Did your brand new marketing agency land a client that needs attention and a proper social media marketing strategy?
While you are entirely free to go ahead and do it on your own (there are tons of resources and software for this online), you can also seek the help of contractors and professionals who do social media marketing.
These people will make SURE that the social media marketing services of your agency (regardless of its size or magnitude) get executed perfectly, and bring in results for your clients, plus the attention and authority your agency DESERVES!
In this article, I’ll show you how to find contractors for SMMA and a few tips for outsourcing this process so that you can hire the right people and not fall for scammers.
Where To Find Good Contractors For SMMA
Here are some of my favorite ways to find contractors for your SMMA (or pretty much any business):
1 Google
You can start by looking for social media managers or even agencies on Google, by simply googling something like “social media marketing experts” – and you’ll get a list of social media marketing freelancers and agencies.
What you can do then, is go through their services, case studies, and the prices they charge for the entire process. After you find something you like, reach out to them.
If they are an agency, ask if they are willing to offer white-label services, so that you wouldn’t need to set up any client reporting dashboards.
2 Facebook Pages And Groups
There are many pages and groups on Facebook where social media marketing experts promote their work and services.
You can talk to them directly, and also talk to their clients (which they advertise a LOT) and get an idea about what it is like working with them.
Facebook can be a REALLY resourceful place to find a lot of talented people, ones affiliated with other agencies and ones who work as social media managers on their own.
Since you have an array of options, it is up to you to find a team of a few people who cater to your client’s needs and your budget.
Here is an example post from ClickFunnels group.
Also Read: Access Denied On Facebook
3 LinkedIn
Since this is where you can find ANY professional, LinkedIn will provide you with a diverse selection of social media managers and individuals who offer the same services.
Simply connect with them, or if it’s possible, just directly message them and let them know of your needs and objectives for the business or whatever it is you are promoting.
Like before, talk or even interview and pick someone after making sure they agree with the vision you have for your clients, and you agree with theirs.
I will share my method to get contractors.
- Go to LinkedIn
- Search “#opentowork” on LinkedIn
- Select “People” from the left sidebar.
- Click on the filter bar on the menu, this will open a new right panel, and scroll down to the title ” Service Categories”
- Select “Social Media Marketing”
- I got 252 results and these people are actively looking for a new job.
4 Try Freelancing Websites Like Upwork or Fiverr
There are tons of freelancing sites out there that have thousands of professionals looking for work. Plus, these sites usually have all the details of the seller, their portfolio and customer reviews right there on the page.
Filter through the services and look at the customer reviews and find some freelancers.
When I search the term “social media manager” on Fiverr. I got 48,215 results.
You can find the quality manger’s using their filter and also there has a highlight badge “Fiverr’s Choice”.
Make sure that you have a proper conversation with them and ask them for long-term rates and their previous experiences or case studies.
If the freelance site is responsible and takes care of any damages caused, you can safely pay them and start work.
But make SURE that you have ample information about the person or team you are hiring as your contractor, and always keep yourself updated.
Allow them to work their magic, and get involved ONLY when you feel like they are heading in the wrong direction.
Usually, I am using Upwork to find contractors.
5 Friends And Colleagues
If googling or looking through FB or Linkedin is too time-consuming, you can simply go ahead and ask your friends or colleagues for recommendations.
This way you’ll be able to find contractors that are getting your friends amazing results and that makes them recommend him.
You might even find that one of your friends or someone you know does social media marketing. Working them will be easier and you can negotiate the prices too.
Plus, you will feel much more comfortable having conversations and planning your journey forward with them since you are well acquainted with the crowd.
But, there is also a downside to working with friends. Since they are your friends, it will also be difficult for you to criticize their work, if they do not deliver according to your standards.
And they will also face a certain conundrum by not being able to demand what they usually do since you are close. So the best option is to have these conversations openly and discuss them so that both parties are satisfied.
6 Create An In-House Team
One of the best ways to handle this is to create an in-house team of experts instead of hiring a contractor every time.
But this is directly connected to how big your budget or your SMMA is.
Having an in-house team allows you to be as flexible and as creative as YOU want, and since they are working for you and under your authority, you are free to make changes and maneuver the entire team in the direction you wish.
But you might need to have a considerable brand name, or the support of someone who does, in order to attract managers who are willing to work for you full-time, and the necessary profit to pay them as well!
Before You Outsource SMMA
Read Customer Reviews And Their Case Studies
One of the most important things is to check their reviews and their case studies (if they have any). You don’t want to hire a contractor that won’t give you results.
Read their case studies to see if they know what they’re doing and their results. Hiring someone that can’t generate results will be the end of your SMMA.
Also Read: Pinterest Ads Not Spending
Talk And Sort Everything Out
You MUST talk to these social media marketing managers and ask about how they report their work, expectations, time frames and almost everything involved with delivery and results.
If you need full engagement, you must make sure they are willing to head in the direction you want and also work on a time schedule that fits yours.
If they are only providing limited services for very specific time periods, you might not benefit from them that much.
Budgeting
Make sure that their costs and expenses match with the budget your client has informed you of, you do NOT want to go bankrupt simply because you are paying for outsourced social media marketing.
Well-known marketers will obviously charge you a pretty penny for their services, so going for lesser-known yet accomplished services will save you a lot of money.
So do not be afraid to look for contractors who go solo, they are probably very talented and also will do things for less money.
