How to Find Social Media Clients for Your Agency

Finding social media clients is difficult when your agency is still relatively new. Sure, 92% of marketers from companies with at least a hundred employees are expected to use social media marketing in 2022.

But are marketers looking for a social media marketing agency to help them? Not always.

Many have in-house social teams, whereas others believe they can handle social media themselves. On the other hand, some don’t even recognize the role social media can play in scaling their business.

The right agency can help a business grow, engage loyal customers, increase sales, and build a better brand reputation.

Related Read: 9 Social Media Management Strategies for Agencies

As an agency, these should be your objectives as well. However, if you’re stuck wondering “how to get social media clients” to begin with, we’ve got you covered. In today’s piece, let’s talk about where and how to find social media clients, as well as what attributes make an ideal client for your agency.

How and where can you find social media clients? 

The short answer to how to get social media clients lies in following these three steps: 

1. Create a buyer persona: This will help you target your ideal clients. 
2. Attract clients to your agency: Create a website for your business that works as a hook to bring in clients. 
3. Look for clients online and offline: Network with your ideal client wherever you can find them to convert them.

With that, let’s take an in-depth look at how to find marketing clients, starting with what to look for in them.

Social media client attributes to look for

As a social media marketing agency, your clientele includes businesses that want a strong social presence to reach their target buyers and drive sales. 

Keeping this in mind, the foundational step to target the right marketing clients is creating a buyer persona — if you don’t already have one. This will help you narrow down your search when searching for, targeting, and nurturing potential clients. 

Related Read: How To Write A Client Winning Social Media Proposal

Here’s an example of what a buyer persona looks like and what information it should cover to help you out: 

With the basics out of the way, let’s look at the 4 attributes that make an ideal client:

Someone who aligns with your agency’s ideal client persona

Lock your business-savvy eyes on anyone who matches your buyer persona.

As a social media marketing agency, this could include restaurant owners, retail business owners, or even service providers.

Don’t just keep your eyes peeled for new business people, though. You may also want to target older businesses that haven’t yet benefited enough from marketing on social media.

Your job is to get to know these people and determine if they’d make your ideal client.

Understands the power of social media marketing

While more and more businesses are willing to tap into social media marketing, some still may not get how effective it can be. Such folks often underestimate your work on optimizing social profiles, creating content, and driving engagement. As a result, they may not pay you what you’re worth.

Related Read: How Agencies Collaborate on Content Marketing Ideas?

So, steer away from people who don’t understand the benefits they can reap in the long term unless you’re okay with dedicating resources to educating these people before getting them to invest in your services. 

Instead, look for clients who know how fruitful social media marketing can be but don’t have the time and effort to grow their social media channels.

Recognizes that social media results take time

Your ideal client is someone who understands that posting for a few days isn’t going to immediately show results.

In fact, they know that results take time, whether in the form of an increase in engagement or sales. 

Your ideal clients are not only willing to be patient for the results but are ready to invest based on the proof of work you share with them.

Embraces your creativity and trusts you

A client who tells you how to do your job can be tough to deal with the results they want. 

Put another way, your ideal clients are ready to give you the creative space to chalk a social media marketing plan and strategy for their business. At the same time, the best clients are straightforward about their expectations and limitations. This way, you have a clear idea of what your client wants.

9 hacks to find new social media clients

Moving on, here are 9 ways to find social media clients:

1. Start with finding clients in your existing circle

The first place to look for clients is within your immediate circle. 

Do you have any friends or family members who own businesses? Perhaps any neighbors with a small business? Your first step should be to gather their contact information to inform them of your service. 

If they don’t have an immediate need for your services, request them to help you spread the word about your social media marketing agency within their business network.

In fact, you can also share your agency’s information with other people in your friends and family circle who may not own a business. Because these folks can also help you spread the word and hopefully refer some clients. 

Related Read: 8-Step Marketing Client Onboarding Process For Agencies

So start by opening a spreadsheet and writing down your close contacts’ email addresses and phone numbers. Send them a message explaining the service you’re providing, the benefits it offers, and the results you’ve driven using social media marketing.

Chances are, you’ll get your first client from among people you already know.

2. Build new relationships

Networking is a great way to get more clients. Start networking on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and wherever your ideal client can be. Create a digital business card that showcases your agency’s expertise and makes relationship building easier across these platforms.

One thing to remember here: don’t just network with potential clients. Instead, talk to people who might be mutual friends with your target customer. Meaning: build relationships with those from relevant backgrounds, such as SEO professionals, content marketers, and freelancers.

Begin by sparking and participating in conversations. Don’t just comment with emojis or simple short phrases. Instead, add something meaningful to the conversation. 

Learn from Jeremy Linaburg, co-founder of Wholesome Media, interacting with their community on LinkedIn:

You can also flaunt your knowledge of social media marketing if such a conversation is open. People are more likely to work with you or recommend you when you come off as knowledgeable.

Occasionally, and where needed, you can also mention your agency. But remember, don’t be in the face with your services. You have to be subtle in weaving in your know-how and services or any social media marketing tool for your agency. 

3. Hang out where your ideal clients do 

There are many online spaces where business owners hang out other than traditional social channels. One example of such a place is Quora.

Similarly, you can also find your target clients on Reddit, in Slack communities, in Facebook marketing groups, and in Discord communities.

Your goal should be to network in such places and engage with folks there meaningfully.

Chances are, you’ll catch the eye of your ideal client even if you don’t get to talk to them one-on-one.

Don’t forget to network offline. Start talking with local business owners and participate in relevant events. The more you engage people positively, the more likely they’ll choose your agency for their social media marketing.

4. Share free value 

Whether it’s a quick Instagram posting template or 30 minutes of free consultation, when you offer a part of your expertise for free, people are more willing to work with you.

In fact, if you’re struggling with finding your first client, this strategy can be quite helpful.

You can post about your free service in any community or network where you’ve already proven your authority on the subject by engaging with people.

And no, we don’t recommend you provide your enter service bundle for free. If you do that, no one will want to pay for something you’re offering for free.

A better idea is to offer limited free value such that participants leave with the idea that they can get more from you.

For example, if you share a free Instagram publishing calendar template, you can mention at the end how you can help with further improving Instagram’s marketing strategy. Now those who avail of your free template will know that you can do more in Instagram marketing for them. So, they’ll likely book a paid consultation session or invest in your agency’s social media marketing plan if your template impresses them.

You can also offer your free service on your website so potential customers can understand the value you can provide them and then confidently work with you.

Take a look at how LYFE Marketing does this. It offers a free proposal to attract leads and mentions this offer first thing on its website.

5. Showcase your authority on your website

Rather than just sharing your agency’s services and plans on its website, make sure your site also positions your agency as a trustworthy one.

To go about doing this, follow these tips:

• Show off case studies: When you share case studies of how you’ve helped others, you tell potential clients how you can help them drive similar results. As a result, you can earn your potential client’s trust further. 
• Give an idea of the companies that have worked with you: This is as simple as putting up logos of your past clients as a way to share more social proof with your future clients. 
• Share certificates you’ve earned and publications you’ve been featured in: This is another way to position yourself as an authority in your field. 
• Create and maintain a helpful blog: Create helpful content to attract, engage, and convert clients off the back of the educational insights you share on your blog.
• Incorporate video testimonials: This is yet another effective way to show that other people trust you for your services and to help clients visualize the results your agency can drive for them.

Look at how Thrive, an internet marketing agency, wins trust by putting the right information first on its website:

Thrive doesn’t stop there though. Scrolling down their home page shows they share more social proof to build their credibility. After all, it’s an excellent way to convert more site visitors into paying clients: 

6. Create a social media presence that speaks for you

Another step that you can follow to attract social media clients is marketing yourself on social media.

Sign up as your agency on multiple social channels and start posting. Create posts that solve a problem. 

Look at how Moburst, a mobile-first marketing agency, posts interesting, clear, and helpful content on Instagram that its audience can learn from:

To begin with, identify your ideal client’s pain points. In fact, if you’ve created a buyer persona, you’d already be aware of your target audience’s struggles.

Then create content that helps solve their pain points. In addition to regularly posting audience-engaging social content, direct traffic to your agency’s website.

Ads that target your customers can be helpful as well.

Tip: you don’t need to create new posts for each channel you are on. Instead, repurpose posts so that they’re suitable for different social networking sites.

7. Rely on referrals

Referrals are another effective form of marketing.

83% of Americans say that recommendations from family and friends encourage them to buy a product or service, per a Convince and Convert report. People also find referrals 41% more trustworthy than social media recommendations.

This makes it clear – you need to ask for referrals as another way to land clients for your social media agency.

Here are a few ways to ask for referrals:

• Go the extra mile and treat your top clients exceptionally well: You can send them thank-you notes or even treat them to lunch. Your service can win you referrals simply based on its excellence.
• Ask directly: If your current clients are satisfied with you, politely request them for referrals via email or phone.
• Partner with people with the same target customers: For example, as a social media marketing agency, you can pair up with a web design agency to refer your clients to one another.
• Have a referral program in place: Set up a simple referral program on your website. Offer a service, template, or other valuable material for free in exchange for referrals.

Check out this referral program by Graffiti9. The digital marketing agency promises profits to those who refer a client:

8. Share your positive reviews

When your ideal client comes across your business, they won’t instantly trust what you advertise about your agency. Instead, they will look for what people who have worked with you have to say about you.

This is why it is essential to share your positive reviews.

You can follow up with clients — even with those who’ve availed your free services and ask for reviews.

Posting reviews on your website as well as on your social media is a helpful way to win over potential clients.

You can also install the TrustPilot plugin on your website to ensure your audience that your agency’s positive reviews are legit. Check out how the LinkedIn marketing agency, Cleverly, does the same:

9. Leverage search engine optimization

Want clients to find you too rather than just relying on the other way around? Optimize your agency website for the search engine.

You can hire an SEO professional and a writer for this to speed through the process. When your website uses the right keywords, they can work like bait to attract clients to your site. A writer, on the other hand, can be helpful in creating keyword-rich blog posts for your business.

After all, the more optimized your site is, the higher your chances of showing up in search results when your ideal clients search for a social media marketing agency.

Grow your social media marketing agency with ContentStudio

Your agency’s success depends on the phenomenal results you drive for your clients. Because when you provide excellent services, your agency grows thanks to the positive word of mouth that goes around about you.

Related Read: How To Manage Post Approvals With ContentStudio

However, you’ll need all the support you can get to achieve client satisfaction. Thankfully, automation can help. 

Automating manual tasks such as social media management is a great way to save time and make processes smoother. One tool you can use for this purpose is ContentStudio. 

With ContentStudio’s planner, you get a digital calendar for creating clients’ strategies. You can also streamline your work process by getting your team to collaborate on this planner. The best part is that ContentStudio helps you assign tasks to team members which makes team work a breeze. 

Apart from creating a content calendar, you can also curate content ideas and schedule posts for automatic posting at a later time. 

With content curation using ContentStudio, you can discover content ideas from around the web easily. 

Related Read: Social Media Approval Workflow for Agencies: A Step-by-Step Guide

Whereas scheduling posts in advance saves you time and helps you wrap up work during office hours. Scheduling also helps you to post at the best time as per different time zones.

ContentStudio comes with more features too — it also allows you to engage on different social channels seamlessly as you can aggregate different social inboxes at one place. 

A social media marketing tool that automates processes helps win clients too. 

You see, your clients take you as professional when you have an entire month’s worth of content ready to post as per your plan. 

That’s not all – ContentStudio enables you to measure key metrics for social media accounts for tracking progress as well. With ContentStudios Analytics, you have all the insights you need for refining the strategy you create for your clients. 

Put briefly, ContentStudio automates content planning, curation, posting, analyzing, and more. This gives you more space in your schedule to focus on creating results-driving social media marketing strategies for your clients and for marketing your agency as well.

Ready to win more clients?

Finding marketing clients for your social media agency takes work. It requires you to network online and offline, and to maintain a winning website and social presence. 

Once you do get new clients though, the work doesn’t end — it gets tougher as you have to make sure your agency drives results. Fortunately, automation with ContentStudio can help make social media marketing easier. By taking manual work off your plate, ContentStudio helps you save time too. 

Want to get started? Sign up as an agency today.