How to Start Social Media Marketing Agency From Home?
Introduction
This is my first article on this topic. I want to tell you the exact process which anyone can follow to start his own digital agency from home. If you read this article thoroughly, trust me you will gain lots of insights and understanding.
This article I am writing for those who want to become an online entrepreneur. If you ever thought of travelling, spending more time with family and working then yes, this article is for you.
Or
This article is for those also who want to understand what social media marketing agency is all about.
So, let’s drive-in.
SMMA / Digital Agency
What Is A Social Media Marketing Agency?
A social media marketing agency is also known as SMMA or in a simple way, it is also known as a Digital Agency. But for our understanding and for this article we will simply call it SMMA.
First I want you to understand what SMM is and what all these agencies do? Remember, I am writing this article from a freelancing perspective means even if you are alone you can start your own digital agency.
My understanding might differ from big SMMA agencies. So, bear with me.
So, in simple words, SMMA is a service-based business. And these agencies can offer three main services. They are:
1. Digital Paid Advertising
2. Content Creation
3. Page Management
When we say paid advertising - which means these SMMA will run paid ads on-behalf of their respective clients and help them generate revenues.
They will be running paid ads on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, YouTube, Bing etc.
When we say - content creation - which means SMMA will be generating contents for their clients’ blog, website, sales page, email marketing sequences, sales funnel, landing page, product review, SMS etc.
And when we say page management - which means they will be managing clients’ different social media accounts; like Facebook page, Instagram profile, Twitter or LinkedIn account, blog or website development etc. In this, they will be creating the daily post, follow up with fans, managing comments etc.
How Much A Social Media Marketing Agency Can Earn?
Actually, there is no fixed revenue. It will depend upon your client’s business worth and how much you want to get paid. It depends on how much value you can add to your client’s business.
For example - if you do online paid advertising for the USA based client you can charge anywhere between $500 to $700 dollar or even more from a single client. Yes, you can ask them to pay that much if you are providing the value and revenue of worth $3000 to them. They will be happy to retain you for months. But experts do charge more.
What All Things Are Required To Start?
To start this journey you will need three things -
1. A laptop/computer
2. Internet connection & most important
3. Mindset and skills
You can start working and building your SMMA business literally from any part of this world, even from remote Himalaya, provided you have good quality internet access over there.
My personal advice will be don’t get into all three services at once which I have mentioned above i.e paid advertising, content creation, page management.
Stick to one domain first, learn and grow from there. Let me give one example. Suppose you want to start with paid advertising service. Then start with one platform, say Facebook advertising. And under that also stick to one type of campaign, say - become a lead generation expert or you will help only to eCommerce clients through Facebook advertising. This is how you will have to start.
But if you are starting a full-fledged SMMA with 10 employees and have some clients to start with then it’s ok if you want to start with all three services. No issue, carry on.
3 Key Stages To Success
If you will be starting out like me all alone by leaving your job and trying to build your career and SMMA then please understand these three key stages in detail.
If you will not understand these stages or missed any point then please don’t leave your job and think of becoming a full-time freelancer or an online digital entrepreneur.
a) Finding Clients
Ok, now you have decided to become a freelancer and started your digital agency. So, that means you have to look out for your clients. And just not any clients, you have to find your ideal clients who are looking for the kind of service which you offer.
So, finding an ideal client is an art which you will have to learn. And since you are in the online world search your clients online i.e on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, twitter and plus many software are available which can help you.
Even some freelancers run their ads to attract the prospects. There are two methods to get the client i.e organic and paid method. I got my first two clients through organic reach. And I have another three clients in the pipeline. And the best part is they all are from different regions.
I will say if you’re from a big city then you can meet prospective clients face to face. Always look for clients who have businesses with repeat customers. For example fitness centre, dentist, travel agency, restaurant, e-commerce etc. And always try to contact the decision-makers of those businesses.
b) Process of Signing The Clients
After you get a chance to meet your client then go straight with your points. But for the first ten to fifteen minutes give a chance to your client to explain their pain points. Understand the nature of business and why they really need your help.
Without understanding their needs don’t mention what all you can do. It’s very important to understand their business first. If he is your first client for Facebook advertising then tell him from where you have learned. There is nothing wrong in mentioning your mentor’s name if you have put real efforts to learn the trick. If they show interest further, then ask their budget and share your total investment for running the ad.
Here you have to understand the advertising budget is apart from your service budget.
Once they agree with your overall budget share your costing and service information in writing format through letterhead. And get their signature or confirmation in email before starting the actual work.
Because if it is an online advertising assignment for Facebook you should know how to get the following from your client:
1) Admin/advertiser level access to Facebook.
2) Facebook Business Page (FBP), Facebook Ad Account (FAA) access through Facebook and
3) Business Manager (FBM) access for yourself and your client.
C) Getting Results For Your Clients
So after you have started running a campaign then keep sharing the outcome with the client. Clients should be aware of every important move you are taking for their business as it will show your honesty.
Make some formats through which you should share campaign outcomes. Once you give them results then ask for timely payments. Now there are so many ways to get the payment.
Once you give results then you can ask the client to move ahead with the new campaign after a few days and retain you for three months duration.
Conclusion
I have shared my advice only for Facebook advertising. In the same way, if you are planning to start with content writing or social media page management then you will have to share some good quality content with clients or some pages which you manage for other clients or for yourself.
Then discuss the price point and finalize the deal. Also, remember it takes time and lots of effort to build a social media marketing agency. I wrote this article in a simple way to make you understand the subject but in reality, it takes lots of time and effort. You might have to see some bad days before reaching a comfortable stage.
Plus, simple advice is to take some online course, learn from some master and then slowly start your SMMA from home.
Please remember searching for clients and managing them by giving good results are two main aspects in which you must be good at. Rest as you will move ahead you will learn many important things.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2020 Vikram Brahma
Comments
Vikram Brahma (author) from Assam, India on May 17, 2020:
Hey Sowrabha thank you for commenting and I am happy that I can add some value. Whatever I know I will be sharing freely. Sure I will write more such article from time to time. I also like Social Media Marketing and I understand Facebook marketing quite well. But didn't got much chance to practice. But in future, I will like to use FB ads.
sowspeaks from Bengaluru on May 17, 2020:
Hi Vikram ! You gave a complete broad-view insight into the world of SMMA .. honestly written, a novice like me got to learn a lot from one article. Thank you and looking forward to part 2 in a few months with more experience added.
Vikram Brahma (author) from Assam, India on May 13, 2020:
Thank you, Mohamed, for commenting and yes I also believe by the help of online, digital way we can build our own business. This is a great opportunity and we young or old people shouldn't let it go. There are wonderful opportunities out there.
Mohamed Natheem S from India on May 13, 2020:
Nice article Vikram. I hope it inspires many young minds to start their own business.
Vikram Brahma (author) from Assam, India on May 13, 2020:
Hey Cijini thank you very much for your comments and I am happy that you are able to get some valuable information. Sure I will write more about this topic and share more information. Social Media Marketing in itself is a vast field. But can concentrate on few platforms and explore to the fullest.
Vikram Brahma (author) from Assam, India on May 12, 2020:
Thank your Mr Krishna for your valuable comment. I stay in a very small town with a population of only 50000+. In our area, there is hardly any private jobs as we don't have industry. We have only three malls but not the kind of mall you will find in Bangalore or Delhi. So, most youngsters apply for the govt. jobs or they work in agriculture. Some become contractors and explore govt. funds. But I found the internet very good option and I am going to explore this system fully. I never met my clients face to face as they are from different cities.
Halemane Muralikrishna from South India on May 12, 2020:
You have opened a new avenue during the lockdown period when people are held inside the home. It would be very nice to start home-based businesses which need less dependence on others. During this period of stay at home, these can be streamlined. Thank you for a detailed article, Mr Vikram.
Cijini karan on May 12, 2020:
Vikram it was a great article...in simple words....initially when i joined in our group i was confused with all these digital services...now clearing it by one by one...your article is very helpful for the beginners like me...please do write more about social media marketing....thanks a lot...
Vikram Brahma (author) from Assam, India on May 12, 2020:
Hey Nikhil, thank yo for sharing your comments. Yes you can start your own agency. You are already doing content writing assignment for clients. And you are already worked for 70+ clients if I am not wrong. Many people think we need to have a website to start SMMA but that is not the case. If you want to give content writing as your service your content is more important than the actual website.
Yes, you will have some bad experience its part of life and business. Yes, you can start alone or with some of your friends. And they should also love Social Media.
Yes but please remember to go for one particular service in the beginning if you're starting alone. And I know you can do wonders and in fact you're doing wonder now also.
Nikhil Sharma from India on May 12, 2020:
Thank you for shedding light on this topic, Mr. Vikram. I'm really interested and passionate about starting my own Social Media Marketing Agency either alone or in partnership with a few of my friends.
After reading your article, I get to know many things about SMMA in simple words. The digital world is huge and, therefore, if someone is interested in this field should approach clients properly to save themselves from bad experiences.
I would also like to add that if you can write engaging content, good at designing and coding, and have a decent knowledge of SEO and marketing, then you're good to go to start your SMMA. Thank you once again for writing such a wonderful article.
