Are you an expert in social media marketing? Do you know the ins and outs of engagement, traffic funneling and conversion? And would you like to become an independent entrepreneur? If the answer is yes, then you should consider becoming a social media consultant.
Consultancy is one of the top recommended internet home business ideas. The reason for this is simple: you need minimum initial investment and the regular home equipment which everyone has in a home office: a laptop, a scanner and a printer. The most important asset of your business is your knowledge.
However, you need some guidance if you want to be successful in setting up and promoting your home business. As a beginner in this field, you have lots of hopes and plans but very little experience of finding your niche and establishing a client base. These guidelines will help you get ready and set up your internet home business.
1. Find a Specialized Niche
Some people know a bit about everything but do not master any field precisely. If you want to become a consultant, you have to become a specialist in one single domain. What is your particular set of skills and expertise? Are you good at coaching people to achieve their own goals? Or are you more results oriented and can apply precise measurements to determine if a social media campaign is successful?
It is important to find a specialized niche, because otherwise you will never find the unique selling point which you have to use in pitching your services to potential clients.
2. Define a Market Segment You Want to Serve
There is an old saying: “he who wants to please everyone will end up pleasing no one”. You cannot cater to EVERY type of client. You have to evaluate your skills set and unique selling point and determine what type of clients will respond to it. For instance, you may feel more confident working with start-ups which are just creating their social media accounts and building their first social media campaigns.
Or you feel more confident teaching refined promotion techniques to SMEs which have been on the market for some time and know the basics of social media promotion. It is crucial to know exactly what type of clients you want to attract, in order to be able to create a well targeted marketing campaign.
3. Determine the Monthly Income Level You Need
Any type of human endeavor must bring satisfaction and financial gain to cover your expenses, your needs and also give you an extra margin to be able to pursue your hobbies. You must have a clear estimate of the monthly income which covers all these. It is the starting point to help you decide upon the prices you will charge for your services and on the minimum client base you must have in order to run a sustainable business operation.
Remember that once you start a full-time internet home-based business, you will depend exclusively on your clients as your main source of income. Ideally, you should start your consultancy work as a part-time activity and turn it into a full-time activity when you have an already sustainable portfolio of clients.
4. Price, Package and Promote
Decide on the structure of the services and prices you will offer your clients. It is always a good idea to offer tiered packages and title them in an attractive manner. Popular and enticing titles for the top level packages of services are Premium, Platinum, or Corporate. You should create sufficient marketing materials to promote your services to be able to automate your own social media campaigns, while you are using your time to refine your sales pitch and serve your first clients.
These are the first four steps in setting up your home-based social media consulting business. There are a lot more challenges ahead, but with skill, patience and determination you will be able to overcome all of them.