How to Start a Social Media Business
So rumor has it you’re thinking about starting your own social media business, huh! Maybe you’ve been working in the social media industry in-house or at an agency and are ready to branch out on your own, maybe you’ve done freelance social media projects before but you’re looking to take your work a step further or maybe you’re just ready to make a career shift and do something new. No matter what the reason that is motivating you, you’re in the right place because today I’m going to share the basics of what you need to do to get your ducks in a row and actually make it happen!
So a little background on us, just in case this is the first time you’re landing on our website so you understand why I’m qualified to share this info. I’m Anna and I’m the founder of Going Bold Studio. I’ve been working in the social media industry for over a decade and branched out and started my own business in 2015. So you could say I’ve been around the block a few times on this stuff to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Which is why I’m here today, to save you some time in figuring it all out. So let’s get down to biz!
Get Your Logistics in Order
First things first, if you want to start a social media business then you need to get your logistics in order AKA make your business legit! Here are some of the key things you need to sort out:
Business Name: If you’re going to start a business it needs a name! This could be something related to your name or something else. Just make sure that no one else is using it, the domain names and social media handles are available.
Business Structure & Licenses: Next up you’ll need to figure out your business structure and secure any business licenses required. For this, we’re talking about whether you’ll be a sole-proprietor, LLC, or Corporation. I break down some of the differences of each in this post too if you could use more help on that end. You’ll also need to check with your state’s business departments and see if you are also required to have any state business licenses.
Website & Social Media Handles: Another thing you’ll want to do at this stage is get your website and/or social media accounts set up. It’s up to you which options you want to use but I highly recommend having a website (even if it’s simple) so that you can market your business and send prospective clients there to learn more about your services.
Decide What Services You want to Offer and Who you want to Work With
Now that you’ve sorted out some of the logistics, it’s time to think about what kinds of services or products you want to offer. Here are some questions to ask yourself to get to the nitty-gritty.
What services or offerings are you really passionate about and good at?
What problem can those offerings solve for your clients or customers?
Who is your ideal client or customer?
Will you offer services, products or both?
How will you charge for your services? Will it be hourly, monthly retainer-based, project-based or per product?
The key here is to hone in on what you’re really passionate about, who you want to work with and finalize a handful of things you can offer. Having too many offerings can be overwhelming so it can be better to start small. Another thing I want you to do while you’re sorting out your offerings is to consider the pricing that you will charge for each and how many clients or products you would have to sign or sell each month to make a liveable wage. Make sure you’re also accounting for tax in those estimates too! $1,000 as a business owner is not the same as $1,000 as an employee so make sure you’re setting yourself up for a sustainable business right from the start. One of the biggest things I see new biz owners do is price their services so low that even if they had a full client roster they’re making pennies… Don’t do that! Yes, you can always increase your prices later but if you think about this ahead of time you’ll save yourself some time.
Create a Portfolio to Highlight Your Work
Having a portfolio is one of the best ways to seal the deal on new business because you’re able to not only tell people what you can do, but show them! If you’re just starting out and don’t have a ton of case studies yet, that’s okay but it’s worth pulling together what experience you do have and either highlighting it right on your website or creating a PDF you can send when requested. Here’s a breakdown of what to include in your case studies too:
Overview of Campaign: What was your focus and how long was the campaign? Was your purpose to grow the community? Increase engagement? Support a launch? Connect with a specific portion or their audience? Influencer marketing? Brand styling? This is where you tell people what you did.
Strategy and Tactics: This is the part where you highlight what you actually did to accomplish the goal. Think about the different tasks you did throughout the campaign and highlight them here. Bullet points are gold for this too!
Results: Here is what people really care about… those results! Show people what you were able to accomplish! I like to showcase key numbers and screenshots of our work whenever possible.
The key to creating a portfolio that has impact is giving potential clients enough info so they know what the campaign was about and can see your results, without having to sift through a ton of pages. Short and to the point wins the day! Another thing to consider is adding visuals whenever you can. It’s a great way to break up the copy and help bring your campaign to life. I also have a blog post that takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a portfolio if you could use some extra help on this part!
Brainstorm New Business Strategies
A business is only a business when you have clients or customers! So how do you plan on getting them? There are a lot of different strategies you can try and here are some I recommend:
Networking — online and in-person: The first key to getting people to sign with you is to let them know you exist! Take advantage of networking opportunities both online through social media and in-person options.
Submit Proposals on Freelance Websites: There are many freelance websites where potential clients can post what they’re looking for and it’s a great place to start for warm leads. Upwork, LinkedIn and other job posting websites can be a great place to start.
Cold Pitches: If there’s someone specific you want to work with, try sending them a cold pitch to introduce your services and let them know how you could help.
White Label Services: Another option to consider is partnering with other companies that offer services that are complementary to what you offer and working under them on certain projects.
Use your own Content Marketing: Get leads by sharing your expertise on your website and social media. It’s a great SEO boost for your business and lets people see firsthand you know your ish!
Get Your Systems in Order
Then our last tip for today is getting your systems in order. This will save you a lot of time down the road if you sort out your processes from the get-go. So what does this mean? It means thinking out the process from inquiry to onboarding to make each step as easy as possible for both you and your future clients. For us, our process goes like this
Pitch or Inquiry: Depending on if a lead reached out to us or replied to one of our pitches
Call or Meeting: Following the initial email I typically set up a call or meeting to discuss their needs and how we could help further
Proposal: If the call goes well, I’ll offer to put together a customized proposal based on the services we discussed with a quote and potential timeline.
Contract & Invoice: If they decide they want to work together then I will send our contract and first invoice
Pre-project Homework: Once a contract is signed, they’ll receive our pre-project homework which includes a questionnaire and a folder for them to drop any assets they have available.
Social Media Strategy: After I start their campaign, I will spend the first few days creating a complete social media strategy with further details on what we will be doing that is approved by the client.
Content Calendars: After the strategy is approved, we’ll move into our management and provide weekly content calendars to our clients.
The key here is to think of how clients will start working with you and creating any templates or deciding which tools you will use ahead of time that will save you time down the road! That way, if you get a potential lead tomorrow, you can turn around your proposals and get that client signed even faster!
Phew, I know I just shared A LOT of info with you guys but I hope you found it helpful, and hey, hopefully it saved you several hours of researching everything on Google! If you’re looking for further support, I also offer hourly “Pick my brain” consulting sessions where we can chat about whatever you need help with!
Anna Osgoodby
Founder of Going Bold Studio, Anna Osgoodby is an award-winning designer and social media marketing expert. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in helping small businesses with their social media, branding and Squarespace website design.
