Are you looking to take your social media biz to the next level? If you’re going after bigger accounts, at a certain point, potential clients are going to ask you for a proposal.

Regardless of which side of the table you find yourself on, you need a proposal that’s so good, it convinces clients to sign on the dotted line.

That’s no biggie if you’re used to writing proposals, but what if you’ve never written a social media proposal template before? 

You know the ins and outs of filming a Tiktok by heart, but a social media marketing plan is far from an intuitive skill. However, if you need to boost sales, it’s just as critical to growing your business as your creative skills.

Nobody loves writing proposals, but they keep your biz going! When in doubt, follow these 6 tips to write a flawless social media marketing proposal. 

1. Analyze your prospective client.

The worst thing you could do is send a vague, impersonal social media marketing proposal to a potential client.

Since marketing is such a personal thing, you need to craft a social media proposal unique to every client, every time. 

And that means getting all of the dirt on your client first. Ask yourself: 

• What is their target audience?
• What’s happening in their industry right now?
• Who are their competitors? What are they doing on social media?
• What are their social media goals? Their overall marketing goals?
• What social media channels are they on right now? 
• What are their business goals? 
• What’s their biggest problem? 
• How can I solve this problem for them? 
• What are the specific steps I’ll take to fix the problem?

Without a little intel on your client, you run the risk of writing an irrelevant proposal that they won’t even consider. You can do a lot of research on your own, but you might need to ask the prospective client these questions during a discovery call, too.

2. Determine the scope of work in your social media marketing plan.

Once you feel confident that you understand the client’s problem, your social media proposal should detail the scope of work.

This is important because it tells the client what, exactly, you’re going to do for them.

It also helps you set boundaries that protect your time and budget, so defining a scope of work is good for everyone!

What are you offering the client? Spell it out in black and white, detailing what you’re doing for them. That might include: 

• Creating a custom social media marketing plan
• Writing and scheduling posts
• Replying to followers’ comments
• Managing the client’s DMs

Some social media pros specialize in specific areas, like content creation, and don’t offer things like social media management or scheduling. Make that crystal clear in your social media marketing plan so the client knows what you don’t do, too. 

3. Offer project milestones and deadlines.

After defining what you can do for the client, make things more concrete with milestones and deadlines. This makes the project less abstract and gives clients a better idea of how you'll achieve their social media goals.

Plus, it gives your team an idea of the workflow, which is a great way to save time once the client approves the contract. 

At any rate, define quantity, turnaround times, and even specific dates for your deliverables. That could look like: 

• Creating 10 Instagram graphics per week
• Turning in 4 TikToks a day
• Replying to all comments and DMs within 48 hours

4. Promote your work.

You’re a social media pro, but you’ve still got to prove that you know your stuff. After all, anybody can craft a social media proposal template—how does a prospective client know you’re legit? 

Make sure you promote your work in your social media proposal.

This gives you more clout with a potential client, but it also gives them an idea of the caliber of work they can expect from you. 

Be sure to include:

• A portfolio of your graphic design work
• Client testimonials
• Case studies
• Examples of user-generated content from your social media campaigns
• Quantitative metrics for organic and paid social media posts
• A list of references, if you have them

This is your chance to brag! The more proof of concept you share, the more likely it is that a potential client will trust you. 

5. Include your terms.

Yes, your social media marketing proposal should emphasize how you’ll help the client, but it needs to benefit you, too.

Every client relationship should be mutually beneficial, and adding your terms to the proposal gives you a layer of protection, too. 

Every social media proposal needs to include terms that touch on:

• When you’re in the office, including working hours
• Communication preferences
• Pricing tiers (do you upcharge for urgent work?)
• Annual pricing changes
• How cancellations work
• Late fees
• Payment terms

This is Business 101, guys. A solid social media marketing proposal ensures you’re protected—and that you avoid boundary-crossing clients—so make sure you include your terms to find the best clients for your biz.

6. Send your proposal with the next steps.

What should a prospect do after reading your social media marketing proposal? 

Should they sign the proposal and kick off the contract? Send you their brand guidelines? Or do you need to schedule an onboarding meeting with them? 

Every social media pro has a different process, so make it clear what you want the client to do next.

The client might come back with edits to your proposal, so be prepared to iterate a few times before they sign on the dotted line. 

The bottom line on social media marketing proposals

You’re an expert at social media marketing. You already know how to turn heads, so use those skills when you put together a bomb social media marketing plan. It might feel a little daunting if you’re pitching to the big guys and you’ve never written a proposal before, but with these 6 tips, you’ll achieve your marketing goals in no time.

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