As you grow your social media business, you’ll begin to get a clearer picture of the type of people and businesses you enjoy working with.
This is important because the clearer you are on who your dream client is, the more you can do to win them.
Sounds obvious, right? But it’s amazing how many social media managers miss this vital step.
In this blog we will help you identify your dream client and show you the daily steps you can take to get more of them.
Who is your dream client?
Everyone’s dream client is different and the exciting part of running your own freelance social media business is that you get to choose!
Maybe you only want to work with businesses who are local to you or who also need to work flexibly around their family?
Perhaps you only want to work with businesses who are active on a particular platform or who sell products you yourself would use?
Whatever the criteria you set, the decision is yours and means you get to work with clients whose values and ideals align with your own.
Identifying your dream client is empowering because it gives you the confidence to turn down leads that aren’t right for you.
The result? You stop taking on work which leaves you feeling undervalued, frustrated and resentful.
Start by listing what’s important to you, what are your non-negotiables when it comes to business, and what are your dream client’s key characteristics?
4 ways to tell a dream client from a nightmare client:
- They pay your fee without haggling
- They listen to your opinion and recognise your expertise
- They respect your boundaries and don’t text you 24/7
- They know social media takes skill – it isn’t an admin job
Daily steps to win more clients
Now you know who your dream client is, you’ll need to go all out to grab their attention and show them why you’re a perfect match. Here’s how:
1) Be clear with your messaging
In order to attract your dream client your messaging must be crystal clear.
Your website and social bios should make it glaringly obvious what you do and who you do it for. If they don’t, you risk losing people before you’re even out of the blocks.
Don’t assume people will bother to work it out by reading your content – they might not get that far.
By crafting a clear and consistent brand message across your digital platforms you’ll position yourself as an expert and catch the attention of the right people while systematically turning off the wrong ones.
2) Be active on your own social media
When you’re busy managing client accounts it can be easy to put your own platforms on the back burner.
But that’s a big mistake if you want to attract higher-paying dream clients and turn away businesses with low budgets.
And, if the last year has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t afford to be complacent when it comes to making connections and attracting leads.
Your social media channels are a chance to showcase your work, build authority, speak directly to your target audience and generate enquiries about your service.
3) Tell people how they can work with you
Lots of social media managers feel uncomfortable about promoting their own services on social media – even though they routinely do it for their clients. Are you one of them?
If so, it’s time to change the way you think. Because, if potential clients don’t know how they can work with you, how will they be able to hire you?
Posts promoting your services should be a key part of your content strategy and we suggest publishing a minimum of one a week.
Promotional content includes:
- Testimonials and reviews
- Links to blogs and lead magnets
- Advertising your availability
- Promoting upcoming workshops and masterclasses
- Launching a new product or service
By regularly reminding people about your service, and letting them know how they can work with you, you’re giving them a chance to benefit from your knowledge and grow their business.
4) Join conversations
When it comes to attracting your dream client engagement is huge.
But we don’t just mean engaging on your own accounts – we mean you need to put yourself out there and get involved!
Successful social media managers know this and go out of their way to get in front of their dream clients every day.
They offer advice and information in Facebook groups where their dream clients hang out.
They actively follow and engage with their dream clients accounts, rather than just responding to comments on their own content.
And they follow key hashtags and influencers, and join interesting conversations which get them seen by their target audience.
5) Prioritise your own business
Whether you allocate an hour a day, or a day a week, it’s vital that you carve out time to do the jobs that will help your own business grow.
Use this checklist to get you started:
✔️ Create and schedule content that speaks directly to your dream client
✔️ Research businesses you’d like to work with, follow and engage with them on social. Offer them an audit if they’re not active
✔️ Be active in networking groups you belong to
✔️ Follow up leads that have come in
✔️ Get up to date with invoicing and admin
✔️ Send an email to your list
For more ideas and our top tips on attracting and winning clients check out our Dream Customer Journey Workshop
