Have you seen on YouTube that you can get rich fast by starting a social media marketing agency (SMMA)? From my own experience, it is not that easy as it might seem like. Should you start a social marketing agency?
You should not even think about starting a social marketing agency if you do not have any experience in a field. If you are offering to do marketing services for a business without having any experience, you are scamming people and your business will fail.
The problem with many social media agencies is their niche focus.
With a very narrow focus of your business, you have to bring results. If you are focused on the niche, the expertise is necessary. If you do not succeed with your clients, you cannot sell them something else.
If you have a business that is focused on creating Facebook ads and the ads do not perform well, you cannot do something else, if Facebook ads is what you were hired to do. You will now have an angry client who will fire you. If you have an SEO agency or a broad marketing focus, you have a little bit more freedom. You can explain to your client that, for example, Facebook ads did not perform as expected and therefore you focused on Google ads instead.
With a very narrow focus of your business, you have to bring results.
This puts you into a very difficult position if you have a niche focus of the agency. The pressure to perform is higher and you have to be very good at what you are doing to keep clients.
Why people on YouTube say I should start a social media marketing agency?
The truth is that all the people you watch on YouTube that advise you to start an SMMA are making money out of you. Many of them are great at selling you an idea of running a social media marketing business without any knowledge about SMMA.
How much money are people who recommend you to start an SMMA making from their videos and courses?
The revenue per mille (RPM) is between $15 – $30. RPM is revenue for a thousand viewers. It is very tempting to make a video with information that people WANT TO hear and get more views. You tell people on video that SMMA is an easy way to get money and suddenly get 100 000 views. Easy way on how to make $1 500 – $3 000.
Video that tells you the truth is just not going to perform that well. Nobody wants to hear that if you want to be successful you need to be talented, experienced and put in hard work. I believe it is important to talk about this and have a realistic viewpoint.
Another tricky scammy thing you see a lot of YouTubers doing is offering courses. A course that promises you will learn everything you need to know about SMMA. It is online, easy and so many people were super successful and became rich that way, right? WRONG.
I am not saying that all the courses are bad, but watch out for the red flags before you buy a course. Nobody can guarantee you success. It is a pity, but also gives you freedom to realize your success is only in your own hands.
Why is starting a social marketing media agency so easy to sell?
The theory behind this is very attractive to many people. You do not need much to start, there is no big investment, you just need a computer. You can work from anywhere you want any time you want. It is the attractive lifestyle full of traveling and luxury that people see on YouTube and want to have.
The reality is, from my own experience, a bit different. I have been running the SEO agency and worked from home for a year and a half. The problem? It got very boring very fast. I started to hire people and grew my business.
It was doing well but the truth is I worked much more than when I was just an employee. Instead of 5 weeks of holidays we have here in Denmark every year, I had just 4 weeks of holidays in 4 years.
And we are not even talking about how difficult it is to get clients and how insecure you are when you are done with one client if you will have any work and income next month.
How to start a social media marketing agency with no experience?
The way you start without experience is for you to go out and get the experience first. There is no other way around it. If you want to just go and try it, it is like buying a lottery ticket. One if thousands won, one in thousands were successful, because of the incredible luck.
If you are charging people for something, telling them you are an expert in the area and you are not, you are a scammer.
Clients that are unsatisfied will never do the business with you again. And if you continue your business this way, with time your name will become famous. For being bad. Your reputation will be low and it will be impossible for you to get new clients.
How to get experience to start a social media marketing agency?
1. Get a job in marketing agency
Try to sign up for a trainee program. Even an unpaid internship is a good option, to get some experience in the field.
2. Get job in a bigger company
Choose a company that will look good on your CV and offer yourself for a low salary. The goal here is not to build a career there, but to get an experience. With few years of experience you will know the business and understand it from the side of your agency as well as from the side of your client.
This will make it easier for you to get clients and create a connection with them. I know it is not such a popular thing to say, but true is often unpopular.
Final thoughts
Do not fall for the get rich quick schemes. More often you just lose your money.
Social media marketing agencies are not an easy way to get money, it is hard work and not everyone can do it. Do not support YouTubers who are making money out of people by telling lies and selling courses that do not work. Find your own way and your work will be rewarded.
If you think you can, then do not start without an experience. Do not search for shortcuts. Get experience and start your business when you are ready. Have realistic expectations and work on your success, it will not just happen by itself.
If I did not completely discourage you and you still want to start your own agency, I wish you all the luck and success.
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