Social media platforms have become juggernauts in terms of digital marketing opportunities over the years. Brands have learned how to harness the potential of social media to reach new audiences, generate sales, and nurture their customer bases. According to Search Engine Journal, there are 4.55 billion social media users worldwide, almost 10% higher than in 2020, with most people using:
- Facebook – 2.89 billion
- Instagram – 1.39 billion
- TikTok – 1 billion
- LinkedIn – 800 million
- Twitter – 463 million
Not all of them have been successful at the advertisement, prompting many social media marketing specialists to shift gears and become consultants. Social media consultants act as professional advisors, guides, and experts with deep insight into the ins and outs of social media. Whether they operate in finance, retail, healthcare, or any other industry, clients will ask for your services to help kick-start their social media.
You can build quite a career as a social media consultant if you market your skills the right way, which is what we are here to talk about today. How can you build a successful social media profile as a consultant so that companies are inclined to work with you in 2022?
Fundamentals of Being a Social Media Consultant
What do social media consultants do for their clients? The bulk of a social media consultant’s job is to create new marketing strategies for their clients by analyzing their past performance. There are several key services social media consultants can perform for companies that approach them:
- Grow brand awareness on social media
- Increase lead and sales generation
- Boost audience engagement
- Grow social media follower bases
- Increase website traffic
- Mentoring brands to take over their socials from there
Once a social media consultant has successfully revived a brand’s social media presence, their job is essentially done. While working with a company, a consultant should teach their internal marketer or social media specialist how to manage socials going forward. According to 99 Firms, Facebook is the de facto leading platform for businesses, with over 90% using it to promote their brands. Similarly, 73% of marketers do agree that social media marketing is effective although some struggle with outlining worthwhile content strategies for their companies.
This is where consultants come into the picture. Social media consultants are not full-time social media managers – they consult. This is why many brands are apprehensive about hiring such specialists due to their niche services. If you market yourself correctly, however, you won’t have issues convincing anyone of your worth.
How to Build a Successful Social Media Profile as a Consultant
Establish your Presence on Multiple Social Media Platforms
The best way to start your career as a social media consultant is to establish a presence on the very platforms you will work on. This can be a great sign for brands who are looking for social media consultants, as they can see what you can do directly on social media.
The best platforms to start with are the ones with the most users on them. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn are good places to start. Given their user bases, you most likely won’t have to stretch yourself beyond these platforms. Create branded pages on them and start publishing content to showcase how well-versed you are in social media marketing and strategizing.
Create Original Content to Showcase your Expertise
As a social media consultant, you’ll need to help your clients increase their brand awareness and lead generation via social media. The best way to do that is by outlining new content marketing campaigns for them, but there is a catch. Why would someone trust you with their business’ wellbeing without seeing what you can do beforehand? To achieve this effect, you should create content of your own and publish it on social media.
Blog posts work well because they drive traffic to your website and are quite sharable in their own right. Use Paper Writing Board if you are overwhelmed with too many social media consultancy tasks and want to outsource some of your writing to a professional. Make sure to cover topics relevant to your industry, such as digital marketing trends, content topics, advice on social media marketing, etc. This will work well to convince cold leads to reach out to you and ask for your consultancy services.
Use Keywords and Hashtags Related to Social Media Consultancy
SEO is deeply-rooted in every facet of digital marketing, social media included. That is why you should use the keywords, phrases, and hashtags your clients would expect from you. Luckily, as a social media consultant, you know exactly which keywords to use.
Words like “digital marketing”, “social media”, “social media consultant”, and “social media services” are a must. You can use Google Keyword Planner, SEM Rush, or equivalent keyword tools to check which words are trending at any moment. Using those same words both in your content and the hashtags you use in social media captions is essential. Not only will it serve as a great demonstration of your skills but also help increase your content’s reach when someone looks for them.
Engage your Audience through Comments and Live Events
The best way to utilize social media to your advantage is to engage the people who interact with your pages. Thanks to features like Stories and live streaming, there are a plethora of ways for you to entice people into engaging your content. You can organize live events with Q&A, interviews, or giveaways to build your reach and follower base.
Similarly, you can use questions as calls to action for people to comment and discuss social media marketing topics on your pages. The more engagement you stir up, the more impressed potential clients will be with your abilities. This will bring them a step closer to reaching out to you to discuss what you can do for their social media pages.
Start Building your Email List through Social Media Content
Your self-marketing efforts can go beyond social media by introducing newsletters into the mix. Start by integrating calls to action and subscription offers to your social media followers. Entice them to subscribe by talking about what value they can gain from your newsletters. This can be anything from social media content tips to a free eBook on current digital marketing trends.
As you build your email list, you’ll be able to reach out to companies and professionals with your service portfolio. Using an email marketing platform like Mail Chimp or Ground Hogg will allow you to not only automate emails but track their metrics effectively. This will expand your value for potential clients and convince them even more that you’re the right social media consultant for the job.
Reach Out to Brands with Consultancy Offers
Companies with existing social media pages are a great source of potential clients. Many companies mismanage their social media pages and this is a great opportunity for you to gain valuable leads. Take some time to research potential clients by exploring their social media pages and analyzing them.
What are they doing right and what are they doing wrong? How can you help them become better at social media marketing? Write a draft of your proposal and send it to the company via email or social media DMs. Explain who you are and why you’ve contacted them and ask them to get back to you if they’re interested in working with you. This is both a great social media consultancy exercise and a source of worthwhile clients to cooperate with.
Collect Testimonials and Case Studies for Marketing
The strongest evidence of your strengths as a social media consultant will always come from satisfied clients you’ve worked with. That is why you must collect testimonials, reviews, and other forms of social proof from the companies you’ve serviced. Writing short case studies on your website and then linking them to your social media pages is also an amazing way to drive traffic to your website.
These case studies can explore the initial problems, eventual solutions, and the metrics you’ve achieved for different clients. Case studies are some of the most effective content pieces you can produce for self-marketing as a consultant. Combined with positive reviews, comments, or even client interviews, you won’t have issues attracting clients via social media.
Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
There are good ways and bad ways to promote yourself on social media. That’s why you should try to avoid these pitfalls to maintain positive organic growth on your pages. By doing that, no client will ever suspect your abilities and you’ll be able to convert more leads more frequently.
- Posting content too frequently can make you come off as spam – be reserved and systematic instead
- Don’t buy followers or bots to inflate your metrics – this is a major red flag that can cost you your career
- Not engaging your audience whatsoever will dissuade anyone from DMing you for collaboration
- Relying on a single content type in self-promotion will misrepresent your skills as limited or mundane
- Not asking your audience about their opinions on your pages or the social media market
- Automating your social media posts and hoping for the best without moderation or audience engagement
By avoiding these mistakes and relying on the above-mentioned writing tips, you’ll succeed at marketing yourself as a reliable social media consultant. Don’t try to take a shortcut to success by botting, buying followers, or copying content. Be original, be professional, and be yourself – the right company representatives will recognize that.
Wrapping Up and Getting Started
If you have any experience with managing your social media pages or have worked in a digital marketing agency before, consider social media consultancy. It is a great career path that can be cultivated remotely and you can live comfortably from it as a solo entrepreneur.
Start by building a social media presence to establish yourself on the market before reaching out to businesses with your pitches. While not all of them will trust an up-and-coming social media consultant, those that do will be worth the effort. As you build your case studies and references, higher-profile clients will be open to working with you. Once that happens, your career as a social media consultant will snowball into a successful gig in 2022.
Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional content creator, copywriter, and editorial manager on a number of content writing projects, such as Elysian Writings. Her experience in digital marketing and professional development has enabled her to write better articles, essays, and case studies on these topics. Jessica enjoys reading personal development lit and listening to podcasts.
