Becoming a Social Media Manager 101
- Bunmi
- Mar 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 8
Being a social media manager was my first job as a work-at-home mom that made real money for my family. It works well for at-home moms because it's flexible (you can schedule posts), it doesn't require any investment, you can do it around children, and you don't have to be on the phone.
If you have sales skills, they'll help but you can learn them as you go. What you need more than anything are organizational skills and confidence.
What is a social media manager: I handled the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sometimes blogs for companies and an author.
People who run businesses often don't have time for social media but don't have the budget to hire a firm or full-time employee to do it.
That's where you come in.
What did it look like for me?
I'd wake up with my kids, start breakfast, get my little one busy with toys or a show and begin creating posts. I'd schedule them in a platform like HootSuite.
My job was to create 2-3 posts, five days a week for my clients. The number of posts varied by platform: more for Twitter, less for Facebook or Instagram.
These days, 2-3 posts per week for Instagram is fine for most clients looking to grow. Most companies would prefer TikTok over Twitter (now called X). Not everyone even wants Facebook, although many pages are still doing very well and seeing sales from it.
I worked about three hours a day. I'd check in during the day and again before bed to make sure the profiles were ok, respond to comments, etc.
What did I post?
I posted a mix between fun conversational posts (quotes that related to the brand, questions for the followers, cute images, and sales posts highlighting products, company events, or news.
No one told me what to post. I had to come up with the content based on the company website and initiatives they'd forward to me. You have to be self-directed to do this job.
How can you start?
I'd begin by focusing on local mom & pop businesses. Books by Zig Ziglar helped me gain confidence when it came to pitching people out of the blue. I'd focus on what I could offer them. Be bold and sincere.
Have something to show them: sample posts, a page you've set up and begun growing, etc. For one client, I actually set up their page and put up a few sample posts! They liked that I took the initiative. If they didn't hire me, I would have given it to them. Lead with what you can give.
How much should I charge?
It varies. I focused on very small local one-woman show businesses. Some people charge $500/month. Others $300. I've hsd a client pay me $1,800 per month, but I was running their blog, too. Come up with a price you feel good about based on what you're doing. Research what others are charging. Just getting started, I'd go for around $500/month range for 2-5 posts a week if you're just starting out, but feel free to go higher.
Once they say they'll hire you, come up with a written agreement. You can search these online. Most likely they'll hire you as an independent contractor.
Research the laws in your area and all of the tax implications.
It takes a go-getter attitude, but you can totally do this. In the next post l'll share what I learned about work/life balance as a social media manager, tools I used, mistakes I made, and creating boundaries with clients.
My Social Media Manager Guide is out!
NEW: My Social Media Manager Guide is out! I've been a social media manager since my oldest was a baby. I started because I didn't want to put her in daycare. Frankly, I couldn't afford daycare even if I wanted to! Even with the best job that I would have been able to get with no college degree, it would have not covered daycare fees.
So I decided to become a social media manager. I had no formal training. I just loved posting on Facebook and have always been interested in marketing. I wanted to stay home with my baby girl and that gave me the courage I needed to get started.
Within a few weeks of starting, I was handling the Facebook and Instagram profiles of small businesses in my area and an author. I worked hard to keep my clients happy and it was amazing to get paid every single month while getting to take my baby to the park, eat lunch with her, and just be at home like I'd always dreamed of.
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