How to get started with Social Media Strategy - How I built my business from scratch

As an owner of a social media agency I get asked - how did you get there and what is it you do? Sometimes I even still struggle with that question, just because every day is so different. 

But in a nutshell - I help clients with all things social media so they can focus on other needle movers in their business. That’s when I come in and help them level up their social media profiles with a strategy that’s specifically tailored to them to grow their audience and build trust with their ideal client. 

But let’s break this down a bit, shall we?

What’s a social media strategy?

A social media strategy is your playbook for posting on social media. What does this mean? It involves a lot of research into what your competition is doing, what’s working for them and what’s not working so great so YOU can do better for your social media channels. It includes things like posting cadence, and especially important, what social media channels work best for your business. For that I consider the target audience for my clients, content buckets, brand voice and messaging. All this (and much more) goes into the development of a social media strategy. That strategy is then your go-to tool you use when posting to social media so the content you produce reflects exactly what you developed in your strategy.

How did I get started?

I became self employed out of curiosity and also (not going to lie) necessity. After I lost my corporate job due to Covid I was offered a chance to work as a freelancer with a client on their social media and decided to try and see what would happen. I’ve always worked corporate jobs before, so this was my first gig. Everything was new. And I loved it. I loved the freedom that I suddenly was able to work from anywhere - #workfromWiFi is my favorite thing to say. Up to today I still love that I get to decide what projects I say yes to and which ones I say no. 

What can you do to start your own social media agency?

I gained a lot of my experience in my corporate roles. I thought it was especially helpful when it came to the translation of brand voice and messaging. Which then makes creating social media strategies a bit easier. I gained more clients through pitching for gigs with brands that I wanted to work with and grew from there. The great thing is, you really don’t need any equipment besides a phone and a laptop. I have a few tools like a stock pic subscription, Canva pro, scheduling tools (highly recommend Later) that I like working with but other than that, no crazy expenses which is amazing.

What’s some great lessons you learned along the way?

I’ve had my own business now for a bit over a year. When I started out I had no clue what I was doing (looking back it feels like it for sure!). I had no ideal client, no packages or solid offerings ready. Everything was a hot mess. So I invested in a coach, who helped me transform my business and bring it to where it is now. Besides that, outsourcing tasks that you don’t have the energy to do has been huge. Build a great network and make sure to connect with people that are also willing to share their own network. If it takes me longer than 30 minutes to figure a task out, I’ll most likely outsource it because there’s someone who’s already a pro and can help.

Ines is the founder and CEO of Garibay Media, LLC and based out of Long Beach, California.
Instagram: @garibay.media 

Website: https://inesgaribay.com

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