After a marathon meeting with a potential client, you finally present your social media management packages, confident that they cover all bases. The response? A polite but firm, “We’ll think about it.”
If you’re in the business of selling social media services, this scenario might sound all too familiar.
Designing the perfect social media management package isn’t just about offering the right services. You really need to find the sweet spot where client needs, perceived value, and budget align perfectly.
Many agency owners learn the hard way that what seems like a perfect package to them might not resonate with their clients. In this guide, we’ll explore the do’s and don’ts of building social media management packages so you can sign more clients with ease.
What Exactly Is a Social Media Management Package?
A social media management package is a bundle of services offered by your agency at a set price, designed to boost a business’s online presence.
There are different kinds of packages that agencies tend to offer. Here are some examples:
What Goes Into Social Media Packages?
Social media management agencies can charge anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 per month, depending on several key factors. These include the agency’s reputation, experience, the industry it’s serving, and the specific services included in the package.
Most social media packages include some essential components to help brands thrive online, such as:
- Strategy development
- Content creation and curation
- Community management
- Scheduling and posting
- Monitoring and engagement
- Analytics and reporting.
Now that we’re clear on the basics, let’s look at the key do’s and don’ts for putting together an effective social media package.
Do’s for Creating Social Media Management Packages
Building social media packages that clients will happily buy requires a bit of thought and research.
First and foremost, you want to offer value. This means that your services need to be relevant and somewhat better than what your competitors are offering. Additionally, you need to think about the profit margins you want to achieve.
Here are some essential “do’s” to keep in mind:
1. Offer Customizable and Scalable Solutions
One size rarely fits all in the world of social media. Offering customizable and scalable solutions allows your clients to choose packages that fit their current needs and grow with them.
Offering flexible packages allows clients to pick and choose what suits their unique goals and budgets. For instance, you could start them with a package focused on Instagram content creation and engagement, with the option to add TikTok management later. Providing additional services can help you increase your customer lifetime value.
2. Be Transparent
Clients appreciate clarity, especially when it comes to money. Have you ever signed up for a service and felt blindsided by hidden fees? It’s not a good feeling, and it’s something you want to avoid with your clients.
Outline every detail in your packages, from the number of posts per month to the tools you’ll use, and be upfront about costs.
3. Include the Cost of Essential Tools and Technologies
Running an agency without using any tools is hard to imagine. At a bare minimum, you’ll need a social media management platform, for example, Gain, to schedule content for all your clients. You might also need Canva Pro or Adobe Express to create visual assets. Plus, don’t forget essential client-focused tools like invoicing software and project management platforms. These are the overhead costs you’ll need to factor in when setting your social media rates.
4. Stay Informed About Industry Trends
The social media world never stands still—algorithms change, new features emerge, and user behaviors shift. Remember when Instagram introduced Reels? Or when Threads launched last year?
Agencies that quickly adapted and offered new strategies were ahead of the game. Thus, as an agency, you should regularly update your packages to include the latest features and strategies, like short-form video content or AI-driven analytics to ensure your clients stay competitive and relevant.
Don’ts for Creating Social Media Management Packages
When creating social media management packages, avoiding certain pitfalls is just as important as implementing best practices. Here are some key “don’ts” to be aware of:
1. Don’t Overpromise and Underdeliver
In the quest to win clients, it can be tempting to promise the moon—instant follower growth, viral content, and skyrocketing engagement. However, overpromising sets unrealistic expectations and can lead to disappointment when those goals aren’t met.
Focus on achievable outcomes based on your expertise and past successes. Avoid promising anything specific, especially in the wording of your services and packages. You’re welcome to use case studies to demonstrate how you have helped some of your past clients, but that’s about it.
As you know, many factors are outside your agency’s control (e.g., algorithm changes) and can significantly impact the outcomes, so be cautious with that. A good client-agency relationship is based on trust, and you won’t come across as a trustworthy partner if you promise out-of-this-world results and don’t deliver on them.
2. Don’t Skip Legal and Compliance Considerations
Legal and compliance considerations are critical when building social media management packages, ensuring both the agency and the client are protected.
Begin by signing a comprehensive agency-client contract that covers all essential legal aspects. This should include a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to protect sensitive information shared between parties, and clear terms on intellectual property rights for content created.
Defining who owns the content is vital to avoid disputes and should be clearly outlined in your package offerings.
3. Don’t Neglect Communication and Regular Reporting
Clients value transparency and communication—elements that should be integral to your packages. Regular updates and comprehensive reports keep clients informed about progress and demonstrate the impact of your work. And that’s quite frankly, what your clients expect.
For that reason, include communication plans in your packages, outlining how often clients will receive updates and what social media metrics will be tracked.
If you need additional resources to create client reports, ensure that their cost is included in the final price charged to the client.
Wrapping Up
Feeling more confident about crafting those social media packages? Don’t forget—research is your best friend. Keep your packages in line with market demand while ensuring they’re profitable.
The goal is to create irresistible packages that draw in new clients. Once you’ve got them, deliver on your promise by growing their social media presence—it’s why they hired you.
If you’re an agency managing multiple clients, look no further than Gain. Gain is a social media management platform with dedicated workspaces for each client to keep content organized. It automates the content approval process, simplifying client feedback and enabling quick approvals. Gain even takes care of scheduling and publishing, so your team can spend more time being creative (less grunt work for everyone, yay!).
Sign up for a free trial and discover how Gain can transform your workflow and client interactions.
