Getting Started As A Social Media Manager 2 

Q: How do you process payments from the clients? 2 
Q: Can I add some key points from your sample contract to my own contract? 2 
Q: When do I make the first post? 2 
Q: Should I buy a domain on squarespace or godaddy? 2 

Gaining New Clients 3 

Q: Any ideas of how I can convince a client that SM is for them? 3 
Q: Is it a good idea to offer a 1 month free trial for my first customer? 3 
Q: Is okay to work for a sales commission instead of a flat rate? 4 
Q: How do I get a new client who already has people running his social media? 4 

SMM/ Client Relationship 5 

Q: Who takes photos? 5 
Q: Going on-site to create content vs. client providing content? 6 
Q: Who pays for scheduling services or email marketing services? 6 
Q: Do I open a new scheduling/ email marketing account for each new client? 7 
Q: When doing paid advertising, who pays? Agency or client? 7 
Q: How do you handle unsatisfied clients? 7 
Q: How do you set clients up once they are no longer with you? 7 

Social Media Insights 8 

Q: Now Instagram has the shopping feature is it part of the "Action" process? 8 
Q: Any recommended blogs or websites for further education? 8 
Q: What is the three month process to launching a successful SM platform? 9 
Q: Help! I'm struggling to use CoSchedule Headline Analyser. 9 
Q: I'm not sure I understand 'traffic funnels to website'. 10 
Q: How do you know the exact value of a click? 10 
Q: I don’t understand Pinterest or BB secret boards! 11 
Q: I don’t understand Curated Content 12 

Social Media Strategies 13 

Q: I was taught a 30/30/30/10 rule 13 
Q: Is there a different strategy for different businesses? 13 
Q: What's the best platform for my client’s industry? 14 
Q: I’m struggling to grow followers in a ‘negative’ industry 14 
Q: How can I use SM to sell B2B? 15 
Q: In your proposal you mention growing 8,000 Twitter followers per month? 15 
Q: Should I watermark my content? 16 
 

1
Getting Started As A Social Media Manager 

Q: How do you process payments from the clients?  

 
Do you use a PayPal business account to automatically invoice the client? What would be a 
good alternative for a freelancer? 
 
A: We recommend Invoicely and bank transfers. 
 
You can use PayPal if you wish, but personally I'd rather avoid their fees. 
 
 

Q: Can I add some key points from your sample contract to my own contract? 
 
A: Yes! You can copy any of these course resources word-by-word if you wish! 
 
 

Q: When do I make the first post?  

 
My monthly cycle begins on the 1st. 
 
A: You can set up your own monthly cycle to work however you wish. 
 
If you follow my example on the Monthly Cycle resource you would start the monthly cycle 
on the 8th, spend that month creating, curating & scheduling content.  
 
Then your first post would go out on the 8th of the next month. 
 
 

Q: Should I buy a domain on squarespace or godaddy? 

 
A: We recommend GoDaddy. 
 
 

2
Gaining New Clients 

Q: Any ideas of how I can convince a client that SM is for them? 

 
I am trying to get a client, however am coming a little undone with trying to win them over. 
They are a supermarket, have a younger demographic, as it is right in the city with tourists 
and students. The manager has no idea about Instagram so I've tried to educate him. 
 
A: If you've already explained the potential increase in branding, sales, relationship with 
current customers etc. and they're still not interested, I'd walk away now. 
 
Sorry I know that might not be what you want to hear! But from my experience if you 
struggle to get them on board now, you'll struggle throughout the whole contract! 
 
Keep searching until you find clients who will genuinely appreciate your work! 
 
 

Q: Is it a good idea to offer a 1 month free trial for my first customer? 

 
In the course you mention not offering any free time periods. However, do you think it could 
be a good idea to offer a 1 month free trial for my first customer? 
 
I would explain that results are not normally seen until after 3 months, so there is motive to 
continue. I'm thinking it could be a great way to gain experience and build my confidence... 
before being ruthless! 
 
A: I'm going to stick to the advice we gave in the course, don't offer a free time period. 
 
It will attract clients hunting for a bargain. And it won't interest clients who actually value 
social media management & are more than willing to pay for it. 
 
I know it can be really intimidating asking for money, especially when imposter syndrome is 
kicking in. But face it head on! Be ruthless now. It's the best way to gain experience & boost 
your confidence! 
 
Go get 'em! 
 
 

3
Q: Is okay to work for a sales commission instead of a flat rate? 
 
A: Personally, I would recommend using a flat rate. 
 
Technically you can measure social media > click > sale with Google Analytics. But most 
sales are a lot more wishy washy than that. 
 
When people see something they like on social media, they might click through to the site, 
they might browse around but then they will probably leave.  
 
- Maybe they're at work & will go to the website directly and buy later 
- Maybe they sign up the the mailing list & wait for a sale 
- Maybe they wait for payday & then go to the website directly and buy later 
- Maybe they email the link to a friend, chat about it & then buy it 
- Maybe they don't even click through to the site, maybe they google the business, check 
reviews & then click through to the site 
- Maybe they make a note of the website and go back to it months later when they actually 
need the product 
 
And even though all these sales would be influenced by your social media presence, they 
wouldn't be picked up by Google Analytics as a straightforward social media > click > sale. 
Most people just aren't impulsive enough to buy then & there. 
 
The other thing to bear in mind is that social media is great at providing certain benefits, like 
brand awareness, website traffic, leads, growing your fan base & rewarding your existing 
customers etc. 
 
And it's okay at providing others like sales & boosting SEO. 
 
So if you're measuring your success by a benefit that social media isn't all that great at 
providing, and ignoring all the great ones, both you and your client are going to be 
disappointed. 
 
If you want to increase sales and boost your income I would look into offering other online 
skills as an add on to your offer. Website copy, blog posts, ads, email marketing & SEO are 
all effective ways to boost sales. 
 
 
 

4
Q: How do I get a new client who already has people running his social media?  
 
I​ am currently employed at a online streetwear retail store in CA and he already has people 
running his social media .  
 
I don't think he advertises at all. But i don't know how to come at him since he already has 
people running his social media. 
 
To be honest, I'd aim for some easier clients! Especially if you're just starting out. 
 
If the store already have a social media team in place I doubt you'll be able to take all the 
work from them as a single freelancer. 
 
However, if you want to join the team you could still offer some helpful suggestions and 
feedback. They might be flattered and want more. I can't guarantee it though! 
 
 

SMM/ Client Relationship 

Q: Who takes photos? 

 
How do you take the photos for other brands, since you are not there in the company all the 
time? If brand doesn't have lots of lifestyle photos how do you deal with that? 
 
A: It's their job to provide you with photos, they should give you access to all the photos 
they have. 
 
However in my experience, especially with small businesses, they don't have great photos.  
 
If you're in that position you need to make a call. And there's no right or wrong answer. If I 
were you I'd base it on circumstances... 
 
If they're a low paying client, I'd probably just get by with what they've got.  
 
If they're a good client and I really like them, but they don't have a lot of free cash, I'd go in 
and take them myself (as long as they're local!).  
 

5
If they're a well paying client and have a lot of free cash I'd explain that I could get much 
better results with professional photos and request they arrange a professional 
photographer, or offer to arrange it for them. 
 
 

Q: Going on-site to create content vs. client providing content? 

 
How do you create a balance between going on site to create content for a client and 
receiving images/videos from your client?  
 
Is there a way to not do double duty? It seems like a client would not want to take photos 
(of events, day to day) and explain them to the social media manager when they could just 
post them themselves. However, as a SMM you are not able to visit a location everyday to 
create content. 
 
 
A: To be honest, I don't have a set rule for this. It varies from client to client. 
 
Some are very interested in SM and happy to help provide content. Some have even sat 
down and co-written blogs with me because they're so happy to get involved. 
 
Others do not want to know anything about SM or be bothered by it. And if you have a client 
like that I would recommend leaving them be and creating content from other sources. 
 
So if you have a hotel client, for example, you can post about attractions in the area, special 
offers, great reviews. and use images from their website. You never have to bother them for 
content or visit the hotel. 
 
You'll be able to gauge quite quickly how much they're interested in helping you create 
content! 
 
 

Q: Who pays for scheduling services or email marketing services?  

 
And do I open the accounts in their name or use my own account? 
 
A: Always open the accounts in your name and pay for them yourself. 
 
All these costs should be covered by your monthly fee. 
 

6
So when you're putting together your offer (Section 14, lecture 59) remember that you need 
to cover the scheduling & email provider costs. 
 
 

Q: Do I open a new scheduling/ email marketing account for each new client? 
 
Or do we just create a new account within the software? 
 
A: This is a personal preference scenario, there isn't a strict rule. 
 
I like to keep email marketing accounts entirely separate. It stops any chance of sending 
client A's email to client B's list. And it gives me more time before hitting the free limit. 
 
That said, if you're comfortable opening a new account within the software then there's no 
reason why you shouldn't. 
 
 

Q: When doing paid advertising, who pays? Agency or client? 

 
A: The client. 
 
 

Q: How do you handle unsatisfied clients?  

 
Do you refund them or do let them know it's a risk? 
 
A: As long as you write up the contract and follow the payment cycle shown in Section 16 
there is no risk and there shouldn't be a reason for refunds, they simply end the contract. 
 
 

Q: How do you set clients up once they are no longer with you?  
 
For instance, if you are nearing the end of your contract with a client, and they or you are 
not renewing the contract, what do you recommend for your clients to keep up with their 
social media? 
 
A: Ooh that's an interesting question! I've never had that one before. 
 
7
I mean, you're not really obliged to do anything for them if the contract is ending. 
 
If it was me & a client wasn't renewing the contract I would focus on winning them back. Ask 
them what went wrong, offer a lesser service for a lower price etc. 
 
But I guess if I'm the one ending the contract, I really like them, and I want it to end on 
excellent terms I could offer them some recommendations to keep their SM going? (Can't 
say I've ever been in this situation though!) 
 
I would do this is with a cheatsheet briefly explaining everything I was doing for them. The 
programs I used, the strategy you chose & why, the publishing times & why, what content 
their audience likes & why etc. 
 
 

Social Media Insights  

Q: Now Instagram has the shopping feature is it part of the "Action" process? 
 
A: Ohh this is an interesting question! 
 
We'll have to wait and see how the shopping feature does.  
 
If it becomes a key part of Instagram & changes people's mindset so they expect to 
browse/buy things when they're there then yes 100% it will shift to the action stage. 
 
If it flops and doesn't really change anything then Instagram will remain in the awareness 
stage. 
 
 

Q: Any recommended blogs or websites for further education? 

 
Are there any blogs or websites that you follow consistently to stay up to date on or just to 
learn more about Social Media Management? Are there any other resources you would 
recommend to learn more? 
 
A: In terms of keeping up to date with social media in general, I'm constantly Googling 
questions. The Social Media Examiner blog is good, Buffer & Hootesuite also have great 
blogs. 
 

8
The more you read up on it, the more conflicting information you'll find. Don't let that 
overwhelm you! SM isn't an exact science, just keep testing different theories & stick with 
what works best for you :) 
 
 

Q: What is the three month process to launching a successful SM platform? 

 
A: It's in Section 3, Lesson 11: Choosing Social Media Platforms 
 
It takes 3 months for a SM account to take off. One month to set it up properly, two months 
for followers to start to show and in the third month you should start to see results. 
 
 

Q: Help! I'm struggling to use CoSchedule Headline Analyser.  

 
When I clicked on 'Analyze now', I got a pop-up message asking me to enter my Name, 
E-mail, Company, and Website. Well, I don't have a company or website. I tried to Signup 
and I found that it will be a 14-day free trial and then paid.  
 
Is there a free alternative I can use? 
 
A: CoSchedule Headline Analyzer does not need to be paid for. That pop-up is trying to get 
you to subscribe to their email list.  
 
It is very confusing and not very transparent on their behalf. 
 
You don't need to put in any real information. I normally type in a load of gobbledygook... 
 
Full Name: neofkbs 
 
Email Address: vdisokq@bdikw.com 
 
Company Name: hdisksbgs 
 
Website:​ bdidosm.com 
 
What best describes you?: any answer 
 
How many folks are on your team: any answer 
 

9
What is your main focus: any answer 
 
Then it will take you through to the results. 
 
If they're going to force people to subscribe to use their tool, they deserve a database full of 
nonsense! 
 
 

Q: I'm not sure I understand 'traffic funnels to website'.  

 
Is this something like, including a link on a social media post that leads to my client's 
website? 
 
A: Yeah exactly! Any link that funnels people from social media to the client's website.  
 
Most usually a blog post, but it could also be a product page, about us page, whatever is 
useful to the end user. 
 
 

Q: How do you know the exact value of a click? 

 
How do you estimate the value of a click to say, a local restaurant customer, as opposed to 
a chiropractor's client? 
 
A: Driving clicks to a client's website is valuable. But you don't need to know how exactly 
how valuable that is to be a great social media manager.  
 
If a client's SM goal is traffic then you simply drive as much traffic there as you can, and 
measure your success by the volume. 
 
A sophisticated client will know their site's conversion rate, how much targeted traffic they 
need to make a sale, and therefore how much each hit is worth to them. This will dictate 
how much they are willing to spend on ad campaigns.  
 
But to be honest, clients like this will usually manage their social media in-house. 
 
In my experience most small local businesses have no idea what their conversion rate is, 
and therefore how much each hit is worth. And they'll decide how much to spend on ads 
based on rough estimates. 
 

10
If you're interested in learning more about this you can research more into website 
conversion rates and Google Analytics. 
 
 

Q: I don’t understand Pinterest or BB secret boards! 

 
I am so confused with Pinterest! I noticed you mentioning creating BB secret boards, is that 
so we can post to other boards from the secret boards instead of uploading pins to other 
boards?  
 
So sorry i am lost on this one! 
 
A: One annoying thing about Pinterest is that everything has similar names!  
 
Pin (noun), pins, pinning, pin (verb), repin, boards, secret boards, group boards, 
boardbooster… it can all lead to a bit of information overload! 
 
I think you might have to get to grips with Pinterest first, and then when you come back and 
rewatch the lesson it will all be a lot clearer! 
 
Anyway back to your original question... 
 
Yes you're totally right. You create secret BB boards so you can post to group boards via 
BoardBooster instead of uploading them to Tailwind. 
 
BoardBooster is an amazing tool for scheduling pins. It requires almost zero effort on your 
half. All you have to do is create secret boards and pin pins into them. Then BoardBooster 
will do the rest of the work for you. 
 
To help me categorise my secret boards for BoardBooster I call them all BB and then the 
topic. i.e "BB Africa ". This won't be necessary when you start out, but I currently have over 
100 boards so it helps me find them quickly! I just have to type "BB" into the search and all 
my BoardBooster secret boards pop up. 
 
Following the settings you choose BoardBooster will then automatically repin the pins in 
those boards to your group boards. 
This saves you a lot of effort compared to Tailwind where you have to manually upload all 
your pins to Tailwind and then schedule when to repin them. 
 

11
I hope this answers your question. But if it just made you more confused please do not 
worry! Pinterest isn't big and scary, it just has annoying names. Get out there, start using it 
and this will all make sense very quickly :) 
 
 

Q: I don’t understand Curated Content 

 
I have a question about curated content for clients.  
 
I understand where you say that it will not benefit the client as it will lead back to the 
original content creators site - isn't this bad to take potential clients away from your client?  
 
For example with the 'how to tie a tie' image you showed on Pinterest. If you had a client 
with a clothing store for example, putting that type of content out there would be helpful for 
the clients audience but then having their followers click and be lead to a competitors site, 
surely must make the client mad enough to fire you? 
 
A: The key with curated and created content is to get the right balance. (Remember the jab 
jab punch technique in ‘How to Achieve Social Media Goals’ Section 2, Lecture 5). You 
absolutely need to put a steady flow of content in front of your end users to keep them 
entertained and provide value.  
 
If you only get this from curated content it’s a bit pointless. What's the point in keeping this 
audience entertained if you never funnel them towards your client’s products or services? 
And your client might notice and get a little bit confused. (That said it’s unlikely, clients are 
busy. It’s rare they notice everything you’re up to unless it’s in the monthly reports). 
 
But on the other hand if you only put your own created content in front of them this is a) 
extremely time consuming for you b) going to get a little bit boring for the end user c) worst 
of all, going to feel like too much of a hard sales pitch. Without providing genuine value and 
entertainment, people have little reason to follow a brand that constantly promotes 
themselves. 
 
But the great thing is, you can get this curated value from anywhere. You don’t need to go 
to the same businesses over and over, and you don’t need to go to direct competitors. 
For example if your client is a clothing store you can share content from online fashion 
magazines, fashion bloggers, YouTubers. Value for the end user doesn’t have to be directly 
related to clothes. If your client is targeting male 35-45 year old London bankers then you 
can also find curated content just for them. Positive articles about Economics or London etc. 
 
 

12
Social Media Strategies  

Q: I was taught a 30/30/30/10 rule  

 
When i was first introduced to scheduling social media accounts I was taught a 
30/30/30/10 rule.  
 
30 entertainment/ 30 share other/ 30 promote/ 10 inspirational... Do you think this is a good 
system? 
 
A: Sounds like a great system! Go for it! 
 
 

Q: Is there a different strategy for different businesses?  

 
I notice in your examples you showcase are retail businesses; is there a different strategy for 
different businesses?   
 
Like professional or tech companies? Or service based clients targeting entrepreneurs? 
 
A: You won't need to change the strategy for any of these clients, but you will have to target 
the content to your end-users. 
 
If in doubt always keep your end user in mind. 
 
If your current content isn't getting much interest and you don't know what else to post, 
maybe spend some time diving deeper into what they're interested in. 
 
- What are their interests? 
- What language do they like? Are emojis too immature? 
- Would they like to read an article & discuss, or laugh at a silly meme? 
- What books do they read? 
- What are their hobbies? 
- Where do they hang out? 
- What famous entrepreneurs/ tech people are they interested in? 
 
Maybe jump on a call with some customers & just have a chat, get to know them. (With your 
client's permission!) 
 

13
Or just old fashioned fb/twitter stalk them. What entrepreneur-related things are they 
chatting to their friends about? What do they care about? 
 
Or study the competition & see what works well for them. 
 
 

Q: What's the best platform for my client’s industry? 

 
A: If your industry doesn't have an obvious link (i.e photography & Instagram or cooking & 
Pinterest) then focus on your target customer and where you're most likely to find them. 
 
 

Q: I’m struggling to grow followers in a ‘negative’ industry 

 
I have a client in a ‘negative’ industry. They want to raise awareness for sex-trafficking and 
are struggling to grow their following.  
 
Do you have any advice when working with not-so-glamorous organizations and 
companies? Have you found certain approaches and platforms work better? 
 
A: Yesss I've had this problem! I work in responsible travel and it's so hard to educate 
people about the dark side of it! 
 
It's been proven that positive content gets more shares. People like feeling happy & they 
want their friends to be happy too. 
 
To be honest I've even unfollowed charity pages myself because the constant negative 
news was impacting my daily happiness. Even though I loved the charity & what they did, I 
just needed a break. 
 
My recommendation is to keep things as positive as you can. I'm not sure how much sex 
trafficking positivity you can find. Maybe rescue stories, interviews with people who got out, 
celebrating money raised, a new law in your favour or new victories? Anything to give you 
followers a good feeling. 
 
Then when you post something seriously graphic/ intense/ powerful/ serious it hits people 
harder. They're not as desensitised and they're more likely to be shocked into action. 
(Commenting, sharing, donating etc.) 
 

14
Think jab, jab, punch but with positive/ negative content rather than not selling/ selling 
content. 
 
Take a look at successful non-profit accounts (sex-trafficking if there are any) and see how 
often they jab, jab, punch. And what type of positive content they post. 
 
Then experiment with it & see what works best for you. Personally I try and stick to 5 
positive posts to 1 negative post. 
 
In terms of platforms Twitter is a good one & Facebook is okay. Try posting in relevant FB 
groups. People are a lot more responsive in private groups than on their public newsfeed. 
 
Avoid Instagram, negative stuff doesn't go down well. Pinterest might work if there are 
relevant group boards? 
 
 

Q: How can I use SM to sell B2B?  

 
I want to sell industrial products to businesses 
 
A: I'm afraid this course isn't the best option for you. 
 
Social media is best for B2C businesses, I can't think of any successful B2B businesses on 
social media, and I certainly wouldn't take one on as a client. 
 
The reason being that when people are on social media they enjoy following the brands 
they love (shoes, games, beverages etc.). But the people who buy industrial products don't 
love them. It's a part of their 9-5 life, and they don't want to see it in their free time outside of 
that life. 
 
If I were you I would put a lot of time into researching email marketing and how to sell B2B. 
 
Good luck! And feel free to request a refund for Udemy :) 
 
 

Q: In your proposal you mention growing 8,000 Twitter followers per month? 
 
In your example of a proposal you mention that you will grow your clients followers by 
following 8,000 potential clients on Twitter per month. Could you explain that process for 
me? 

15
 
A: I didn't mention this in the course because I don't suggest this social media tactic & I don't 
like doing it! But it's in the proposal because a lot of small businesses want it. 
 
Essentially you use programmes like Statusbrew to follow thousands of potential followers. 
If they don't follow you back within 3 days you unfollow them again. 
 
Your followers will quickly grow. But this is just a vanity metric, it doesn't really mean 
anything. 
 
They won't be engaged followers or particularly interested in what you're doing. They're 
extremely unlikely to ever become customers. The whole purpose is just to look better 
online. 
 
 

Q: Should I watermark my content? 

 
Do you think it's important or needed to watermark any images or video you create for a 
client?   
 
Just wondering what your thoughts are on this as I've read somewhere that helps with your 
own marketing efforts as well. 
 
I don't think it's important or needed at all! There are a lot of downsides... 
 
No matter how small or discrete watermarks are they're always just plain annoying and 
ugly. That will make the experience less enjoyable for the end user and probably impact 
shares.​ 
 
It's also working against your own client. This is the perfect place for them to spread their 
message & branding to relevant target customers, and you're filling the space with your 
own branding instead. 
 
I also don't see it having many upsides. For example, if your client is a library and your 
creating content for bookworms, how many of them are going to be a potential social media 
customer for you? Of those potential customers (if there are any) how many will see your 
watermark, be intrigued​ rather than annoyed, look you up, and then become a social media 
client? There are much more effective ways of getting clients! 
 
Aha sorry this might be a bit of a harsh response, maybe I just personally really hate 
watermarking. If you or your client is a photographer or an artist then it's a different story! 

16
Use watermarks to protect your work by all means. I just don't think watermarking should 
have a place outside the photography industry. 
 
The only positive example I can think of where two brands promote themselves in the same 
piece of content are the viral videos created by brands like Buzzfeed, The Dodo, LADbible 
etc. where they will promote someone else's brand & message, then add their own 
branding at the start and /or end of the video. 
 
But they're publishing the videos on their own accounts, not creating them behind the 
scenes for clients.  
 
So maybe if you're very good at creating videos you might want to publish the original one 
on your client's account with only their own branding. And then add your own branding to 
the start and/or end and then publish it again on your own accounts to promote your work? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

17