How Much to Charge for Social Media Management Services?

What should I charge for social media management services?

This is a question that every social media manager and agency owner must ask before they make the call to the client. This is especially true for small businesses who need a social media marketing agency.

This question is not only relevant to new marketers but also to owners of small-sized social media marketing agencies for small businesses and marketing consultants who are trying to improve their business model.

The goal is to maintain a pricing structure for social media management services that is fair enough to keep the company afloat, but not too much to make it difficult to compete with other companies.

Your mind is wrestling with the same question since you are here.

Fair warning, it’s not an easy question. There is no one-size-fits all answer. Let us help you settle on the perfect pricing model for social media management, whether it’s small- or large-sized social media marketing agencies.

Let’s get started!

What are the Social Media Marketing Services?

Every business that wants to succeed in the modern world must have a strong social media presence. Because they are limited in funds, small social media marketing agencies for small businesses are highly sought after.

This is the end of the need for social marketing and your worth as a social marketer.

Clients who have never tried social media marketing before and aren’t familiar with it can sometimes underrate the job of a social marketer. It is an easy process to post captions every single day.

You need to be able to communicate with them about the responsibilities and roles of social media specialists in such situations.

These are some common ones to help you get started:

• Multi-social media accounts
• Creating unique posts for different platforms
• Monitoring the effectiveness of social media posts
• Boosting lead generation campaigns
• To understand the buyer’s personality, you must engage with them.
• How to create a sales funnel
• Supporting customers via social media
• Research on competitors
• Maintaining the brand’s visual and verbal tone

Simply put, the job description of a social media manager involves content production, campaign management and reporting, tracking, community management, customer service, and community management.

That’s quite a lot. You already deserve a break.

Here’s a list of top social media management tools to help you manage your agency’s workload.

Four ways to charge for your social media management services

Before you decide on the price of your social media management services you should understand the various ways you can charge clients.

There are four ways to charge your services.

1. Hourly

For freelancers just starting out, the best pricing model is to charge an hourly rate. Talk with clients to agree on the hours and the amount of work you will do each week or month.

A beginner can typically make between $25 and $35 an hour in the beginning, and this number increases as they gain more experience.

Pros:

• It is obvious how long it will take to complete the task.
• Extra work can result in a higher charge

Cons:

• Scaling your business using an hourly model is difficult
• There is no incentive to work harder.

2. Monthly

Once you have gained some experience and established a relationship with clients, you can transition to the monthly retainer pricing structure.

The monthly retainer model allows you to receive a steady income each month in return for your social media management services.

Pros:

• There’s no need to search constantly for new clients
• You get a steady monthly income.
• This makes budgeting for clients easier
• You have more time and are better organized to help other clients.

Cons:

• For new clients, the model is expensive
• Clients have the right to demand consistency in editing and multiple rejections of ideas.

3. Project-based

This is a great option if you are completing a long-term project such as a social media campaign, promotion of a product or package to enhance your brand.

This project is often chosen by clients when they need to start something with experts, then run it themselves. After estimating the time it would take to complete the project, you can give them an hourly rate.

Pros:

• Scaling it is easier than scaling an hourly model
• Outsourcing work allows for greater flexibility

Cons:

• You’ll need to work at your client’s pace
• There is less visibility about the project’s completion date

4. Package-based

Monthly packages offer the best pricing for social media management services.

You can make a series of services packages and charge monthly or annually.

You can reach prospects with tight budgets by offering different pricing options. For large companies that require more than the standard packages, you can create customized packages.

Pros:

• Clients receive a constant flow of income
• Clients will find it simple to select you through straightforward proposals
• From the beginning, you know what services you offer.
• Scale your business easily

Cons:

• Inexperienced people and agency owners can find it difficult to create the ideal pricing packages.

We are changing that. This blog will show you how to create flawless pricing packages right from scratch.

How do you decide on a price range for your social media management services?

These steps will help you create the perfect pricing package for freelancers or agency owners.

Step 1: Determine Your Worth

First, determine your strengths and weaknesses as a social media specialist. Pricing can be affected by your level of experience or qualification.

A seasoned marketer will charge more for the same services and get more than a freelancer.

When pricing your social media management services, make sure to consider these factors:

• What industry experience do you have?
• What qualifications and education have you received?
• Does your clientele include big names?
• What are your special skills and expertise?

Step 2: Find Direct Competitors

You can find a pricing reference model by looking at your direct competitors for social media marketing and management services.

Take a look at the pricing models of your competition. What pricing strategy do they use?

Start by creating a list with 8-10 competitors, and then searching their websites for the pricing package.

Although it is unlikely that you will find a fixed pricing page for a small agency website, even one or two references can help you get started.

To find out how clients are charged by marketing professionals, you must also make connections to them on social media.

However, I think you’re already doing some of these things.

While you are doing this, be sure to look at the pricing structures of your closest competitors. You don’t want your time wasted on a freelancer’s pricing structure when you’re a full-fledged agency.

Wait, how do I distinguish myself from my direct competitors?

The agencies and individuals that are closest to you in these areas are your direct competitors.

• Employees
• Client industry
• Size of client company
• Services available

Step 3: Have a look at your current pricing plan

After you have finished researching your competitors, take a look at your pricing structure.

This step is for agency owners or freelancers with a clientele and pricing structure.

This is where you can find out how your clients perceive your current pricing plan. What is the performance of your business under current pricing?

Are you having any objections to your current pricing plan?

Are you satisfied with the current pricing of your clients?

Do your clients suggest that your rates are too high or low in comparison with others?

Pay attention to what your customers think about your pricing. It is important to find a balance between their opinions. It’s okay if 50% of your clients think that you are too expensive, and 50% think you don’t.

If you see more people leaning towards one side, it is time to rethink the pricing of your social media management services.

This is where you need to realize that an affordable plan may not be a winning strategy. Your business is likely to suffer if you don’t charge enough for the services you offer.

Step 4: Take into account your expenses

Pricing is influenced by how much you spend on your services or running your business.

It is important to set up a pricing structure that meets your customers’ expectations and covers the costs of running your agency.

These are the costs you should consider when creating your pricing structure.

Office expenses – Whether you work from home or at the office, as a team member or an individual, you will need to pay for the operating cost. This includes rent, utilities and equipment maintenance.

Service expenses Invest in multiple tools and software for marketing campaigns. This includes tasks management software, CRM software, SEO tool and email marketing software. It also includes designing software and social media automation software.

This blog is focused on social media services. You can continue to spend on social media marketing software.

Employment expenses Expenses incurred in paying employees for their salary, benefits, insurance, bonuses and travel expenses.

Professional fees – This includes legal fees, taxes, government licensing fees and any other fees related to professional or advisory services.

Growth costs: To reach your audience, it is important to have a marketing budget. Growth expenses include variable marketing expenses such as advertising, conference fees and directory listing fees. They also cover expenses like travel expenses.

It covers money that you wish to return to the company in order for your business growth.

Step 5: Take into account the needs of your best-fit clients

You must identify your most-fit clients in order to develop a social media management program.

These are the clients that you have worked with in the past and achieved the best results.

Start brainstorming!

• Which are your most successful clients?
• What services are you offering them?
• Which of your services was most valuable to clients for better impressions, account growth and sales?

Once you have all the answers, you can see if you are able to duplicate similar services and approaches for clients in a monthly package.

Step 6: Create Your Pricing Package

You can create a package that your ideal client would love, once you have identified their needs.

Your website pricing page can show the most popular client package. You can then create two packages: one that is more basic and one that is more inclusive of the additional services.

Take a look at WebFX’s pricing plans.

While it is not required to include a price in your social media management packages you can still keep them hidden and let visitors ask for a quote.

Take a look at the Yellow Hyena pricing page.

You will soon find clients who don’t like certain aspects or want to include or remove some services.

You should consider adding a custom package option to your pricing page.

You will need a flat rate pricesheet with a monthly price for every service that you offer. This will enable you to create custom packages for clients who are not satisfied with the preset ones.

Step 7: Test it with clients and collect feedback

It’s finally time to publish your pricing.

Start by giving it to your prospects. Over sales calls or emails, help them to understand the differences between each plan and which one is best for them.

After you have received positive feedback from your new clients, it is time to introduce the new pricing method to your existing clients. Check with your best clients to see how they react to the pricing plan. You can always make changes if you find something is not working.

What to do and what not to do when creating a pricing plan

It’s normal to make mistakes when setting up your charges.

There are some pitfalls that you need to avoid if you want to grow your business. There are also a few things you can do to make the transaction easier with your clients.

Don’ts

• Don’t let the client determine your fees
• Consultation is not free
• If you’re running an offer, do not offer any free service.
• Do not verbally agree to a project in a meeting
• Do not be afraid to inform your clients about additional charges
• Don’t take clients who are unreasonablely demanding right from the beginning
• Accept work that you don’t know.

Do’s

• Be confident in your expertise
• Prepare your pricing in advance
• Before you start, get ahead
• All packages are available for your proposal
• Simple pricing
• After a sales call, always send a follow up email
• Always sign a contract that includes the scope of work.

Conclusion

It can be difficult to create a great social media marketing package and management services package. This is especially true if you don’t realize your worth.

You must be aware of what value you offer to clients. Your worth will give you confidence and help you negotiate.

Your goal is to create a package that meets the needs of your best clients and covers the costs of running your agency.

To simplify your package redesign process, go through your operational expenses and figure out the client’s requirements.

SocialPilot makes it easy to manage multiple social media marketing campaigns for clients simultaneously.

SocialPilot was specifically designed for agencies, to help them work more efficiently and scale up their operations.

Try it for yourself.

The post What is the Cost of Social Media Management Services? SocialPilot first published this article.