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How to start a social media marketing business.

What Is A Successful Social Media Marketer?

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Successful social media marketers share certain traits. But what does it really mean to be successful? To be a success, you need:

  • Social Media Skills: Successful marketers know the ins and outs of social media as a result of training and experience. They deliver results for their clients because they have the skill set and knowledge.
  • Determination, Drive and Discipline: Effective social media marketers are driven to succeed and have a can-do attitude. They are determined to be the best at what they do, and they have the discipline to focus on the tasks that produce the best results.
  • Passion: Successful social media marketers have passion about what they do and who they work with. They love what they do, and the proof is in the results.
  • Business Acumen: A good business sense is developed through business knowledge, a strong management style and leadership skills. Successful marketers also know how to run a business effectively.
  • Sales Assets and Skills: Successful social media marketers have the skills and assets to successfully sell their services. They have great proposals and packages to win new clients. When they talk to businesses, they focus on how they can help the client.
  • Client Management: Successful marketers have workflows, systems and processes to manage clients and keep them happy. They clearly communicate expectations, are mindful of timing and have solid processes.

If you have these skills or are interested in developing them, you might be ready to start your own social media marketing business! How can we help?

3 Steps to Building Social Media Skill Set

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The idea of having your own freelance social media business or social media marketing agency might seem exciting, but there’s one critical thing that you need to know before you get started.

You need a solid social media skill set before you start your business.

Not just a basic understanding.

Not proficiency from a user perspective. (Just because you are on Facebook every day for personal use doesn’t mean you’re an expert at using it for business success.)

You need real knowledge. You need to understand the fundamentals, strategy, execution, and analysis of social media campaigns.

A certification in social media marketing is a big step in the right direction. And you also need a plan to stay current with the ever-changing industry. Here are 3 steps to upskill and set yourself up for success as a social media marketer:

  1. Get Social Media Certified. Boot Camp Digital’s social media certification is 70+ hours of online digital marketing classes. Most people earn their certification in 30 days or less.
  2. Keep up with trends. With access to the right resources you can keep up with the latest and greatest social media news by spending only about an hour per month. Boot Camp Digital has a Digital Marketing Insiders Group for social media pros to stay up-to-date.
  3. Sharpen your skills. Be active on social media for your own brand, work on client projects, and if you’re just starting out in social media consider taking on a pro-bono or low-fee client to build your portfolio. This can take as much time as you have to dedicate to it.

If you’re smart about planning, you can build a skill set that starts out strong and improves over time. What are you waiting for?

4 Steps You Can’t Miss When Building A Business Plan

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You need a plan for building and running your business. Having a plan will help you develop actionable items and a timeline to complete them in. A business plan helps you outline your business structure, how you plan to get clients, the services you will offer and what you will charge for them.

Without a business plan, you just have an idea that will go nowhere.

Here are four steps you can’t miss when building your business plan:

  • Set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Aspirational, Realistic, and Time Bound. Take the time to figure out your goals so you can focus on what’s most important for driving results. For example, “In 6 months, we will have monthly billable revenue of $10,000 by networking at local events and speaking to local Chambers to raise awareness.”
  • Define your USP (unique selling proposition): Do you plan to specialize in a certain industry niche? What makes your business unique? Why would a business hire you vs. your competition?
  • Build a marketing plan. Apply the principles of good social media marketing to your own business plan. Be active on social media, have a functional website, and make sure your brand has a positive reputation by building positive reviews and mentions.
  • Set your prices. Don’t undervalue yourself. Charge what is right for the service that you offer, and the clients you want to attract.

Spend some time building a plan up front and focus on building a realistic and manageable business plan. Consider the time you will need on each step, and plan for it!

Founder vs. Freelancer: Starting A Social Media Business

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Some of the best advice I’ve heard given to an entrepreneur is NOT to go into business. This is not easy for some to hear, but it should not be ignored. You see, if you’re not ready to take on the responsibility of running a social media business, or if you simply don’t have the skill set, then you are likely to fail miserably, lose tons of money and waste 100’s of hours of precious time.

The idea of going into business sounds glamorous. People assume that as a business owner, you have tons of free time and piles of money. The reality is, many small business owners have neither of those, especially when starting out.

So why would you even want to build a social media business anyway?

Passion.

Successful social media marketers love what they do. They enjoy the ins and outs of social media and especially love driving results. Successful campaigns excite them. Happy clients are their lifeblood. And the cool thing about it is when you love what you do, the money follows. And that’s why starting a social media business might just be the best idea you ever had.

If you’re considering going into business for yourself and starting a social media company of any size, there are some pros and cons to consider. And there is more than one way to get started. Now is the time to ask yourself – are you a founder or a freelancer?

Being a founder of a social media business is a big responsibility. Not only do you need the business smarts to start and run a successful business, but you need the social media skill set to produce results for your clients. As a founder, you will wear multiple hats. One day you’re building strategic social media plans and the next day you’re working on payroll and taxes. If you already feel overwhelmed at your day job, imagine adding in about 5 more jobs on top of that, all of which you’ve never done before and have no clue how to manage. Sounds fun right?

Not. At. All.

This is why businesses fail. They chase the idea of the glamorous dream, but once it gets real and they are in the trenches working 80 hour weeks + weekends and not getting paid because clients are late paying and cash flow sucks, the dream fades fast.

So if running your own social media agency is your dream, make sure you are realistic about what it takes to turn it into a reality and not fry your brain in the process. It’s a lot of hard work. But hard work pays off. So does working smart.

So what does working smart look like for a social media agency founder?

  • Knowledge base – you need to be amazing at social media. Not ok, not good, amazing. Get advanced training. Get certified. You need to know what you’re doing so you can produce great results and keep your clients happy. Happy clients are like money in the bank.
  • Efficient processes – everything should be turned into a process and you need to get super fast at it. Efficient processes make you and your team faster, and save tons of time when onboarding new team members.
  • Business smarts – you need to understand how to start and run a business. You will need to consider things like filing an LLC, hiring a bookkeeper, and even learn how to be a good manager if you plan to hire people. Some of these tasks have nothing to do with social media, and may be something you’ve never done before. But unless you know what you’re doing, you can be amazing at social media and suck at business. And sucking at business results in a failed business.

This is just a reality check, and isn’t meant to scare you. I’m just keeping it real. If you’re a more cautious person, or literally can’t afford to quit your day job and go all in on building a business, then a freelancer role may be a better fit and an better start.

As a freelancer, you can cut out a lot of the time consuming steps of starting a business. You don’t need to invest in designing a logo or website, or even setting up an LLC. Reach out to your network and let them know that you’re available for freelance work. Freelancers are very common in the social media world, and it’s not hard to find a couple paying gigs.

Attend networking events and groups in your local area. The best way to make connections and form relationships is in person. Put yourself out there and let people know that you’re looking for projects. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to find an opportunity, and how people will want to hire you to help you build your portfolio. Pro Tip! Offer a promotion with limited availability and special pricing for new clients.

Your portfolio that you build as a freelancer will help build your credibility for your future business. Any work you can get, even if you have to offer it at a super low cost, is important for your portfolio, to prove that you can do the work it takes to get results. Pro Tip! If you have any connections with well-known brands, offer to do some pro-bono work to help build your portfolio.

As a freelancer, you can hone your skills, improve efficiency, and free up time to take on the additional responsibilities of business ownership. Keep your day job, and commit to continued education to sharpen your social media skill set on nights and weekends. The sacrifices you make now will pay off in the future. You’ll look back and be glad you did it when you’re making a 6-figure income.

More than 80% of all businesses use social media, so starting a social media business can be a very profitable move. Just know the risks and rewards ahead of you, and plan accordingly. There’s nothing wrong with starting slow as a freelancer and building as time and budget allows. And if you’re all-in, make sure you build your social media empire on a solid foundation of knowledge and efficient processes.

The good news? Launchest is the tool that will get you on the fast track from freelancer to founder. It’s your social media business in a box, and everything you need to get started and run a successful social media business.

4 Reasons Why You Need An Employee Handbook NOW!

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When you start your social media business and you begin to build your team and hire new talent, you will need an employee handbook. However, in these early stages of scaling a business, things are exciting and you are focused on all of the positive reasons why you’re hiring new people. And you will probably think you don’t need an employee handbook, until you do.

You see, the problem is, this is how many businesses think. It’s like the classic “pre-nup before the wedding” argument. When you’re all happy and in love, you would never think that your love would turn on you and you would never think you would have to protect yourself. But the moment you realize you do, that’s when you regret not having an agreement in place. Bad things can happen if that relationship sours. You need to protect yourself not only in love, but especially in business.

Employee handbooks are critical, and can save you a ridiculous amount of heartache in the long run. Consider these 4 important benefits of having an employee handbook for your business.

  1. Introduce Company Culture, Mission + Values. An employee handbook is one of the first documents your new hire should review and sign. Starting off on a positive note sets the stage for your entire relationship moving forward. Welcome your new employee by showing them that they are now part of the team, and get them excited about what that means exactly, in terms of culture and values.
  2. Set Expectations. An employee handbook sets expectations for the work environment. Employees get a clear understanding of what is expected of them as they take on the responsibility of their job and a representative of the business and the brand.
  3. Save HR Resources. Employee handbooks cover everything from conduct to compensation to vacation and personal time. Many of the questions that often get asked of HR can be answered in the employee handbook. What if you don’t have an HR person? Who does the responsibility of answering those questions fall on? Chances are it’s someone that you don’t want to have to pay to answer questions that can be answered quickly by a document.
  4. Avoid Lawsuits. When you have everything in writing, and all parties involved have signed on the dotted line, it gives you ground to stand on in case you need to fire or reprimand employees for violating the rules outlined in the handbook. This can also be your line of defense in an unemployment lawsuit.

There are a lot of reasons why companies don’t have employee handbooks, but it always comes down to that sense early on in a relationship that the person you are hiring is amazing and “they would never do you wrong so why do I need to protect myself?”. But employee handbooks aren’t just to cover yourself if you need a reason to fire someone. They set the stage for a positive work environment and provide valuable information that can be found quickly so you can move on with your day and focus on what matters: growing your business and servicing your clients.

For these reasons, we’ve included an Employee Handbook Template in our Launchest Resources. Customize the template to your own company culture and policies and start hiring and managing your team like a pro! Your employees will appreciate you for it, and your team will be stronger as a result.