I opened YouTube and searched for “Social Media Marketing (SMM)” there are "n" number of people teaching SMM, but the more I searched the more clickbait content I witnessed. 

“How I made X money in Y days” 

“Follow this trend to make money online” 

“Sit back and relax & let your money grow on its own” 

These are the type of content I have seen when I started my social media journey. 

Someone is showing their income statements, someone is teaching the tips and tricks, while I am a beginner understanding the concept of how these people made money as a beginner.

So in this blog, I’m sharing my personal experiences and lessons on

“How to get your first client as a Social Media Manager?” 

Three things you need before you start Client Hunt 

1. Know your Why
2. Do the Boring work
3. Build a Killer Portfolio 

^{#1 Know Your WHY}

You might be a student who just graduated from college, or you might be an engineer trying to change your career and considering Social Media Marketing as it’s trending nowadays. 

But deep down in your heart do you know what your WHYs are, do you know the reason behind taking up a social media job, and what does this mean to you? 

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, ask yourself the below questions and answer them

1. Why am I considering this industry?
2. What does it mean to me and my family?
3. Am I considering this field based on other people's opinions?
4. Is this about easy money, as people say Social media is easy?
5. Am I willing to learn new things despite my age, and qualifications and be a student? 

This exercise will help you to understand your goals and your reason to pursue Social Media Marketing. Because social media is NO EASY MONEY, one must put a lot of consistent effort to make money online.

#2 Do the boring work

“Actions speak louder than words” 

Take action every single day even when you know no one is appreciating your efforts.

Once you start as a social media manager/ marketer there’s a high chance you might feel “When will I get my first client?” “Nothing is working for me?” and a lot more other demotivating factors, that’s how I felt when I was a beginner. 

Doing the boring work despite facing struggles is the top-notch quality one must have while working online. Share what you learn on social media, do market research and create content using free tools like Canva, and build your presence on social media. 

There will always be someone who is ahead of you and below you, you just need to be 2 steps ahead of your client to give the results, so stop wasting your time till you are confident and START NOW.

#3 Build a killer portfolio

You have the skill, ideas, and strategies to apply and work with clients. BUT you don’t have a client yet. In this scenario, you can create a profile for yourself and implement all the things you have on your mind on your own profile, and experiment. Consider yourself as a client and see what’s working for you and whatnot, make your profile a mini portfolio so that when someone lands on your profile they can’t resist inquiring about your services.  

Follow these steps to get your next paid client

• • Choose a platform on which your target audience is most active.
•  
  • Do thorough market research on your ideal audience's pain points, join Facebook groups on your niche, and study the comment section under the posts, you will get to know the real problems and the solutions of your ideal audience.
•  
  • Create content based on point 2, include your perspective on it, and give solutions. Engage with your audience and build a community.
•  
  • Engage in Facebook groups as suggested in point number 2, if you know an answer to a question, help that person by providing value without any expectations.
•  
  • Apply for “Contract-based jobs” on LinkedIn, Naukri, and other job portals.
•  
  • Give a trial period of 1-2 weeks in exchange for a testimonial and make them your paid client by proving your potential.
•  
  • Referrals - I got my first client through my beta client, even though my beta client didn't opt for my paid services, he referred to me another person and since then I have been happily working with him.

Follow these steps diligently for 1 month and get your first or next paid client. The secret sauce to scaling your income is to turn your contract-based clients into retainers and give the clients the best work possible so they convert into retainers. Now you have the roadmap to your first or next client in the next 30 days.