Wondering what happens after we get off a discovery call? Once you decide you’re ready to work together, the fun part starts: the onboarding process ⤵️
First Things First: Sign the contract + Submit your first payment
Love what you see on your proposal? Your very next step is to sign the contract (please make sure you read it!!) and submit your first monthly payment. This makes it official – you can officially kick back, sip on something sweet and breathe a sigh of relief that you are one step closer to getting Instagram off of your to do list!
Butttt there’s a bit of work to do before you can officially call your social media managed. My onboarding process is four weeks long (it encompasses the first month of our work together) and while that feels long, it is worth it to set our relationship up for success.
Week 1: A Deep Dive Into Your Business
At this point you’re going to get some homework. I’m relying on you, the expert in your business, to give me everything I need to learn about you, your story, and what you offer so I can build you an effective social media strategy. Here’s what that looks like:
Read the Onboarding Packet
Once all the legal and financial admin is squared away, you’ll receive your official kickoff email with – most importantly – your onboarding packet! This reviews all the important info of your package + guidelines for working with me, and links to all the tech and platforms you’ll need (it’s not that many, promise).
Onboarding Questionnaire
Even lengthier than my intake form, this questionnaire does a deep dive into your business story, your values, your goals for social media, the content you do and don’t want to see on the gram, and your engagement style. I read each and every detail and use this to create your strategy, so it is sososososo important that you take the time to fill this out!
Get Access to All The Tech We’ll Be Using
In your onboarding packet you’ll see links to all the platforms I use with my clients. Make sure to open up your
- client google drive
- Slack channel
- Airtable base
And if you have any issues opening any of these tools, we’ll confirm you have access on our kickoff call!
Collecting All Your Assets
This is where you scroll through your camera roll + desktop and gather allll the photos and videos you have of yourself and your business for me to use in your content. I will also need your branding kit, style guide and any messaging guides you have for your business. Upload them to your Google drive folder so I know what we’re working with!
Kickoff Call!
In our one-hour kickoff call, we’ll make sure my team and I have access to your Instagram and Facebook, you’re logged into all the tools you’ll need for our work together, and any questions I have about your questionnaire answers are squared away. This will also be a time for me to remind you of next steps and anything outstanding I need from you – as well as your opportunity to ask questions! And with this call, your project is officially underway.
Week 2: Strategy + Design
Creating Your Custom Content Strategy
This is where my deep work begins. I’ll start with an in-depth profile audit to get a handle on where your page is now and what we need to do to achieve your goals. (P.S. not looking for social media management and just want an audit of your account? You can reserve an audit slot here)
Next, I’ll create your content pillars and brainstorm some initial post topics. I’ll also outline our goals for our first few months working together and identify the KPIs we’ll be focusing on. Your strategy is going to be a guiding document I constantly refer back to each month, each week, and each day that I’m working on your account, so it’s super important.
A Fun Activity For You
And while I’m working away on your strategy, I have you create a Pinterest board of your brand vibe and designs you like to help me and my team with graphic design for your account! Pro tip: make this a private board and share with me so it doesn’t interfere with your pinning strategy, if you have one.
(And if we’re not friends on Pinterest – let’s connect! You can follow my Pinterest here)
Week 3: Content Planning
With your strategy mapped out, it’s time to create your first content calendar. In Airtable, you’ll see your first month of content planned out, with the type of content (reel/carousel/photo etc.) and topic written out in the monthly view. The content won’t be there yet (that comes in the last week!) but this will give you an idea of what topics you’ll see on your Instagram. This is also your opportunity to let me know if there’s anything you’re not vibing with, or something in particular you want to see (ex a holiday, or an important event for your business).
Week 4: We’re Almost There!
This is the FINAL week of onboarding! This Wednesday you’ll get your first week of content to review and approve. Starting on our second month together, you’ll start seeing content being shared and my team will take over engagement.
You can officially check Instagram OFF your to do list – we’ve got it from here!
Why Is Your Onboarding Process So Long?
From the beginning of my business, I have experimented with different ways of onboarding. I have done two weeks, four weeks, three weeks, and 5 days (especially do not recommend the last one). And through this trial and error, I have found that four weeks is the right amount of time for me to familiarize myself with the client account, get my team set up for a seamless take over, and for my client to provide me with everything I will need to get the job done.
Why Do I Pay an Onboarding Fee?
The set-up and strategy is just as, if not more than, important as the month-to-month management. Without it, your account will not see results! We don’t want to rush into running your account without a clear and effective plan in place.
Want more where this came from?
Check out these related blog posts:
- Why You Need a Strong Social Media Strategy
- Are You Ready for a Social Media Manager?
- 3 Things to Know Before Investing in Social Media Management
And don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, where every Tuesday you’ll get 3 content ideas, 2 trending audios, and 1 social media resource for further learning.
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