There is a lot of opportunity for freelance social media marketing services. As of 2017, there were 2.46 billion worldwide social network users. A lot of companies do not have the time and resources to effectively engage their audience on these channels.
Building your freelance social media marketing business involves a couple of broad steps: developing your qualifications and credentials and attracting clients.
To impress clients with your social media credentials, you need to recognize the skills that matter most. Familiarity with prominent channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Snapchat helps. However, clients also need to know that you can:
If you feel comfortable that you have the qualifications, the next step is to demonstrate them to clients. In addition to your education and work experience, gain industry certifications. HubSpot offers a lot of digital and inbound marketing courses and certifications. You can earn their “Social Media Marketing Certification,” for instance. HubSpot is well-known and well-respected in the online community.
You can also prove your abilities by successfully building your personal and business brand across channels. Your own branded efforts are the best testament to your capabilities to manage a business brand.
As you get started, explore project opportunities on freelance sites that connect companies with workers. This project work helps you connect with clients and build your resume. Upwork, Elance, ODesk, and iFreelance.com are a few examples.
Naturally, you want to use your social media accounts to engage with potential clients. Look for business profiles that are underdeveloped. Reach out through a private message and share a blog post or state directly the benefits of a more developed social media presence.
In addition to social media, you can reach out to prospects by phone or email. Most companies link to their business website from their social media profiles. Their websites usually have contact information. Prepare a personalized email that demonstrates awareness of the need for companies to have a strong social media presence, and then highlight some of your services and abilities.
Some freelancers look for large clients to stabilize their income. While this limits the number of contacts you have to make and manage, it also exposes you to more risk.
Even with large clients, freelance work is not guaranteed and is unpredictable. If you lose your only client or your largest one, you are in a bad spot. Developing a base of smaller accounts insulates you from the deep pain of losing any one client.
Freelancers looking to build a successful social media marketing business need to build and demonstrate their qualifications first. Then, leverage social media platforms, email, and other channels to get your message in front of companies that lack the necessary resources to manage social media accounts themselves.
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