Starting your own social media marketing business means making a lot of important decisions about how you’ll operate.
You’ll need to decide the name of the business & how you’ll organize it (ie, sole proprietorship, LLC, S Corp). You’ll need to determine what kind of services you’ll offer, and how to price those services, as well as how you’ll market the business…
And one of the many important questions you’ll answer when you embark on your entrepreneurial journey is what sort of business model you want to operate.
See, there isn’t just one way to be a Social Media Service Provider.
We’re sharing three tried & true options for earning an income in this industry!
Here are 3 business models for social media service providers.
1 | Social Media Manager or Agency Owner
One of the first (& most popular) ways to be a social media service provider is to offer full service, done-for-you options as a social media manager or agency owner.
If you’re just starting your career in this industry, and/or your client workload is fully manageable by yourself, working strictly as a social media manager is a great way to build up your portfolio & gain more on-the-job experience.
Once you’re ready to step away from doing it all yourself, you might decide to scale your business, by shifting to an agency model.
You do this by creating streamlined systems, hiring team members or contractors and delegating certain time-consuming tasks (like graphic design, copywriting etc).
This will allow you to spend less time on busy work, so you can focus more time on growing & marketing your business to bring on more clients & make more money!
2 | Social Media Strategist / Consultant
If the strategy part of social media lights your soul on fire, you might find that becoming a Social Media Strategist or Consultant works better for you.
In this space you’re less hands on with creating content and more focused on the ideation and strategic planning aspect. Clients pay you for your expertise, but they implement the strategies themselves.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of so-called “experts” out there who don’t have the receipts to back up their offerings. One of the best ways to establish your authority as a real-deal leader in the industry is to complete training programs and certifications.
3 | Social Media Trainer / Educator
The third way to model your social media services business is to provide educational information via workshops, online courses, or digital products as a Social Media Trainer or Educator.
Once you’ve established & proved your expertise, and have a portfolio of client testimonials and case studies built up, you can make a significant income teaching other business owners how to create & implement social strategies for themselves.
This can be done via in-person or virtual workshops, or self-paced online courses. You might even decide to create & sell templates, ebooks, and other digital offerings that help a business owner DIY their social media marketing.
The key to succeeding with any educational offer is to first establish your authority on your subject matter via a consistent presence within the industry, both online & off! Having a well executed thought leadership strategy is essential to becoming a trusted & respected industry educator.
Ultimately you might decide to pursue one or more of these business models.
One of the best parts about building your own business is you don’t have to stay in one lane! Your offerings can evolve (and should!) as you gain more experience and figure out where your passion for social media truly lies.
