In this blog, I’m going to share how to find clients as a social media manager by using three ways to find people and companies who are actively looking for a social media manager. But before we dive in with that, I want to talk about a common mistake social media managers make when they are first starting out.
Most Common Social Media Manager Mistake
The number one misconception is that people think you just need to post on your Instagram or any other social media platform and expect people and businesses to just come and buy your services. This is a long-term strategy, but in the beginning, when you are just starting out it takes a lot of building and making relationships to get to that level.
Clients also don’t tend to care how big your account is, they care more about what results you can get them and the results that you have already given other businesses.
If you are just starting out and you have no results at all yet, then make sure you watch my video on HOW TO CREATE A PORTFOLIO and join my FREE MASTERCLASS where I walk you through how to get started as a freelance social media manager.
Where to find social media management clients
There are many ways you can find social media management clients from freelancing websites like Upwork and Fiverr, LinkedIn, Instagram to Facebook groups, cold outreach, email lists and many more. But I’d like to share with you these three websites to help you find your first or second clients easily to help you build your portfolio. After your first few clients, it will be much easier to pitch bigger package prices, but for now, it is important to get those first clients for your portfolio.
1. GURU.COM
The first website I want you to sign up for is called Guru.com. The first thing you need to do is fill out the profile and then you need to look for social media manager jobs as well as typing in keywords like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to see what comes up.
It is important to look for jobs that have a bigger budget because a lot of the time these people often mention their companies. This means you can then go and check out their social media platforms to see if you really want to work with them, This also gives you a good opportunity to see the initial improvements that they may need to make by writing this into your application to them and you can also reach out to them directly.
Guru.com is very similar to Upwork and Fiverr but it is much less competitive. So I can recommend giving it a try.
2. LinkedIn
The second website you want to go to is LinkedIn. And I know you might think, “LinkedIn? I’ve never found anything there!”. But this is actually a common misconception because LinkedIn is expanding massively for freelancers. They’re even building a freelance platform.
If you haven’t heard about that yet, make sure you watch my other video where I talk exactly about HOW TO GET CLIENTS ON LINKEDIN.
To get clients on LinkedIn, this is what you need to do; go to LinkedIn.com and select the “Jobs” category at the top of the page and in the search bar type in “Social Media Manager, Instagram Manager” or anything else relatable that comes to mind. You can apply for bigger companies, but I suggest looking for smaller companies because they won’t be as many applicants. Make sure the position is remote, or you can search for a position in your preferred area, and you can go to them and meet face to face.
If they don’t have “Remote” added to the job description, but you feel like you’d really like to work with them, you can pitch yourself as a freelancer. You could say something like, “Hey, I know you are looking for a full-time social media manager, but have you ever thought of working with a freelance social media manager? I have looked up your social media accounts, and it can easily be done, and that way, you won’t need to pay all the extras, such as sick pay, holiday pay, office space etc. You will also know you are working with an expert who uses their time wisely and will not just sit at the computer for 8 hours of the day”. This has worked for me and the women I coach so many times in the past.
3. Indeed.com
Last but not least is Indeed.com. You will do the exact same things as you did for Guru and LinkedIn.
You’re going to type in social media manager or any other relatable keywords, and then you’re going to scroll through and see what comes up, making sure you look for remote work and then you’re going to apply to those first, after that you’re going to go through and see what kind of other jobs are out there. Check the salary expectation, and then you’re going to apply as a freelancer.
These are my three easiest ways to get your first clients as a social media manager. Makes sure you watch all the videos I have on my YouTube channel, which you can SUBSCRIBE to here, especially what SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT SERVICES you can offer. I am constantly updating my videos to walk you through step by step on how to start and scale as a social media manager.
