Intro
So you have your first client. They want you to manage all their social media platforms.
You want the smoothest possible process. Your client wants the greatest possible ROI.
But how do you achieve this?
Wehi has assembled all our best lessons into a digestible article.
Here is everything you need to kickstart a refreshing relationship with your clients.
Agree everything in advance
Agree everything in advance. You need to agree to strict ground rules. This is so that you can meet and then exceed your client’s expectations. It also protects your time and mental health as a creator. To be successful your efforts need to be scalable. You will not be able to do this if you are chasing your client or discussing their evolving expectations.
The role of copywriting, content writing and marketing generally is to satisfy a need. How can you satisfy your client’s needs if you haven't agreed with them?
You need to know what success and failure look like for your client.
Here is a checklist of everything you should agree before you take over their profiles:
Agree the level of service
Are you posting content or are you expected to engage with audience members as well? This may seem patronising. But hashing out these details protects you and creates a positive, professional relationship.
Agree the platforms
You cannot simply copy and paste across multiple platforms. Adapting or crafting content multi-purpose content takes time and experience. You may not have experience creating content for every single platform.
You may be a Youtube genius but are unfamiliar with shorter dynamic content for Tik Tok. You could be on top of the Instagram game but the professional copy of LinkedIn may leave you lost.
Make sure that you are the best social manager for your client before you proceed.
Agree the terms
This may mean that you need to teach your client about the metrics that you are aiming for. Terms such as awareness and engagement may be a foreign language to them. You need to explain the goals you are trying to achieve for their web presence.
Agree the length of service
How long will you be managing their profiles? Is this a fixed term or an ongoing contract? How much time does each party have to give for the termination of the relationship?
Clearing these issues gives both parties more confidence in the relationship.
Agree the hours
Is your client expecting you to engage with their audience outside of work hours? You need to ask yourself how much time you can realistically invest in their profiles. Are you happy to respond to sales leads or a comment on content at 9pm on a Saturday? It is okay if you are not. But you need to make sure that your client is aware of this.
Agree the payment
Always a difficult one for creative or digital industries. Agree a price, a price that you will not negotiate on. Check out our recent blog for more information on knowing your worth. If possible take payment in advance or on a monthly basis rather than at the end of the contract.
Sign a contract.
There are websites that want you to buy their document templates. However, there are many websites offering free templates.
If you are looking to write your own agreement this link offers some great ideas of what to include.
Get Access
This seems like such a silly suggestion. Yes you need access to your client’s social media profiles. However, there can be some speed bumps on what would seem a smooth path.
Make sure that you sort this at the beginning. Chasing a client for passwords or permissions can often drag on for several days. This will leave your client exacerbated and questioning your online skills.
Make sure that you have all the permissions you need. Some settings in Facebook Admin allow you to post and respond to comments. But they may not allow you to remove content or assign other admins. Make sure that you have the level of access that you need.
Twitter can be annoying as it only allows a single number or email per account. Twitter may even ask you to confirm who you are through a mobile number. A mobile number number that you may not have access to.
Getting all these fiddly tasks out of the way before your contact term begins saves you and your client hassle.
A note on passwords.
Make sure that your client has changed their passwords before they share them with you. Your client may use the same password for all their accounts. Knowing this personal information presents a security risk to them.
Ensure that you share your privacy statement with your client before you begin. Even if they don’t ask for it. It makes you look professional and is good practice for legal expectations like GDPR.
Here is Wehi’s privacy statement as an example.
Confirm their business details
Again another obvious one. Ensure you have the correct details before starting or managing a profile. Here is a checklist of info you should triple check:
Business address
Customer number
Opening hours
Price lists (notice if they are liable to change)
Range of delivery
You don’t want customers turning up at your client’s home because you posted the wrong address. Or, calling the head office rather than the sales team because you attached the wrong number. The opportunities to damage customer client relationships here is endless.
Confirming this basic information prevents any slip ups.
Write company bios
Your client may have already attempted a bio for their platforms. These short pieces of copy need to capture your audience’s attention and give a sense of your brand. You will likely need to be redraft these bios to fit your social media strategy.
Instagram and Twitter bios should be pithy and short. Facebook should be longer but the emphasis should be on brevity. LinkedIn gives you 2000 words to explore the company’s history, mission and services.
Here is a link to a great article on how to write an effective LinkedIn Bio.
This Twitter banner is awful. The logo has not been adjusted to fit the platform. It is hard to read and is unprofessional.
Resize logos
Each platform requires different dimensions for content. Each logo or banner photo needs to be sized appropriately. You know this. Your client may not know this. You will need to resize or readjust their logos or promotional materials.
You don’t want to pass images that look like this.
Here is an authoritative list of all the dimensions across social media.
Tools like Canva have templates for creating appropriately sized images. It is useful for creating content across all social networks.
Agree a business contact
Receiving instructions from many members of a team can be stressful. A client instructs you that they want a particular aesthetic or schedule. Only for their colleague to completely contradict them half an hour later.
Request that your client nominate a spokesperson from their business.
Then only take direction from this person. This may make you seem like a prima donna.
Take time to explain the benefits of a spokesperson to your client.
Explain that nominating a spokesperson helps you to deliver their vision and gives you more time to engage with their audience.
Conclusion
Setting clear expectations and modes of communication will ensure a smooth relationship. The smoother the relationship the more time you will have to focus on creating valuable content and engaging their audience.
We found each of these points through trial and error. We hope they help you to overcome the first stumbling blocks in your path to success.
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Interested in Wehi managing or creating content for your social profiles? Contact us today.