3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Freelance Social Media Manager
by: Julia Contorno
The COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt changed the way many of us work. With the rise of remote work and flexibility, the idea of what a job can and should be has been reinvented. Plus, the need for all companies and organizations to increase their social media presence due to lack of in person activities has created the perfect storm for the freelance social media manager.
When I graduated college in January 2021, I began working as a freelancer in social media management before eventually finding a full-time social media coordinator role. Finding a full time role was extremely difficult, so when I got offered a freelance position doing essentially exactly what I wanted, I couldn’t pass it up. However, there is certainly plenty that I wish I had known.
Know Your Worth
In my experience, freelance positions have been paid in two ways: in a lump sum or hourly rate. A lump sum pays you for a certain set of activities for a period of time. With social media management, this is most common with “packages.” A package is a set of activities you would offer a company for a flat rate. An example of this would be, 3 Instagram posts, 5 Instagram stories, 2 Reels, and 2 TikToks a week for a set price of $350. On the other hand, an hourly rate would have you dedicate a certain amount of time to your client weekly and bill them by hour depending on how long it takes you to complete the tasks you have agreed on.
There is no right answer to how you should be compensated. Both types of payments allow for flexibility and it is really up to you and your client to figure out what is the best fit for the work you will be doing. However, it is extremely important to know your worth and ensure you are being compensated accordingly. Being a freelancer does not mean you deserve to be paid less than you would if you were a traditional employee nor does it mean you do not have a say in how much you are being paid. There isn’t a formula to determine what your rate should be, but social media management is a specialized skill so do not be afraid to be confident in what you’re asking as long as it is reasonable. For transparency, as a freelancer right out of college, my rates were between $18-$21 an hour.
Save For Your Taxes
Something I was completely unaware of when becoming a freelancer was how it would affect paying taxes. As a freelancer, you are a 1099 employee. In normal terms, you are your own employer. This means that taxes are not taken out as you earn your income like they would be if you were a W2 employee (i.e. hourly employee in retail/service, salaried position, etc.).
What does this mean for you? You should put aside money from each payment you get from your clients. The current self-employment tax is around 15% which means, when tax season rolls around, you will owe 15% of whatever you made as a freelancer that year. There are deductions you can take from your pay that change the taxable amount, like gas if you have travel expenses, but I recommend consulting with a tax expert on what is considered a deduction for your income. Also, you will likely submit invoices to receive payments from your clients. I highly recommend saving these in a folder for transparency and records.
Set Boundaries
Going along with what I said earlier, being a freelancer does not mean you should be compensated or treated any differently than other employees. Specifically with social media management, it may feel like it is a 24/hr job because of the nature of social media.Setting expectations with clients is vital to ensuring you are not being overworked and that your boundaries are respected. Boundaries could include explicit work hours, preferred contact methods, and receiving deadlines a certain amount of time in advance. Setting these types of boundaries will ensure that you won’t be expected to respond after work hours, your work-life balance is respected, and you won’t be caught off guard with unexpected deadlines. Remember, when you are a freelancer, you are your own boss. This means that your employment can be on your terms as long as they are reasonable and you are delivering what is expected of you.
Being a social media manager is an extremely fun job and it is exciting to see companies really start to see the value in well curated profiles. As a freelancer, you have a lot of freedom to take on multiple clients and build a portfolio of different types of content you have worked on. This is valuable in getting more jobs as well as moving into a salaried position if this is something you’d like to do. Hopefully these few tips help you out on your career journey in social media management!
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