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.
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