to leverage; you have to decide on the platform you will use to attract your potential clients.
Conduct market research on your ideal clients, find out the social networks they are likely to hang around and build your authority there with your content marketing strategy.
For example, suppose your ideal clients are fashion or beauty shops. In that case, you know they are most likely to be on Instagram because Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform, so it is the most preferred platform for businesses like that.
After finding the platform that your potential clients hang around, start attracting them with your content marketing strategy, use your content to attract and gain visibility to your brand.
When you start getting more visibility from your potential clients, use a lead magnet to attract them into your sales funnel, nurture them with more content and later pitch to them.
Tip: You can create lead magnets using free content to attract your clients; examples of content you can create: creating a social media strategy, creating a Twitter list, and many more.
2. Upwork: Gives You an Idea of What Startups Are Looking for In a Social Media Manager
Upwork is one of the best freelancing sites in the world where a lot of freelancers meet potential clients and make a lot of good money.
It is one of the best freelancing sites to get clients as a social media manager, and it doesn’t require a lot of work on your side as a social media manager because it handles invoices, payment, contract agreements, and many other things.
It may be a little difficult for a newbie to attract potential clients on this platform because most clients want to see past projects you’ve worked on. So as a newbie, I would advise that you intern for an agency or work on a friend’s business page on social media to get proof for your potential client.
It is easy to sign up and start sending proposals to clients.
Go to upwork.com and sign up.
3. Join Facebook Groups Relevant to Your Niche and Make Valuable Contributions
Another channel to get clients as a social media manager is to join Facebook groups that your potential clients would likely be and make valuable contributions there through content marketing.
Search conversations in Facebook groups using the keywords concerning what you offer. For example: looking to hire, looking to hire a social media manager, etc.
Tip: You don’t have to message them directly in their DMs because many people will be bombarding them with messages in their DMs, and they might not even see your message. So, you should reply to their post in the Facebook group; with that, even if you don’t get hired by them, other potential clients can see your reply and view your portfolio to see if you would be a match for them to hire you.
You don’t have to wait for clients to start asking for social media managers or freelancers to work with; you can get them by providing value in the groups you join; it gives you an edge over the other freelancers or social media managers in the group competing with you.
When clients see that your content is helpful and relevant, you will be the first person to reach out to if they want to hire someone as a social media manager.
4. Connect With Social Media Managers in Your Niche
You have to build great connections with other social media managers already in the game. Most of them have enough on their hand that they will be willing to refer clients to you or request your help in handling some of their clients’ work.
If you don’t have any friends who are into social media management, you need to search for social media managers on various social media channels and connect with them.
The best social media platform to build connections quickly is Instagram. You can do that by searching for relevant hashtags in your niche and actively engaging with the content of accounts using those hashtags, you have the opportunity to make connections. If they respond, take the next step by introducing yourself through direct messages and fostering those relationships.
5. Reach Out to Clients and Pitch to Them
You should be reaching out to clients daily. Sometimes clients will not even know that they need to hire a social media manager until you reach out to them.
Draft proposals and send them to clients daily; it could be via Instagram DMs, Twitter DMs, emails, LinkedIn, etc.
If you want to get clients faster, you need to be proactive about it. So, reach out to clients and pitch to them. Send at least 3 – 5 proposals daily; it can increase your chances of securing a client faster.
Go out and hunt for clients in the niche you would like to work in and send them your proposals.
6. Follow Pages of Influencers in Your Niche and Engage with Their Content
Another way to get clients as a social media manager is to follow the business pages of influencers in your niche and drop valuable comments on their posts.
The catch here is, most brands follow these influencers, so the more you drop valuable comments on the influencer’s posts, the more you draw visibility to yourself and your account. When people notice that you are dropping value, they will come to your page to come and check you out; once they see results and value on your page, some will follow you, and others would reach out to you if they need your help.
Secondly, the influencer might also notice you, and if they see that you are valuable, they might give you a referral.
In simple words, follow influencers, engage with their content, attract them.
READ ALSO: 8 Simple Ways To Build An Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy
7. Partner With Media Buyers in Our Niche
Media buyers are those who run ads for businesses. They run ads like Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Google ads, etc. they always work with a lot of clients who have social media pages, so they might be able to refer clients to you.
You can find these media buyers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Reach out to them, show them what you do and how you can help clients with their social media page management.
Let it be a partnership between both parties where each party will benefit from the deal. You can give them a percentage of what you will charge the clients they refer to you. With this, they will be willing to refer you to their clients.
Conclusion On How to Get Clients as A Social Media Manager
If you are struggling as a social media manager to get clients to work with, use any of the steps that I have explained above. If one isn’t working for you, try the others. They are tactics that most freelancers use to attract and get potential clients.
Let us know in the comment box the outcome of applying these tips, and if you have any other strategy you use in getting clients, don’t hesitate to share it with us.
