– So you want to become
a social media manager but you're not really sure
what all that entails? Stick around because by
the end of this video, you'll understand the seven
steps you need to take to become a freelance
social media manager. I'm Lauren Golden here with a
new episode of Free Mama TV, showing moms like you how to start and run a successful freelancing
business from home. Subscribe to my channel and hit the bell to be notified when I post a new episode of Free Mama TV right here every Tuesday. When I first started
freelancing back in 2014, social media seemed like
a great place to start. I didn't have a degree in marketing, but I did have a passion for people and had gotten pretty good
at cultivating community as the Alum Director at a local school, plus, I was obsessed with Facebook. By following the seven steps
I'm going to share with you in this video, I was able to
replace my full-time salary in less than a year
working half the hours.
Now I'm breaking it down step
by step so that you can too. Step number one, understand what social media marketing really is. Social media managers help businesses grow their online communities. This often includes writing
posts and making graphics, also called creating
content, scheduling posts, replying to comments or
private messages from fans, and maybe even running ads. As a social media manager,
your job is to help companies gain traffic and attention
on social media platforms. You're consistently
posting engaging content on social media, you'll
help spread brand awareness and even promote particular products.
Step number two, figure
out your advantage. Social media can be
incredibly overwhelming because there's just so much. The good news is that
you don't have to figure everything out to get started
as a social media manager. Instead, figure out your
advantage and lead with that. You don't have to do
everything to be successful as a social media manager
because few people do everything at a super awesome level. Are you a brilliant copywriter but the idea of creating
graphics freaks you out? Own it! Are you awesome at repurposing content but a little nervous
about writing your own? Own it! Are you great at customer service and making people feel special but creating content gives you hives? Own it! Another option would be to specialize in a specific skillset.
Some people will
exclusively run Facebook ads or set up chat bot campaigns. There are Pinterest marketing
experts, YouTube strategists. If there's a particular platform you geek out over or
an approach or strategy you really wanna sink your
teeth into, go for it. The great thing about specializing
as a social media manager is that you can charge a
premium for these skills. Step number three, now
that you've figured out your advantage, you're gonna wanna invest in that specific skill
over and over again. Now you may have fallen in love with social media while posting all of those gorgeous newborn
pics of your sweetheart and feeling that huge rush of validation as loving comments poured
into your notification tab, but to truly stand out as
a social media manager, you're going to need
to learn what it takes to drive engagement consistently, build community around your clients brand, and convert those fans into buyers. Overwhelmed? Don't be, there are so many
amazing free resources out there to help you learn what you need to know. And remember, you don't
need to know everything.
My favorite resource when
I first began freelancing as a social media manager
was SocialMediaExaminer.com. It's a free blog and podcast with relevant trends and how-tos. You should also do market research. Follow brands that are
crushing it at social media, study them, model what's working. A huge part of social media is by trial. You have to test if certain things will work for your particular audience. One of my favorite things about
being a social media manager is that you're never
really late to the game.
It's a landscape that
is constantly changing, so as long as you're willing to dive in and then continue to learn
and adapt, you'll be golden. Set aside professional
development regularly to continue to hone your craft. Step number four, set your rate. One of the first and sometimes
only questions I get asked from aspiring social media managers inside the Free Mama Movement Facebook group is how much should I charge for this. It's a difficult question to answer because there's so many
different factors to consider, type of business, number of platforms, services you're providing,
volume of posts, volume of community, you get the point. A great place to start is by finding out what other people
offering the same services are charging and go from there. You might not get it
exactly right the first time but you'll quickly adjust your
pricing for the next client and learn from there.
The key is to be confident in
your delivery of your rates when interacting with a client. You should never be
apologetic or wishy-washy about the value of your services. Tip number five, get clients. Getting clients is an
important part of any business. It's kind of like how you make money. There are so many different ways to find clients online and in real life, and we'll cover a few but
there is one non-negotiable. You have to tell people what you're doing. Yep, you have to make
sure that your friends and family know you're
a social media manager because they're a great
source of referrals for you. When you network in Facebook
groups or on LinkedIn, show up as the social
media expert you are.
Put all of your newfound
skills to use on you. Optimize your social media profiles to reflect your new business title and give them an easy
way to reach out to you if they want to explore working together. Lastly, consider going to
in-person networking events and show up as a confident
social media manager with a genuine interest in
everyone else's business. Just like social media management, networking is all about
building relationships. Have you landed your first
social media manager gig yet? Where did you find your first client? Tell me in the comments below. And if you are still struggling
to land that first client, no worries, I've got
something I wanna share with you at the end of this video. Step number six, build proof. As you start to roll up your sleeves and dust off your own social media profile and start to get clients, it's important to start
to collect examples.
Building an online portfolio
as a social media manager is such an easy way to show new prospects what you're capable of. You can add examples to your website to show people what
you bring to the table, you can create an infographic in Canva, or you can do what I did and
simply gather screenshots of your client work and
dump them in a folder. Don't make this harder than it has to be. Your work will speak for itself. Last but not least, step
number seven, develop systems. Time management will be important as your social media
manager business grows. When you have multiple clients, you'll need to streamline
and badge your various tasks. Invest in scheduling tools
like Buffer or Tailwind to map out your posts in advance and have them pushed out
to the channels for you.
You should also get in
the habit of time-blocking to make sure you aren't
glued to your apps 24/7. Set aside a specific time
for planning content, time for engaging with fans,
time for diving into the data. Speaking of data, there is
a science to social media. It's not just pretty images
and thoughtful storytelling. To be successful and to
keep your clients happy, you'll need to keep up with the analytics of the platforms you manage. The good news, all social media platforms have good stats readily available, so just make sure you're
reading what it's telling you. This will help you know
what to do more or less of and when, but it will
also help you leverage your impact on that brand's business so that they keep you on
board for the long haul. And now you know my
seven steps showing you how to become a freelance
social media manager. In today's marketing
landscape businesses know they need an online presence
to stay competitive. The truth is, if a brand isn't online, then they don't get to
guide the conversation about what other people
are saying about them.
Are you struggling to
find these businesses who need your help to
show up on social media in a consistent and authentic way? If you're still looking for that first or next freelancing client,
I want to invite you to check out my Quick Start
Freelance Success Kit. This mini course was designed
for you to breeze through in a day and walk away fully
quipped with strategies for growing your book of business. It includes tools and
templates to help you turn your side hustle into your
full-time gig even faster. You can find the link in the comment below or check out
TheFreeMamaMovement.com/Success. Also, if you want to join a community of mamas just like you,
I have a Facebook group where thousands of mamas
come together for support and action-taking tips and motivation.
As always, if you liked this video, please let me know by liking it below, subscribe, and share it
with your fellow mamas, and comment below with #iamafreemama if you're ready to become a
freelance social media manager. (upbeat music) (loud sigh) I probably have food in my teeth. Subscribe to my channel and
hit the bell to be notified ugh, you'd think I'd have
that memorized by now. (breathes out) Ba, ba, ba, ba. I'm choking on my own words. (breathes out) I'm getting hot. You can create an info,
infographic, oh my gosh. What you think about that. (chuckles) There's that..