Launchest Blog: Pro Tips for Social Media Companies

Should I Join a Social Media Franchise Business?

The short answer is yes (although this isn’t one of them). A social media franchise business is typically where you pay fees to use an existing brand name and process to start a business.

NOTE: If you have never heard of these THEY DO EXIST.

Generally the way this works is that you pay the company an upfront fee and a going fee (or a percentage of your revenue) in order to use their business name and possibly have them execute the social media services that you are selling.
Here is why I think that Social Media Franchises are generally not a great investment:

They have no established brand equity or recognition: When you buy a typical franchise like McDonalds or Subway you are buying their name recognition and marketing. Most of the social media business franchises have no name recognition, branding or marketing.
They do everything for you and you are just a sales person (but you pay them to be a sales person): Many of these businesses sell you that they are a “franchise” but really they just get you to pay them to sell their services. Here is how they work. You “buy in as a franchise owner” and pay them money. When you get clients, you pay them to manage social media for the clients. You are really just a “middle man” or sales person making a small margin.
They can charge a lot of money: Some of these social media business franchises charge thousands of dollars to get started, PLUS they get a cut of everything you make. AND YOU ARE STUCK WITH THEM FOREVER. You don’t have any real freedom because you are really a partner in their business instead of having your own business.
They don’t actually know how to get you clients: I’ve worked with smart business owners who have bought into these things in the past. Most of them are sold on an idea that “It is so easy to sell this and you will instantly have many clients and become a millionaire”. You won’t. They don’t really know how to sell their own services. If they did, they would hire a sales team instead of giving you a cut.

Questions to Ask:

What are they giving you?
What do you deliver vs. them?
Do they already have brand recognition?
How much do you give up? Is it worth the cost?
Do they have other franchisers?
How much do they make?
Do they have a proven sales model that is easy to implement?

How Much to Charge for your Social Media Services

by Krista Neher Leave a Comment

Many people who start managing social media or become social media consultants aren’t sure what to charge. This is a VERY difficult question – especially since most existing social media consultants don’t want to share their secrets.

I’ve reviewed countless social media plans from agencies of all sizes over the years, and have seen lots of different pricing models.

There isn’t a “one price fits all” solution to the complex issue of pricing.

Your price depends on a number of factors:

Your background and experience (more experienced professionals can typically demand more).
What is included in your package/offering (are you just posting updates, managing the community, using designers, running contests).
The amount of time the client will take in communications (some clients will call every day, others trust you to execute and aren’t very hands on)
The size of the client (larger clients usually take more time, require more approvals and expect higher quality delivery)

If you are posting vs community building (simply posting updates takes less effort than partnering with a client to build community)
How much content you will create (some clients will give you tons of images and ideas, others expect you to do it all)

The bottom line is: from a high level, you’ll want to essentially figure out how much time managing a client will take to manage and price accordingly on the pricing scale.

So what is the pricing scale and range?

In Launchest we give you a number of complete pricing guides and packages that match market rates, but here are some general numbers:

The cheapest social media management will generally cost $500/month. This is usually either a small firm or a low-end management company that does no community management or like-building and only focuses on posting generic status updates. This will usually only include 1 social network or just posting the same thing on multiple social networks.
Most social media management costs $2,000 – $7,000 a month. Most companies that manage social media professionally will charge in this range to manage a few social networks. It is a big range, and depends on the factors mentioned above.
For comprehensive social media and online marketing management, $10,000 a month +. This is the range for large companies or agencies that are managing multiple aspects of online marketing (like inbound marketing, blog posts, etc).

The bottom line is that there are pretty big ranges. Consider packaging your services in a way that both makes you money and at the same time provides good value to your client.

What You Need to Start A Social Media Management Business

by Krista Neher Leave a Comment

More and more entrepreneurs are interested in starting social media marketing or social media management businesses, and for good reason.

There is a TON of growth in the space and very few qualified people to meet the demand. Businesses from bakeries to accounting firms to aerospace manufacturers and everything in between are looking to social media to grow their business.

If you are looking to get started with a social media management business there are a few things you’ll need:

1) A business name, logo, business cards and a website:

In order to be taken seriously you’ll need these essentials (this is true for any business). Here is the thing; as you look to get started, you don’t need perfection with these elements. Get started quickly with things that are “good enough” and once you have clients you can improve these. A perfect logo won’t make or break your business.

(Launchest gives you a rough logo-builder and copy to quickly build a website)

2) Credibility and social media knowledge:

Before you jump out to take advantage of this growing market, make sure that you have base knowledge and know your stuff. Consider getting a social media certification, or build your knowledge and experience base by participating on social networks or volunteering for non-profits or businesses you know.

(Launchest includes a social media certification)

3) A service offering:

Figure out what services you will offer and create packages. Potential clients want you to go to them with a solution – they want to know specifically what you recommend that they do and how much it will cost. Don’t rely on them to know what they want or need. Have packages to get your discussion started.

(Launchest includes pre-created packages that you can use to sell your social media services)

4) Clients

This sounds obvious, and maybe you already know some businesses that can get you started. The challenge is finding businesses that both need your services AND can pay for them. Many people make the mistake of chasing clients that have no marketing budget and aren’t willing to invest. Consider your unique background and aim for clients in the industry that you already have experience in.

(Launchest gives you a complete prospecting and pitching guide)

5) A plan to implement with excellence

Once you’ve landed the client you are off to a great start….. but that is just the beginning. If you want to keep clients and gain new clients through word-of-mouth you must consistently appear professional and organized. Have an onboarding process and a maintenance process. Determine when you’ll send reviews and what they will include. SYSTEMIZE and ORGANIZE!!!

(Launchest includes onboarding templates and checklists, plus maintenance templates and checklists)

Starting a Social Media Business: Differentiating from the competitors

by Patrick Carroll Leave a Comment

When starting your social media business, you should think about differentiating yourself from all the competitors. Separating yourself from the competitors can often be achieved by having a unique set of skill, area of expertise, or way of doing business. What separates you from your competitors? Are you bigger? Smaller? Do you focus on one particular industry while everyone else is a generalist? Do you have a particular set of skills that is hard to find? Here are just a few ways to set yourself apart from the competitors and win more clients.

Pick a specific industry/niche focus on

Review your previous work experience. Is there an industry in which you have unique knowledge or experience. When focusing on a niche you already understand, you have the ability to leverage your existing network, develop more effective strategies, and spend less time learning about each clients unique industry.

Become a social advertising expert

Social advertising is a completely different ballgame than basic social media management. Boosted posts, Like campaigns, and remarketing ads all have their own strategies and best-practices, and that’s just for Facebook. Take into account the fact that you’ll need some basic web development experience to track conversions and create effective landing pages, and you’ll discover an entirely different business model and service offerings than the basic social media management agency.

Offer a unique add-on

Do you have a knack for graphic design? Maybe you can whip up a website in a few hours. Some social media managers are amazing at running contests. Think of a way you can add value to your customers’ accounts that will impress the clients without hurting your bottom line. Providing clients with bonus services that they wouldn’t get or even expect from your competitors is a great way to impress them and get referrals.

If you don’t have a selling point that sets you apart, find one, own it, and let people know why it makes you the best option.

Social media

How To Charge For Social Media Marketing Services

by Krista Neher Leave a Comment

One of the biggest challenges that most people face when figuring out their social media marketing is how much to charge. Determining how to charge and how much to charge isn’t easy. For any freelancer or business owner, it is extremely difficult to determine.

That being said, there are 3 basic pricing models for social media management. Each model is appropriate for different types of business arrangements. There isn’t one best way to charge, it depends on the situation. In our Launchest Toolbox we outline industry standards and show you exactly what to charge and how to charge. This post gives you an overview.

1) Charging Hourly

Hourly charging is standard for many consulting agreements. The challenge of hourly agreements is that clients may not know exactly what you will deliver in a set amount of time, so there is some risk for the client. The upside is that hourly contracts are usually simple to create and deliver. These usually work if you are consulting or if the exact scope of the agreement isn’t clear. If you aren’t entirely sure what the deliverables will be, then hourly billing works best. Just make sure that you agree with the client on the number of hours you are working so that there aren’t any surprises.

2) Charging For A Project

You can also choose to charge for your services on a project basis. Project based charging works great when the scope of the project is clear. For example, if you are building a social media strategy for a business, you could quote them a project rate, since the deliverables for a social media strategy are clear. This reduces the risk for the client, since they know exactly what they have to pay. Be sure to add in a buffer since often times projects can take longer than you anticipate. Also remember to include client meetings and presentations into the time you’ll spend on the project.

3) Charging for Management or Retainer Based Billing

The third option is to charge a monthly rate for set activities each month. The advantage of this is that you will be developing a relationship with your clients (most monthly or retainer based arrangements have a minimum number of months required). Most managed social media marketing falls into this, or other arrangements where you’ll have a continued monthly relationship.

Consider the type of business that you are working with, the scope of the project and choose the most appropriate billing option.