Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – your rates as a virtual assistant or social media service provider. 

Have you had that nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you might not be charging enough for the social media services your client(s) ask of you? 

Don’t panic – you’re not alone. When it comes to social media, most clients know they need to be present, but they do not have any frame of reference for:

• how to leverage social media channels the right way
• how much time it really takes to create great content
• how to know if their social media content is working

In this article, I will break down three different types of social media services that you can use to segment your services and charge premium prices. 

Not all social media services are created equal.

Let me tell you a little story about how I learned this lesson the hard way.

As a freelance copywriter, I found myself working with a client who had no boundaries when it came to requesting various types of work. 

I realized (probably like many of you) I have a broad base of experience that gave me the skills to write copy, analyze metrics, improve on-page SEO, and map out customer journeys, but I let myself get locked in at the same (way too low) pricing. 

It makes sense that there’s so much confusion around this when you stop and think about it. 

Google the phrase “what is social media management,” and in .78 seconds, you’ll see736,000 search results that are all different. 

I did a quick skim through page one and shook my head at how much conflicting information is out there and, frankly, how much potentially bad advice is readily available for virtual assistants looking to offer these services. 

So, below is a breakdown from my point of view. It is worth noting that my perspective comes from 20+ years of communications experience for both small businesses and multi-billion dollar organizations. 

This is intended to give you an easy way to think about services you might want to offer your clients. Think of these three “jobs” in terms of escalating skillsets needed. We’ll start with the least specialized and work our way up.

Social Media Support

Think of social media support as basic daily administration inside whatever particular platform your client is active on. 

Simply put, social media can consume a massive amount of a client’s marketing resources. I’ve seen many teams get so consumed with creating and publishing content that they end up not paying attention to the outcomes or actively engaging with the people who want to connect with you there; they are missing out on the two most valuable benefits of being present on social media in the first place.  

• Performance Metrics Tracking
  • The numbers literally tell the story of what moves the needle so they can do more of what works. 
• Interactive Conversation With Their Target Audience
  • Where else is there an opportunity for real-time feedback from a target audience on their reaction to your messaging and insight on what they want more of from you? 

For virtual assistants, offering social media support services based on audience interaction and metric tracking is an excellent option for clients lacking administrative social media support.

Social Media Management

For a client to have a successful presence on social media, someone has to create and publish compelling content. This is where social media managers come in. 

Successful virtual assistants and social media management business owners offer services that require developed skill sets in some or all of the following areas: 

• Copywriting
  • Writing compelling captions, posts, articles, and video scripts for social media content
• Photography
  • Taking or sourcing images to accompany posts and editing or sizing them to be optimized for different platforms 
• Video Editing
  • Video continues to grow in popularity on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Knowing how to capture, edit, and stitch together video is a massively valuable skill for SMMs.
• Graphic Design
  • Design eye-catching, scroll-stopping images or infographics perfectly tailored for particular platforms. 
• Publishing Schedule Management
  • Consistently publishing content is a non-negotiable when it comes to leveraging social media platforms. A strong social media manager can manage complex publishing schedules to ensure that your client’s brand stays top-of-mind.

Social Media Strategy

If a brand’s social media efforts will actually move the needle on its bottom line, there must be a strategic plan in place. This is where social media strategists come in. A professional strategist is knowledgeable about social media platforms and objects AND can create a plan for content creation that supports and advances the brand’s business objectives. 

A social media strategist will be able to research, analyze, conceptualize, and plan content based on the myriad of business objectives a brand might need to accomplish. A strategist can help in areas like:

• Brand Definition
  • Before a brand starts investing in creating content, it must define precisely who it is, who it serves, what it has to offer, and why it’s better than competitors. These pieces make up the brand platform and should guide every content decision that comes after. 
• Traffic Goals
  • Campaign plans with the traffic objective are intended to drive qualified traffic to a brand’s official website. To be successful, the strategist should advise on ideal target audiences, previous success metrics, and likely calls-to-action (CTAs) that will compel clicks.
• Lead Generation
  • In almost every business, there is some element of lead generation. A lead is a prospective customer who has not yet completed a purchase. There are hundreds of tried and true techniques for generating leads, and an excellent social media strategist will advise on the tactics that are most likely to be successful for a particular client. 
• Brand Awareness
  • For a new brand, introducing and building awareness is crucial. Like most social media objectives, there are many ways to go about building brand awareness so the guidance and advice from a qualified social media strategist is an investment that will pay off in the long run in time not wasted on things that don’t work.

So, with that said, think about this…

Where can you level up your social media services?
Are you already providing some advanced services and not charging for them?

If you could use some help auditing your current social media service offerings, send me an emaill to connect. I’m offering consulting sessions specifically for VAs and SMMs to nail down their service packages.

Also, make sure to follow Make Words Do Things on Facebook or Instagram (or both!). We’re building a community of virtual assistants and social media service providers who believe in transparency and giving abundant advice, encouragement, and expertise. 

Traditional agencies shouldn’t get to keep the monopoly on premium rates. You are awesome – it’s time your clients pay for it!