Social media marketing is already the big thing in most countries. For many businesses, focusing on social media marketing isn’t really an option because of the cost and expertise. While social media marketing can easily be managed by an individual (or a team), it takes more than that to actually create a powerful and successful social media plan. In most cases, social media marketing plans go down the drain because there are many problems faced during the implementation stage. For example:
- Lack of knowledge
- Not supportive business owners
- Lack of understanding
- A small budget in marketing
Take a look at the last option. The cost of hiring a social media consultant is pricey. That’s why some companies opt to hire social media freelancers instead. In most cases, it comes with just a fraction of the cost and most freelancers can mix and match the needs of the customers (with some adjustment of cost). Also, the ability to ‘put the freelancer on a trial run’ is also a great move to ensure that businesses do not need to count on just one freelancer.
In this post, you will find ways to become a social media freelancer and be really successful at it.
How To Become A Social Media Freelancer
1. Participating
The first step is pretty obvious in most cases. You need to actually participate in any freelance marketplace to actually get short of becoming one. There are many that you can choose from. For example, Freelancer, Fiverr and Upwork.
These sites are great because there are tons of people (employers) who are looking for freelancers to get the job done for them. Plus, you stand a better chance because you are charging less than most companies or agencies.
Signing up with these freelancer’s marketplace is free and most of them offer free membership. Of course, you can opt for paid membership which can give you more advantages down the road.
Trick: Always look for those free trials for paid membership. It allows you to have an upper hand in the first few weeks if you are starting out fresh in the freelancing work.
2. Bidding
The process of bidding is common for a social media freelancer. What you need to understand is that you have to constantly bid within the market price. Overbidding is not going to help you secure any job while underbidding is just going to affect your profit margin.
In most cases, it boils down to what you have in mind and how much you are willing to charge for a specific job.
When bidding, some marketplace such as Freelancer allows you to describe your service. Your main goal is to provide tons of value with similar or slightly higher prices. This allows you to stand above the crowd and “wow” your employer.
End of the day, all your employer values is the end product as well as the service you rendered.
See also: Top 10 Online Business Ideas For This Year
3. Type of work you can provide
If you are going to become a social media freelancer, it is important that you state your specialty. As a freelancer, you would want to avoid being too general in the job scope. In this case, it means doing all the jobs under one roof.
Most employers do not know what they want. Therefore, this is where you come into play and act as a consultant. You should guide them accordingly and tell them exactly what to expect. You can also guide them on things they should and should not focus on.
At the same time, there is also the need to be very specific to the job. In this case, you have to explain to them that what they will be getting is entirely based on their own budget. For example, for $100, they will be getting just social media scheduling and managing of one Facebook Page (for example). Setting the expectations early is a great way to increase your chance of success as a freelancer. Plus, you will not disappoint your employers as well (which you want to avoid at all costs).
4. Keeping your employees posted
I love to keep my employees in the loop, especially in the middle of the project. If you have to be away for a specific time, make sure you highlight to them as soon as possible. While most of them are okay with such, you should always understand that they still need to be notified as soon as possible and without delay. Any delay would just lead to a lower satisfaction level.
In the social media industry, you may want to keep employees updated on the statistics on a weekly basis. This will assist your employees in understanding the mechanics behind the process and making you look good (literally).
5. Setting the right project duration
When it comes to freelance social media marketing, it is really tough to judge the right amount of time for a specific project. However, you are required to set a time if you are using freelancer’s marketplace. In this case, you may want to set project duration to be slightly more than what you can offer. For example, you may want to set 10 days if you know that the job can be done in just 8 days. The extra time would give you more chances and opportunities to outperform, which will further impress the employers.
6. Provide feedback and ask for feedback (politely)
Most employers will give you a 5-stars rating if you do a decent job. This means that if you are able to provide the agreed project outcome within the time limit, you should be good to go. I know tons of freelancers who are always very keen to ask for feedback.
In this case, you should always provide a feedback first before asking for one. Business is a two-way road and therefore, you should always be respectful to your employees for the more future job.
7. Make your job easier
Just because you’re hired to do a job doesn’t mean you can’t yourself hire other people or use software and tools to make the best out of your time, especially if you have a lot of clients. If you manage multiple projects and social media apps, you need a social media management tool to schedule everything and manage everything from one platform. Check out our top social media management tools comparison and pick the one that’s most suited for your needs!
Summary
Freelancing is really becoming a good business and side income for those who still want to stick to a desk job. While freelancing can be very profitable in the social media industry, it is always important to understand your limits towards time and job performance. By following the steps above, you should be able to achieve a lot, especially in the freelance industry.
See also: Why Should You Consider Using Social Media Services?
