How to write a successful social media proposal (plus template)

For freelancers and agencies who provide social media services, having a social media proposal ready for your client is an essential part of your sales process. A compelling social media proposal will secure new prospects and projects by defining your clients’ needs and outlining marketing strategies and solutions that can help achieve their goals. A proposal is the first step to creating a more granular social media plan, including the specific tactics and content types you’ll use.

We’ll walk through the important components of a social media proposal, so you can create your proposal from scratch or customize an existing template to address your client’s specific needs. From tackling basic needs to providing specific social customer care solutions, these best practices will help secure your next partnership regardless of your client’s situation. Plus, we’ll share tips from people who write proposals on a daily basis* and show you how a social media proposal fits into your workflow.

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What is a social media proposal?

A social media proposal is a strategic document that outlines how your skills and subject matter knowledge will help prospective clients reach their business objectives and social media goals. It includes the terms and conditions of working with your organization and a detailed scope of work, including deliverables, timeline and budget.

Before drafting a social media proposal, you need to consult with the potential client to learn more about the role social media plays in their business. This will help you better understand the challenges they face and the steps they need to take to achieve their goals.

Free social media proposal template

To get started, grab our free social media proposal template: simply log in to your Google account and “Make a copy” to edit your own version!

Our template covers everything you need to include in a social media marketing proposal, from social media goals to the agreement terms. Just fill in your details according to the instructions and you’ll be ready to go.

What’s an example of a social media marketing proposal?

How does a social media proposal work, exactly? Let’s say a business is looking to increase their social media followers to get new leads. They may look for a social media strategist or agency to help them achieve their goals and put out a request for proposals (RFP). In your proposal for this client, you’ll include information about your experience helping other similar clients gain new followers and some of the proposed activities you recommend.

The tricky part of writing a proposal is that you need to persuade the client of your abilities without outlining every single thing you can do for them. Nothing could stop them from taking your strategy and executing it on their own. Instead, you’ll demonstrate industry knowledge, skills and understanding of their needs so they can make an informed decision.

Where does a social media proposal fit into your workflow?

The proposal is a foundational part of your sales process.

It helps convince buyers of your skills, experience and expertise—and goes a long way to building trust. With 60% of customers saying “no” four times before they say “yes”, trust is crucial to making a sale.

A defined sales process includes several stages from prospecting to closing. It can resemble a pyramid, flow chart or circle. Below are three examples of different sales processes.

The number of stages within a sales process differ from company to company. What’s more important is that each stage has clearly defined actions and metrics that are relevant to you.

For example, your “conversion” stage could include:

• Write proposal
• Send proposal
• Client reviews proposal and returns with questions
• Answer questions and/or revise proposal
• Client agrees on proposal
• Send a contract
• Client signs contract

Having a clearly defined sales process makes you look more professional and helps you manage your workflow.

If you’re having trouble building an effective process, check out Sprout’s Agency Partner Program. As a member, you’ll get access to tools, sales collateral and resources to streamline your process, win new business and prove social media return on investment (ROI) to your current clients.

What to include in a social media proposal

A social media proposal needs to illustrate your understanding of the client’s needs and your expertise. While proposals vary by company, the main components of your social media marketing proposal should include the following elements. (We’ll explain how to write the key sections in detail below!)

Cover letter

A cover letter can be included in the proposal document itself or the email you send your proposal with. It’s a brief introduction to the proposal, thanking the client for their interest and time. The cover letter also includes your contact information, social links and website URL.

Executive summary

Start your social media proposal with a short summary of the document’s contents. Outline the main challenges they’re experiencing and provide them with a preview of how you’re going to solve those issues. You can also include other relevant information like budget and projected results.

Business objectives

In this section, showcase your understanding of the client’s main business objectives, such as building credibility with their consumers or increasing sales of a specific product line. These goals are related to, but distinctly different from, their social media goals.

Social media goals

Identify the social media goals the client wants to achieve. For example, increasing followers or improving engagement. Outline the potential challenges that the client is experiencing in achieving these goals.

Analysis and audits

This section illustrates the client’s current position, where they want to go and the obstacles they’re facing. There are different types of analyses and audits you can conduct, such as ‌competitive analysis and industry analysis.

Scope of work

This section includes your proposed activities: the strategy and implementation. Be sure to connect each activity to the client’s business objectives and social media goals. This part can be challenging, but we’ll go in-depth later.

Schedule and budget

The schedule outlines when each deliverable in the scope will happen. With larger projects, it’s best to break the schedule down into milestones for each activity. The budget outlines how much your services will cost and what the client can expect to spend for the entirety of the project.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluation

How will you measure success? In this section, specify the key performance indicators (KPIs) you’re going to measure. Connect them to the client’s business objectives and social media goals. Clients also like to see the types of social media reports they can expect to evaluate performance.

Testimonials or endorsements

Also known as the proof of work, this section shows the client why they should pick you over another social media professional. Include testimonials, endorsements, case studies, past campaigns and other materials that show off your skills and expertise.

Contract or terms of agreement

The contract (also called terms of agreement) is where the client signs when they agree to work with you. It can include, but isn’t limited to, stipulations regarding scope, timeline, fees and other relevant details. For those reasons, we advise working with your legal counsel to draft a proper contract that protects both you and your client.

Next steps

What happens after the client reads the proposal? Let them know when you’ll follow up with them and what they can expect going forward, such as a meeting to discuss the proposal and sign the contract.

Appendix

Appendices are common in proposals and other business documents. In this section, you can put charts and graphs, sample campaigns and other relevant information. Not all proposals need an appendix.

While these are major components of a social media proposal, there are other ways of writing a proposal. Some agencies like to include an expiration date on their proposals along with a copyright notice. And proposal length can vary depending on the client you’re working with.

Now that you know what goes into a social media proposal, it’s time to explore how to write them to win over your clients.

How to write a social media proposal that stands out

Here’s how to write a social media marketing proposal that turns prospects into clients.

1. Illustrate your client’s needs with analysis

An important part of a client relationship is managing their expectations. You want to lead with an analysis that identifies the client’s problems. There are several types of analyses you can include in your social media proposal:

• Audience analysis: If a client struggles to attract their ideal audience on social media or has trouble engaging with their followers, an audience analysis can come in handy. It involves reviewing the demographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics of the client’s audience to determine how to appeal to them on social.
• Competitive analysis: For clients interested in market share and staying ahead of direct competitors, a competitive analysis will help you figure out how to help them stand out. It involves reviewing the other players in the industry and determining your client’s strengths, weaknesses and unique characteristics.
• Industry and landscape analysis: If you have a client entering a new industry, an industry or landscape analysis is a good starting place. It involves figuring out who the different competitors are in the industry, what customers expect from businesses in that sector and how your client can differentiate themselves.
• Current status analysis or audit: For some clients, the first thing they need is a social media audit of their current content and an analysis of their past performance. It serves as a benchmark for future social initiatives.

In our social media proposal template, we break this analysis out into an overview of the client’s needs and your planned work, the social media goals you intend to hit and an overview of the project timeline. Depending on the project, you may need to change the layout or add more details in some of these sections. But it’s a starting point for breaking down the main parts of a complex project.

Often, clients will recognize they need help in social media management but are unable to describe why they need it or define their social media goals. For example, if the client wants to use social media to increase their sales, this proposal section can include current sales metrics and an analysis of why the current strategy doesn’t work.

2. Get into the fine details in the scope of work

Essentially, the scope of work includes everything you’ll do for your client. This is the biggest part of the proposal and can be broken into smaller pieces.

For social media proposals, work often includes any of the below:

• Posting schedule: Which networks will you monitor and how often will you post? Will you post live, daily or weekly? If you need a posting approval process, then outline what that looks like.
• Content creation and curation: This can include creating a social media calendar and keeping a pulse on industry news. It also includes the different media you’ll create, such as audio, video, photographs, GIFs and text.
• Brand keyword monitoring: Note which keyword(s) and phrases you’ll track while monitoring their social channels.
• Analytics and reporting: How often will you report on analytics and what will you track?
• Social media management: When will you be available to engage on social media? How much time will you dedicate to the client?
• Campaigns: Will you run campaigns to achieve specific goals, such as gaining new followers or getting more leads to your client’s website? Provide a broad overview of what the campaigns will include.

Andy Bishop, President at marketing agency Thin Pig Media, recommended clarifying the number of work hours a client will receive. He explained, “Social media is very fluid and of course 24/7. It is important to set clear expectations to avoid issues in the future and also to let the customer know what they are getting.”

Sprout can help you set and stay within expectations by making a social media manager’s life easier. Not only does our platform offer post scheduling and customer care capabilities, but our reports come presentation-ready and can be exported at a click of a button.

3. Create project milestones, deadlines and KPIs

Often looped in with scope of work, this section clearly defines how you measure a project’s success.

Specify the major milestones you’ll hit, which will vary based on the goals you’re trying to achieve for the client. Add in deadlines for achieving those milestones. Clients will want to see weekly, monthly and quarterly dates for major milestones.

You’ll also want to include the key performance indicators (KPI) you’re going to track for each milestone. For example, if the client wants more brand exposure from social media, you’ll likely identify impressions and reposts as your metrics. With their current numbers and growth rate in mind, you’ll be able to write reasonable, numeric goals in the proposal.

4. Highlight your unique value proposition

Why should you be the one to work with this client and not your competitor? What makes your business stand out from all the others? Chances are that the client is receiving multiple proposals for the same project.

This is where you demonstrate how your experience fits into their needs. It can come in the form of client testimonials or examples of how you’ve successfully managed clients with similar goals. You can include your testimonials in your proof or work section, or create a section dedicated to showcasing your achievements for past clients.

You can also show performance reports from your past clients, as well as the goals and results you have helped them reach.

For example if the goal was follower growth, you would show exactly how many followers were on the account when you started working for the client and how many you earned over a set time and what role you played in that growth.

5. Protect both parties in the terms of agreement

This section finalizes how you work and the contract terms.

It can include important items like:

• Fees: project, hourly or retainer
• Billing practices: how you invoice, what your payment terms are or if you require a deposit
• Working hours and location:: remotely or in the client’s office, and when you’re available to answer questions
• Termination: how to end the project if either party decides it’s not for them

Joyce Davis, Branding & Marketing Designer at Square One Creative recommends having a kill fee and expenses incurred as part of the termination. She explained, “This is important so there are no surprises, and the client is forewarned that if the project is not as presented, or gets too difficult, you’ll have the option to stop working with them.”

The termination goes both ways: The client can end the project if it’s not working out for them, as long as they know they still need to pay the kill fee.

6. Provide next steps for the client

To avoid a continual back-and-forth between you and the client, write down what happens after the proposal is sent. Will you be following up after a certain number of days? Does the client have a chance to ask for revisions on the proposal?

By following these tips, you’ll be able to write a social media proposal that shows your clients why you’re the right choice for them.

Social media proposal template

Now that you have a handle on the basic elements of a social media proposal, get started with our customizable social media proposal template doc. Just log in to your Google account and “Make a copy” to edit your own version!

Our template includes all the sections you need in your proposal, along with guidance on how to make your writing informative and captivating.

Make a template copy

Creating and delivering the proposal

For many social media marketers, a digital proposal delivery is sufficient. For others, you may need to make an in-person delivery. Similar to writing a resume, make sure your proposal is easy for the client to read.

If you have to present the proposal to the client, create a slide deck that includes critical information from the proposal to reference during your meeting. After the meeting, hand the client the proposal document to review and sign.

Wow clients with your social media proposal

Having a well-written proposal is a foundational step toward achieving success for your clients, but that’s just the beginning. If you’re an agency or consultancy looking for help selling or growing an account, speak with us about our agency partner program.

*All featured quotes are from interviews before 2024.