How to become a freelance social media marketing manager

Today, social media is essential to building businesses and marketing goods. With an outreach of 3.78 billion users, social media platforms can reach both broad and specific audiences. 

Not every business can maintain its social media needs. Because of this, there is a demand for social media marketing managers that can help clients build a brand and outreach. 

This guide will cover how to become a freelance social media marketing manager by:

• Developing skills in social media marketing management
• Finding clients for freelance social media marketing work
• Reaching out to potential clients and building your career

Social media managers take stress off clients by maintaining their social media marketing needs. But, to succeed as a social media marketing manager, you need to be skilled in your trade. This means understanding the ins and outs of the social media platforms that you’ll use. 

Social media platforms have many functions the average user may not be familiar with. These platforms can be used differently for professional purposes. To grow a client base as a social media marketing manager, you need to know how to use these platforms effectively. 

Learn each social media platform’s potential. For example, Instagram is photo-based while Twitter focuses on shorter, written content fueled by hashtags and trending pages. LinkedIn and Facebook allow for extensive profile pages and have tools to reach target interest groups.  Having said that, LinkedIn is more business focused. 

You’ll understand how consistent engagement and posting can translate to an increased following and a wider audience. It’s important to have a grasp of paid promotions and boosting posts. You’ll also want to be familiar with creating and editing videos for Youtube. 

You’ll also want to be a strong planner, ready to design and maintain a schedule for each client. You’ll also want to familiarise yourself with some social media management tools, such as Buffer or TweetDeck. Ultimately, you’ll need to know how to make a strategy for each client, which you can learn more about here.

Each social media platform also reaches different audiences. You should understand which platforms reach the appropriate audience for each client.

Facebook has roughly 2.89 billion users, being one of the largest social media platforms in the world. This platform reaches an audience of nearly all age groups, though its largest audience is that of ages 18-44. Meanwhile, Twitter mainly reaches an audience of 18 to 29 years while TikTok’s audience is generally younger. This is important information to understand when targeting social media users for clients. 

It’s good to have knowledge of how to use the platforms to reach a client’s target audience. This means understanding which hashtags and keywords will reach the right users. It also means understanding the platform’s algorithm and trending pages. Aside from this, build an understanding of branding and specific clients’ needs. 

Social media platforms are ever-changing. You’ll want to keep yourself up to date with these changes to be an expert in the field. For example, Instagram recently introduced a Reel function, similar to a TikTok format, which has proved helpful in marketing video content. 

TikTok itself is still relatively new to social media. It can reach specific audiences and help clients grow with things like reviews, skits, and informational videos. A good example of this is the area of ‘BookTok,’ on which publishing companies can capitalise by marketing content. 

Once you’ve sharpened your social media marketing skills, it’s time to find work opportunities. As a self-employed worker, you need to market yourself and seek out potential clients.  

Show potential clients that you know what you’re doing. This means developing a portfolio of social media marketing work that potential clients can browse. One way to do this is by creating a website with your credentials and examples of your work.  

You can also maintain your own social media platforms to market yourself. By maintaining your social media presence, you can show you’re skilled and open to work. Comb through social media pages for potential clients. You can reach out and introduce yourself as a solution to their social media needs. 

Some great places to start finding clients is by creating profiles on freelance websites. There are plenty of clients looking for social media marketing managers on these platforms. Start by looking at sites like Fiverr, UpWork, or Freelancer. If you develop your profile and regularly search for clients, you can find the right jobs to begin your career. 

You could also reach out to small businesses in your area to offer freelance social media management services. By understanding their market, you can offer ideas on how to grow these businesses. This could be a great way to develop your social media marketing portfolio and build client relationships. 

Once you begin to develop a client base, you’ll want to set standard fees for your services to maintain a steady income. As you get more clients, make sure that you keep track of your finances.

As a sole trader or small business owner, you’re responsible not only for finding your work, but also managing your finances. You’ll want to keep track of your expenses and income as you’ll need to pay taxes towards those earnings. 

When you’re starting your own business, it’s important to keep your personal and business finances separate from day one – to save yourself from time-consuming admin headaches further down the line. 

That’s why thousands of business owners use the Countingup app.

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.