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.

Starting a social media company can be as simple as managing a Facebook page for a local business, or as complicated as creating multiple packages to pitch to large brands. No matter what scale your social media business is, a smart first step is identifying the services you plan to offer.

We’re just going to do social media, right? That’s easy…

Delivering results through social media marketing requires more than just daily posts and interaction. What services are you willing to offer to get your clients results? We’ve identified 4 essential social media services a social media marketing company should offer if they want their clients to succeed.

Contests

Contests have been a popular social marketing tool since the inception of business pages on Facebook. Now, contests can be run on nearly every social network and well done contests can generate new leads, customers, and an engaged audience.

Contests can be as simple as a product giveaway but remember to include contests into your proposals if you plan to give away significant prizes or need some of your clients products for giveaways.

Ads

I’ll avoid the lecture about how ads are a necessary evil. Just do them and make sure you’re budgeting them into your proposals. They’re an easy way to get impressive results on important posts and are integral in the overall internet marketing plan for your clients who have any interest in a positive ROI.

Graphic Design

Whoa, that’s a little out of our wheelhouse… Now, you may not DO graphic design and frankly, you probably shouldn’t advertise you do if you’re not a designer. But, who is going to design your ads? What if you need creative images for a post? Contracting out this type of work on an hourly basis, or even just learning the basics of photoshop could give you the advantage you need over other social media companies.

Surprising your client with a new idea for their cover photo could make the difference between them thinking: “I could do this myself” and “This is so much more than we expected!”

Blogging

This is a big step for a lot of social media managers and may not be an option when first starting your social media company, but it can bring a lot of value to your clients and give you more content to use on social media.

Are there any other services you think a social media marketing company should offer? Let us know in the comments!

If you are thinking about managing social media for businesses or want to start your own social media business, it is helpful to know which tools businesses are already using. A 2013 shows that (surprisingly) most small business owners are actually using LinkedIn….

If you want to run social media for small businesses, consider how each social network can play a role in your social media management:

• LinkedIn: Every business should have a profile (no excuses). Businesses that target professionals should consider making a larger investment in social media – especially if they have sales reps.
• Facebook: This is the biggest social network – there is a growing expectation that most businesses are using Facebook, although it is getting more difficult for businesses to break-through.
• Twitter: Is a bit of a higher-investment social network, but for businesses that want to reach new audiences it is one of the most powerful tools. It takes some time to get the hang of it, but can reach a lot of people. Especially powerful for niche businesses.
• Google+: You need a presence on Google+ because it links to search engines. If you want to be found on Google and make the most out of your presence, create a profile on Google+.
• YouTube: Video is insanely powerful – even if you just have an iphone, you can create videos to showcase your business.
• Blogs: I personally think that a blog is a great cornerstone of any social media campaign. Blogs are very powerful tools because they allow you to get into more detail versus short status updates on social networks.
• Pinterest: One of the quickest growing social networks. I think this is still an underutilized asset that can be a great resource for customers.