HOW MUCH TO CHARGE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

It’s practically impossible for a business to operate in today’s market without a social media presence. Despite this fact, many business owners and marketing teams are missing the experience or resources to internally manage their social media presence in a strategic way. More and more businesses are opting to outsource their social media management to freelancers, consultants, or agencies.

This shift in business correlates to the growth of the overall “gig economy.” According to a new report from Deloitte, self-employment in the U.S. is expected to triple to 42 million people. As businesses shift away from traditional employees and budgets for social media marketing increase, there are plenty of opportunities for individuals to market their social media, design, copywriting and strategy skills into a job or business.

social media spending

One of the most important questions that a freelancer or consultant will ask themselves is: how much should I charge for social media management? And just like most important questions in business, there is no clear cut right or wrong answer. In fact, the rates that social media managers charge vary widely based on a number of factors. These factors include the scope of work, experience level, business type, industry, and location. Additionally, freelance consultants who work in social media management must also pay attention to their competition, the market value for their work, the effort required to complete a project, and the type of results the client can expect.

To help you determine the right pricing for your social media management business, here is a list of questions to ask yourself as a social media consultant, freelancer, or agency. Keep in mind that the factors listed below should be evaluated holistically to inform and define your pricing strategy.

How much experience do you have in social media management?

Prospective social media clients will want to know what relevant work experience you have, what results you have achieved for past clients, and what specialties you can bring to their business, such as content creation, social media strategy, account growth, social platform advertising, etc.). Your ability to communicate the value that your experience carries to your clients will often mean the difference between winning and losing a new account, so take the time to explain and market your abilities.

While years on the job isn’t the only way of determining experience, it can be helpful to compare your length of work experience to others. As social media managers gain more experience, they are able to charge their clients significantly higher fees.

charging clients for social media content management

Source: Upwork

According to the freelancer platform Upwork, the following are rates that other freelancers are charging clients for social media content management:

• Entry Level (social media posting, virtual assistant duties): $15-$50/hr
• Intermediate (social media posting, content creation, and community management): $50-$100/hr
• Advanced (brand and social media strategy, consulting): $120-$250/hr

how much do social media managers make?

Even though social media consultants and freelancers don’t earn salaries, it can also be helpful to use the salary data as a starting point when evaluating your fee schedule. According to LinkedIn, the median salary for a social media manager in the United States with 1-5 years of experience is $41,900. For that same role with 6-14 years of experience, the median salary jumps to $80,000!

What do you know about the market you do business in?

Social media management rates will also vary by location. In an area where the cost of living is higher than average, rates will often be higher, too. The competition in your industry also plays an important role here in setting your freelancer rates.

Are there several social media management companies in your city? How much do they charge? While it can be difficult to find out the pricing of your competition, take the time to perform a competitive analysis anyway to make sure you’re setting yourself up to land a new client! Even if you can’t find out your competition’s pricing, you may discover what they offer and how they package their services.

What type of businesses are you working with?

Before you begin to price a social media management project, it is important to learn everything you can about a prospective client. While this information shouldn’t be the only factor in determining pricing, it is helpful to know when writing winning proposals and closing new business.

Business Size. The bigger the business, the more they are able to spend on marketing. However, most businesses will only allocate a certain percentage of their revenue towards their marketing budget. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration recommends spending 7-8% of gross revenue on marketing and advertising for businesses making less than $5 million in annual revenue. Keep this in mind.

Industry. Factors like competition, pricing, and growth plans all vary by industry. For example, the restaurant industry is notoriously competitive, but profit margins are slim. The recipe leaves less budget for marketing expenses. Price yourself accordingly.

Most social media managers adjust their fees for each unique client and project. While that may seem strange to some, keep in mind that no two jobs will ever be exactly the same, and customizing your offering based on your clients needs and specifications is a smart way to gain business. Use your best judgment when presenting your rates – but do the research first.

 It is almost impossible for the company to work in the modern market without a presence in social networks. Nevertheless, many business owners and marketing teams do not have the experience or resources to manage their presence on social networks internally. More and more companies want to outsource the management of social networks to freelancers, consultants or agencies.

This change in business correlates with the growth of the "gig economy" as a whole. The number of self-employed people in the United States is expected to triple to 42 million people, according to a new Deloitte report. As companies lose traditional employees and social media marketing budgets grow, individuals have many opportunities to apply their social media, design, copywriting and strategy skills at work or in business.

social media spending

One of the most important questions for a freelancer or consultant is: how much should I charge for managing social networks? And just as with the most important questions in business life, there is no clear right or wrong answer to them either. In fact, the rates charged by social media executives vary greatly depending on a number of factors. These factors include the amount of work, experience, type of business, industry and location. In addition, freelance consultants working in the field of social media management should also pay attention to competition, the market value of their work, the effort required to complete the project and the results that the client can expect.

Here is a list of questions you should ask yourself as a social media consultant, freelancer or agency. Keep in mind that the factors listed below need to be evaluated comprehensively in order to justify and determine your pricing strategy.

What experience do you have in managing social networks?

Potential social media clients want to know what professional experience they have, what results they have achieved for previous clients, and what specifics they can bring to their business, for example, content creation, social media strategy, account growth, advertising on social platforms, etc.). Your ability to convey the value of your experience to your customers often makes the difference between winning and losing a new account. So take the time to explain and sell your talents.

While years of work is not the only way to determine experience, it can be useful to compare work experience with others. As social media executives gain more experience, they can charge their customers significantly higher fees.

According to the Upwork freelancer platform, the following are the prices that other freelancers charge their clients for managing content on social networks:

• Baseline (social media posts, Virtual assistant tasks): $15 - $50/hour
• Average (Social Media posting, content creation and Community management): $50-100 per hour
• Advanced (Brand and social media strategy, consulting): $120 -$250/hour

how much do social media executives earn?

While social media consultants and freelancers are not paid, it can also be helpful to use salary data to evaluate hiring plans. According to LinkedIn, the average salary of a social media manager in the US with 1-5 years of experience is $ 41,900. In the same position, with 6-14 years of work experience, the average salary jumps to $ 80,000!

What do you know about the markets in which you operate?

Prices for managing social networks also vary depending on the location. In a region where the cost of living is above the average, tariffs are often also higher. Competition in the industry also plays an important role in the pricing of freelancers.

Are there several social media management companies in your city? How much do you charge? While it can be difficult to figure out competitors' prices, still take the time to do a competitive analysis to make sure you are attracting a new customer! Even if you can not find out the prices of competitors, you can find out what they offer and how they package their services.

In which industry do you work?

Before you start evaluating a social media management project, it is important to know everything about a potential client. While this information shouldn't be the only factor in pricing, it's useful to know when you're making bids and closing a new deal.

The size of the company. The bigger the business, the more you can spend on marketing. However, most companies only spend a certain percentage of their revenue on their marketing budgets. In fact, the US Small Business Administration recommends 7-8% of gross sales for marketing and advertising for companies with an annual turnover of less than $ 5 million. Keep that in mind.

Industry. Competitive factors, pricing and growth plans vary by industry. Gastronomy, for example, is known to be very competitive, but the profit margin is small. The recipe leaves less money for marketing expenses. Judge yourself accordingly.

Most social media executives set their fees for each individual client and project. Although it may seem strange to some, keep in mind that two jobs are never exactly the same, and adapting a tender to the needs and specifications of customers is a reasonable way to succeed in business. Use your best judgment when presenting your prizes - but do your research first.

What is the scope of work of the client?

The amount of support a social media management client needs is an important factor in determining how much you can charge him for your services. Some customers need limited support, while others need 24/7 community management and creative planning, not to mention shipping. Before submitting an offer, make sure that you have a clear idea of what your potential customers' social media goals are and what they would like to see on your social media channels. Below are some of the most important services and variables that should be taken into account and which can be useful in determining the scope of work.

Number of platforms. How many social media platforms does the customer want you to control? Facebook Instagram Facebook, or do you have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Yelp and YouTube? The more social platforms a customer has, the more they want to charge for managing social channels. Also consider whether the platforms have already been launched or you need to create and develop a new social platform from scratch. Creating a completely new social media account without subscribers can take significantly longer than creating an already created account

Paid for organically. Paid social networks account for an increasing share of the total marketing budget. Make sure you have a clear idea of where your responsibilities start and end when it comes to social media advertising, as social media advertising requires unique skills and if you are not very good at optimizing paid social media campaigns, you may need to learn it or give it to another freelancer or member of your team.

Content creation. Many social media managers and consultants also offer services such as blogging, copywriting or graphic design. If you are expected to create blog posts, charts and graphs or memes and tweet and post about them, you should ask for more. Alternatively, you may need to do some research to find good content for brand platforms, and the social media content creation strategy will significantly increase your working time. In some companies, it is possible that all the content created by employees or other freelancers is already ready for work, but first find out, estimate the time spent accordingly and clearly outline the results of content creation and content strategy when setting the price of your contract. Professional advice: do some things as an option - it is always advisable to give the client flexibility in using your services.

Customer service. Are you responsible for responding to and reviewing customer complaints, or are you just passing them on to an employee of the company? Customer complaints and inquiries can take quite a long time, especially when the business is growing, so you want to charge significantly more if you do this kind of work and make this kind of commitment.

Influence marketing. Another factor that can affect the pricing of social media management is whether you reach influencers who can promote a company name, product or service. It takes time to research, connect and attract people who can help your business become subscribers, and all the marketing services you offer should be treated as a standalone service.

What overheads or internal costs do you incur?

What kind of staff, tools and accessories do you need to provide high-quality service to your social media management customers? All these costs must be included in your pricing structure. So ask yourself questions to find out what the real cost is.

Employees and / or freelancers. Do you need someone to help you fulfill part of your contract? Can you expand your offer by attracting talents from other fields, such as copywriting, photography and graphic design?

Tools and software. What tools and software do you need for this job? A good rule of thumb is to summarize the monthly payments and divide these costs among the customers.

Overhead. Do you need an office, a photo studio or a coworking space? What supplies do you need? How much do you have to spend on your own marketing and how long do your administrative tasks take per day, week or month? All these factors must be taken into account when pricing services.

what fee do they charge for managing social networks

What fee do you charge for your services?

The way social media executives charge for their services is very different. Some social media executives charge for pre-orders, others on a project-by-project basis, while others set estimates for a predetermined workload and charge hourly, weekly, or monthly fees. All these decisions depend on how you want to structure your freelance or consulting business.

Here are some more details about your options for downloading a social media client:

Hourly wage: Since the majority of the economy is based on hourly wages, it is not surprising that freelancers and social media consultants often set their own compensation programs. The hourly rate is simple and convenient, but it is not well suited for creating a team and scaling operations – and calculating an hourly rate can put you in difficult situations when the amount of work changes. Be sure to set an overall estimate if you decide to do hourly billing, and set parameters on how to track time and take into account volume changes, as well as communicate with the client if you think that you are exceeding the hourly estimate for a project

Monthly (Fixed fee): Many SEO and social media marketing managers prefer to charge a fixed monthly fee for their services. This ensures a stable and predictable income, which benefits both the client and the freelancer. Make sure that you also set parameters here for what you will give for a fixed fee, and specify how you will measure it - whether it will be a result (for example, if the result is a result). a blog post, creating a profile on a social network, etc.).), the time required for the preparation of the work report or the number of hours provided to the client.

Prepayment: Prepayment is prepayment for future services provided by a social media manager with some advantages. Lawyers are known for using upfront fees, and many social media management consultants charge a fee based on upfront fees to ensure that the client invests in organized use while reducing the risk if the client encounters delays or does not provide you with the information you need for this work.

You can also charge a fee for each project you set up in advance, if it suits you and the client. An individual approach to each project will increase flexibility if you outsource part of the assigned work, especially if you decide to scale your business. However, there is also a risk of underloading if the project takes longer than expected - as always, you should define clear parameters for the volume and a plan for solving the problem if things do not go as planned.

By answering these questions, you will have an idea of how much you can charge for managing social networks and how to competitively evaluate your services, build good customer relationships and grow your business at a reasonable pace. No matter which option you choose, be firm and confident in your rewards!

Once you have set the amount of social media payments for a specific client or project, the next step is to submit some suggestions and be open to feedback. You will always come across customers who find the fees too high. However, if you find that everyone thinks that they are too expensive, it's worth taking a step back and rethinking how much they charge. With time and experience, you will find out when and where prices can be adjusted.

Are you a freelancer in social networks or a consultant? If so, what factors influence the pricing for your customers?