As a point of reference, we suggest the following structure:
1. Set up only package: The social media manager sets up all the relevant social media accounts and performs a site assessment and plan, including helping design and order any required marketing collateral. Owner (or someone else in their organization) manages everything from there. One time fee of $250-500.
2. Monitoring only package: Setup package + monitoring for negative posts and responding to them $50-150 per month.
3. Content creation and monitoring package: Set up package + monitoring package + content creation $150-500 per month.
Compare your prices to other services, such as Main Street Hub, that start at $250 per month and can go up to $400 a month. Not only is the business owner getting a better deal, they are also employing a local and keeping money in the community.
Don’t forget to mention these two points when you’re pitching to the owner.
The exact amount should be negotiated between you and the business owner. The range should vary depending on the type of business and the number of social networks to manage. The number of locations can also have an impact if it makes sense to keep separate profiles for each location, multiplying the amount of work you would need to do. For example, restaurants have more reviews on average than dentists, requiring more work. They also need to manage more social networks.
Dentists are less likely to benefit from a Pinterest board or an Instagram stream, while hair salons and restaurants might benefit from them immensely. On the other hand, dentists have a lot more to lose if a customer turns away because of a negative review, and they might have special social networks and review sites you would need to learn how to use.
One useful way to think about it and can be helpful in pitching to businesses is: How much is losing a customer due to a bad review worth to the business?
Photo Credit: JMCostanza via Compfight cc
Lesson 12: Pricing
Several components determine the value of the services you provide: the business type, its sensitivity to online reputation, the location of the business, and the market prices of your competitors.
I think that when you get to know an industry troguhh working for a client you get a good level of knowledge and therefore if you launch another site in the same sector then it will get easier to roll out your strategy. However, I think that if you are really good at this then you can adapt to any industry and not become too focused on one area. It will give you the breadth of skills to apply them across all of your projects. Have a path and stick to it, but you can deviate from time to time to build your knowledge and skill set. Great post BTW!