You are starting your social media manger business in 2026. This is a fun an exciting time to plan, post and put yourself out there. But like trying all new things there will be mistakes made along the way.
Here are 8 Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginner Social Media Manager:
Undercharging
Packaging your services is one of the hardest things to do in the beginning because you can really price yourself at any rate, you just have to believe you are worthy of it. Your first instinct is to mold your offers to each client. If they only have $300 a month available, you are going to want to do it all with in that budget. This is your one way ticket to burnout. Either
Doing sh*t for free
A lot of people will tell you to offer your services for free to get testimonials. In some cases this can work but you honestly do not NEED to do this. Why? Because the people who say yes to free stuff are not really invested in your services. If you want testimonials you can post in a community facebook group (that allows you to promote yourself) and share a discounted rate for your services there. You can make money from the start. Plus, the clients who want free stuff will never be satisfied with your work. The clients who pay in full on time understand the value of your services.
Posting for 3 weeks and then leaving your social media manager business to die.
Getting started is so fun because it’s new and exciting. But make sure you are in this for the right reasons. Posting content for three weeks, realizing it is too hard and disappearing off the face of the planet isn’t going to get you closer to booking your social media manager services.
Doing this for short term gain.
There is no such thing as getting rich quick when it comes to social media. Yes, could you find your first $1000 client in the first few months of business, absolutely! But it is not a guarantee. If you see someone who posts about make 10K per month as a freelance social media manager, take it with a grain of salt. They might have a team of people behind them that they don’t mention.
Offering every type of service on every platform. If you don’t know what you sell, no one will buy it.
Deciding what to offer as a Social Media Manager is overwhelming because you first thought is: I’ll offer Social Media Management. Seems simple, right? In some ways it is but you also have to position yourself as unique. Offering generic social media management services is not going to stand out in 2026. You need to provide a clear vision of what your can accomplish for your clients.
Posting just pre made Canva graphics with NONE of your own personality added.
Canva templates and graphics are so helpful to get started but you don’t want to just use them as is. Make sure to add in your own personality and branding. Create your own templates that align with your brand and use those each month.
Cold messaging people by telling them their social media looks ugly.
Reaching out to people about your services is balancing act. You want to be polite, offer your services and build relationships at the same time.
Cold messaging people should not be the first thing you do. Focus on building the foundations of your business first and then reaching out to people.
Avoiding your audience like the plague and making zero connections with your ideal audience.
One of the biggest things Social Media Managers miss when first starting out is the engagement part of Instagram. Be in the comment sections of your ideal client, answer story polls and get to know your audience on a human level first. This is called lead generation. If you are just posting and ghosting no one is going to know who you are or what you do.
The Daily To-Do List of a Brand New Social Media Manager with 0 Clients:
- Post an Instagram Reel
- Post a Story Poll
- Post Educational Story Slides later in the day (see who watches these stories)
- Engage with your audience for 10 minutes
- Follow 5 new accounts that align with your ideal audience
- Spend time on your education (YouTube Videos, Business Books etc.)
This is a basic starting point and things you should do if you already have your prices, packages and business strategy planned out.