Social media management proposal template

What's in the template.

Every section below exists to answer a question your client is silently asking. Use the example copy as a starting point and replace the specifics.

1. 1

   Where your channels are today

   Three or four specific observations from their actual accounts. Numbers they can verify in thirty seconds buy you credibility for everything after.

   “You post 4–5 times a month on Instagram with no consistent day, and engagement sits at 0.9% — below [the benchmark you trust for their category, with its source]. Your three best-performing posts in the last year were all behind-the-scenes footage, and none of them were followed up. LinkedIn has 4,100 followers and hasn't been posted to since March, which is the channel your B2B buyers actually use.”

2. 2

   Strategy and channel priorities

   Say what you'd focus on and — just as importantly — what you'd stop. A proposal that adds every platform reads as inexperienced.

   “We'd concentrate on Instagram and LinkedIn and deliberately drop X, where your last 40 posts produced 11 total interactions. Instagram carries brand and recruitment; LinkedIn carries the buying committee. Content splits 60% behind-the-scenes process, 25% customer outcomes, 15% team and hiring — because your own data says process content is what works for you.”

3. 3

   Monthly deliverables, by platform

   The section that stops churn. Exact counts of exactly what, so value is visible every month regardless of algorithm swings.

   “Per month: 12 Instagram posts (mix of carousel, single image, and Reel), 8 Stories sequences, 8 LinkedIn posts, and one long-form LinkedIn article. Includes copywriting, scheduling, and community management — replies and DMs handled within one business day, Monday to Friday. One 90-minute content-capture session on site each month.”

4. 4

   Approval workflow and content calendar

   Name how content gets signed off and by when. Unclear approvals are the most common cause of missed posting schedules — and the client blames you for them.

   “Content calendar for the following month lands on the 20th. You have five business days and one named approver; anything not flagged by the 25th is treated as approved so the schedule holds. Urgent reactive posts are sent for same-day approval by message. If approvals slip past the deadline twice in a quarter, we'll book a call rather than quietly post less.”

5. 5

   Metrics, reporting, and an honest word on virality

   Commit to the numbers you'll be judged on and name the ones you won't promise. Naming the risk yourself builds more trust than a bold claim.

   “We report monthly on reach, engagement rate, follower growth, profile-to-website clicks, and inbound DMs that turn into enquiries — with a live dashboard you can open any time. What we won't promise: a viral post. We're optimising for a compounding baseline, and the honest timeline for that is three to four months before the trend is clear.”

6. 6

   Account ownership and access

   State plainly that the client owns the accounts. It removes a fear they may not voice, and prevents an ugly offboarding.

   “You own every account, and we work through delegated access — never by taking over your logins. All content, captions, and raw footage we produce are yours. If we part ways, access is handed back within two business days with the calendar scheduled 30 days out, so nothing goes dark during a transition.”

7. 7

   Investment

   Retainer with a defined initial term, plus a smaller entry option for clients not ready to commit.

   “Social management retainer: $2,800/month, three-month initial term, then month to month with 30 days' notice. Alternative: strategy sprint and 30-day content calendar for you to execute in-house, $2,200 one-time. Paid ad management, if you want it later, is billed at 15% of spend.”

8. 8

   Next step + signature

   Make the first month feel already in motion the moment they sign.

   “Sign below and we'll send the access checklist and book your first content-capture session this week — your first month's calendar is with you within ten days.”