Course description

Managing social media for other businesses can be flexible, skilled work that fits around family life. Doing it well takes more than good posts: you need clear services, prices that cover your costs, clients found within the rules, written agreements, safe access to accounts, an approvals routine and reports that show what's changing for the business.

This course shows you how to run a freelance social media management service in the UK, step by step. It's the next level after Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses and Freelancing for Beginners, for career changers, parents and anyone who already posts for a business and wants to do it for clients.

There are 10 sections and 51 written lessons, each with a worked example and a short task to try on your own plans. You follow Romola, who leaves her job at a garden centre to work for herself in school hours, through her first nine months: her niche and packages, her first proposal, a physio clinic and a bike shop as clients, and the slips she makes along the way. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers and a cheat sheet, plus a service menu template, a pricing calculator, a proposal template, a contract checklist, an onboarding checklist, a content calendar, a community response guide and a monthly report template.

What you'll learn

• The job and whether it suits you: what a freelance social media manager does and doesn't do, hours, childcare and money, and a plan for your first 90 days.
• Your niche and services: choosing a niche, the core services, paid ads and other add-ons, two or three clear packages and a one-page service menu.
• A portfolio before your first client: the skills clients expect, labelled practice brands, fair volunteering and case studies without invented results.
• Pricing and the business side: your minimum hourly rate from your own costs and hours, pricing a package, Self Assessment, records, insurance and a tax pot.
• Finding clients ethically: networking, referrals and partners, and cold outreach within PECR and the UK GDPR, plus honest client feedback and a pipeline.
• Proposals, agreements and scope: discovery calls, proposals in the client's words, what a written agreement covers, scope creep and ending work well.
• Onboarding and account safety: a repeatable onboarding process, access with your own login and never a password, two-step verification, scams and a brand voice guide.
• Planning and approving content: content pillars, a content calendar, batching and scheduling, approval workflows and creating posts with permission.
• Community, rules and accessibility: comments and messages, complaints and crisis basics, the CAP Code and ad labels, copyright, music and accessible posts.
• Reporting and your final project: measures tied to the client's goal, one-page monthly reports, several clients and your wellbeing, and a project for a fictional florist.

Who it's for

People in the UK who want to work as a freelance social media manager for small businesses, including career changers and parents looking for flexible work. You should already be able to plan and post for a business on at least one platform. You'll need a spreadsheet app, a PDF reader and a text editor.

What this course is, and isn't

This course gives general information. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice, the contract checklist isn't a contract, and the course doesn't give typical rates or earnings or promise any income. Platforms are named only as places where the work happens; no tools, apps or brands are recommended. Rules and platform features change, so check the official pages named in each lesson. The people and businesses in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain what a freelance social media manager does and doesn’t do, and decide whether the work suits you now
• Choose a niche and turn your services into two or three clear packages on a one-page service menu
• Build a portfolio before your first client with labelled practice brands, fair volunteering and honest case studies
• Work out your minimum hourly rate from your own costs and hours, and price a package from the hours it takes
• Find clients through people, referrals and partners, and keep cold outreach within PECR and the UK GDPR
• Run a discovery call, write a proposal in the client’s words and know what a written agreement should cover
• Handle scope creep calmly with a pause, options and a written change request
• Onboard a client with access through your own login, never a password, plus two-step verification and a brand voice guide
• Plan, batch, schedule and get written approval for a month of content, with permission for anyone shown
• Look after comments and complaints, follow the CAP Code, label ads, use licensed music and make posts accessible
• Choose measures tied to a client’s goal and write a clear, honest one-page monthly report

Frequently asked questions