- March 31, 2023
- Kaitlyn
How to Become
a Social Media Manager
with No Experience
From someone who’s done it!
When I wanted to change my services from a virtual assistant to a social media manager, I had no idea what to do! I had no experience, no degree, and was utterly unqualified. With the tips below, I gained confidence in my new skill and started charging $2,000/month for my packages. Here are nine tips to help you become a social media manager with no experience!
Table of Contents
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Learn from Professionals
The best advice I give to those of you who want to become a social media manager is to learn from professionals. There are lots of free resources out there, like The HubSpot Academy, that allow you to learn from professionals and even give you a certificate that you can add to your resume and portfolio.
You can also learn by purchasing a course. There are thousands of courses out there that will teach you how to become a social media manager. My personal favorite, and what taught me everything I know, is The Virtual Savvy Vault. I loved that there are in-depth tutorials for everything from web design to copywriting to social media management and marketing.
If your number one fear is that you won’t be able to afford to learn how to become a social media manager with no experience, don’t let that stop you. Plenty of resources are available, no matter how small your budget is.
Practice on a New Account
Practicing on a new social media account when you have no experience or qualifications is crucial when getting clients. Take pictures of your insights and analytics when you first become active on your new account and then take a picture once you’re happy with the results you’ve received. Add these pictures to your portfolio. These pictures will give your clients faith and confidence in your abilities to manage their platform. It will also give you faith and confidence in yourself!
Practicing is the best way to improve your credibility when you’re first marketing your services!
Identify your Ideal Client
Did you know that multitasking can actually make you less efficient? This applies to getting clients as well. One of the best ways to get clients quickly is to identify who you want to work with. Your ideal client can be any type of business, from an influencer to an Etsy shop to coaches.
Finding your ideal client allows you to focus on your offerings, allowing you to market toward them instead of getting distracted and pulled into every different direction with every small business out there. Do you need to “niche down”? No. But it does help! Test it out!
Join an Agency
Agencies are another great way to gain experience. Agencies do the marketing and then outsource the tasks to subcontractors. Because you, as the subcontractor, are accessing software like design and keyword research tools for free and saving time and money with marketing, you’re pay will be lower. Expect to be paid anywhere from $10 – $25/hour as a subcontractor with an agency.
But because you’re working with an agency, some don’t care if you have experience. They will train with their practices, so you’re able to learn firsthand what it’s like to manage client work as a social media manager.
You can find work with agencies through Facebook groups. There are lots of virtual assisting agencies that also offer social media and are always looking for more help. The Virtual Assistant Savvies is the most popular Facebook group with 100k+ members. It’s also where I found their great course! Join their group, then search “#jobopp” and you’ll find many agencies looking for subcontractors.
You can also find work for agencies within Upwork and Fiverr. These will take a percentage out of your earnings, so be aware and price your services accordingly.
Cold Pitch
To become a social media manager with no experience, a great strategy is to cold pitch. I received most of my clients by cold pitching my services. I would find a business on TikTok or Instagram and love their products or services. I would then reach out via email and tell them about my services.
A lot of people fail at cold pitching, and that’s because they don’t make it personable. Most people will create a template, copy and paste it into their email, and then hit send. Yes, it saves you time in the moment. But when only one or two people sign a contract with you every month through this method, you end up wasting way more time than you would if you made it personable.
Find something in common with this cold lead. If you can’t find anything in common, compliment the business. Maybe you admire their colors or their logo. After you’ve done this and explained your services, go in and give them a brief audit. Perhaps evaluate their hashtags and give them five more that are better than what they’re using. Create a graphic that they can use for their stories or create a short video for them to use as a TikTok, Reel, or Short.
Even if they don’t sign with you, they will remember you. They will admire your authenticity and hard work, so when the time comes for them to hire, they’ll immediately think of you. Being personable may take about 30 minutes to send out a single email, but it will be worth it.
I have used this method on both cold pitches and freelance job postings. There have been several instances where 1,000+ people had applied, but I was the only one hired because I had put in that extra step. These clients have been my most consistent, and I’ve been able to work with them for several years!
Join Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are incredible ways to find job opportunities and network with other social media managers. Find inspiration for your next offer and stay on top of trends and changes with groups.
Consider joining social media Facebook groups. While these most likely are not your ideal client, you’ll be able to get advice from others and learn new things that you didn’t even realize you needed to know!
Once you’ve joined a few social media management groups, join Facebook groups that your ideal client will be in. If you want to work with photographers, then join photography groups. If you’re going to work with wedding planners, join those groups. Once you’ve joined, engage and offer your services whenever possible. Be careful about promoting your services with no prompt, as this is against many Facebook Groups’ rules.
Put Together a Portfolio
You don’t need a website to become a social media manager! Once you’ve been able to practice on your own account, create a few graphics for cold pitches, and have proof of your analytics from your practice account, it’s time to create your portfolio!
Your portfolio is where you’re going to present what you services, along with your prices and possibly a link for your new client to schedule a discovery call with you. My favorite resource to do this is Canva. I’m not very knowledgeable about designs, so their templates are a great start to getting your portfolio put together quickly and on brand.
If you’re looking for an example of a portfolio, feel free to email me at hello@strivehustles.com for an example of mine!
Offer Packages
When offering virtual assisting services, most people charge an hourly rate. This is an effective way to ensure you’re using all the hours that your client has paid for. When it comes to offering social media services, the best way to charge is by creating a package.
My packages include:
- Feed posts
- Story posts
- Reels
- Writing post copy
- Hashtag/keyword strategy
- Creating and executing an overarching strategy
- One – two hours of engagement
- KPI upkeep
- 1-hour debrief every month
- Continual trend research
My smallest package starts at $597/month, and my largest package is $1997/month. Offering packages allows my clients to understand the scope of work I will do and allows me to charge more for this high-end service.
But be sure to charge what you’re comfortable with! This is incredibly important when you’re considering becoming a social media manager with no experience. If you charge too low, you won’t have any motivation to do well, and you may end up losing your client. If you charge too high, you’ll be stressed all the time and nervous to admit any mistakes you may have made!
Strive Hustles Resources
If you’re still wondering how to become a social media manager with no experience, there are so many free and cheap resources here at Strive Hustles! Discover how to grow your Instagram for free so you can practice and offer this service to your clients. Use hashtags and create an effective engagement strategy with this 20+ page ebook!
Becoming a social media manager with no experience is possible. These are the ways that allowed me to do it, and so can you! If you have any questions, you’re more than welcome to email me at hello@strivehustles.com.
This was so insightful and sound like such great tips. I’ve had some interest in being a social media manager and now I know its achievable without much experience.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad this was helpful for you!