Making the big leap of starting a social media marketing agency is a bold move, especially in an industry that is still taking shape. However, a time does come when bold decisions are the next step in one’s career. If you are in that stage of your career, this is the blog post for you.
This blog post will detail the necessary steps for starting and growing a successful social media marketing agency. We will cover everything from the early days of choosing your niche to compiling your social media marketing portfolio to attract new clients.
Table of Content:
- Define your Niche
- Determine your Pricing
- Formulate a Business Plan
- Pitch your Services
- Build your Portfolio
Define your Niche
With social media marketing at the top of companies’ marketing strategies, they are looking for social media marketers who are not only versed in social media marketing strategies but also knowledgeable about their respective industries.
Before you go ahead with pitching your service to clients, you need to first determine your niche. Defining your niche will help you determine your services and your target audience. With social media marketing at the top of companies’ marketing strategies, they are looking for social media marketers who are not only versed in social media marketing strategies but also knowledgeable about their respective industries.
Try to focus on businesses in one industry and establish yourself as a social media marketing expert in that industry. Besides being aware of the niche online community of an industry, you will come to understand the engagement and buying habits of a niche audience. This will better help you target potential customers on social media on behalf of your clients.
After determining your niche industry, you will have to hone some skills to excel in that industry. For instance, if you are a social media marketer catering to B2B, you will have to be very skillful in LinkedIn marketing, both organic and Ad strategies.
Narrowing down your niche will also help you determine what social media management tool you will have to invest in. Nuelink, for instance, caters to social media agencies that specialize in different niche industries like e-commerce and blogging.
Determine your Pricing
The average monthly pricing of social media services ranges from $500 to $5,000. Some social media marketers also offer packaged services or standard pricing.
It can be hard for a start-up to determine what they need to charge for their service, while still competing with established social media marketing agencies. You will have to first take into consideration your monthly expenses, utility, rent, and subscriptions. After determining these expenses you will have to determine your hourly rate or salary. You can adjust your business margins as your business and expenses grow with the addition of new employees and the purchase of new equipment.
These pricings are dependent on a few elements. You will have to take into consideration the project at hand and what resources will take to get it done. The average monthly pricing of social media services ranges from $500 to $5,000. Some social media marketers also offer packaged services or standard pricing. You will have to determine what works best for the industry you are targeting.
Formulate a Business Plan
There will be fierce competition, so having a clear idea of what your audience wants and being able to offer it to them will set you apart from other social media marketers.
Formulating a plan for your business is essential to keep you on track. A comprehensive business plan will help you with the decision-making process as a first-time business owner. Creating a business plan for your agency will also help you with determining where your initial investment should be funded.
In order to formulate your plan, you will also need to understand your market and potential clients’ needs. There will be fierce competition, so having a clear idea of what your audience wants and being able to offer it to them will set you apart from other social media marketers.
Pitch your Services
Consider the needs of businesses in your niche industry and show a great knowledge of the habits of their targeted audience.
This is the most important step in starting a social media marketing agency. After the work you have done to set the foundation for your business, you will need to approach potential clients and offer them your services.
After determining your niche, you will need to connect with clients from that industry. You will need to have a convincing and easy-to-follow pitch in order to attract new clients. Consider the needs of businesses in your niche industry and show a great knowledge of the habits of their targeted audience. You will need to establish yourself as an expert not only in social media marketing but also in your clients’ industry.
Make sure to provide an excellent experience to your existing clientele. This will help you score new clients through word-of-mouth marketing.
Build your Portfolio
Your portfolio will help you highlight your experience, credentials, work, and metrics, and show potential clients which clients you worked with in the past.
Building a business portfolio for your social media agency is what will help you grow and land new clients. It will help you establish your social media agency as an expert in the field. Your portfolio will help you highlight your experience, credentials, work, and metrics, and show potential clients which clients you worked with in the past.
A portfolio also works as social proof for potential clients hesitant about hiring you. With being a specialized social media marketer, potential clients will also be able to recognize names in their industry and feel safer taking the next step with your agency.
Your social media posts can act as your portfolio. This will help you both showcase your work and promote your social media marketing agency online.
