What to Include in Your First Social Media Management Package

Once a local business owner says yes, the next question is: what exactly are you going to do for them?

This is where a lot of people freeze up. They said yes to your pitch. Now you need to deliver something specific. What is it?

The answer does not need to be complicated. A simple, clear package you can actually deliver is worth more than an elaborate service menu you cannot sustain.

Start with the scoping conversation

Before you write down what you are going to do, find out what they have and what they need.

Ask these questions:

What platforms are you currently on? This tells you where to start. You are taking over management of what already exists — the account, the followers, the history — before adding anything new.

How many followers do you have on each? Context for what you are working with. Not a judgment — just useful to know.

When did you last post? If it was six months ago, you know the account needs a reset. If it was last week, the baseline is there.

What do you want people to do when they find you? Call to book? Walk in? Order online? This shapes what the content actually says.

What kinds of photos or videos do you have, or can you take? Content lives and dies on visuals. A restaurant that photographs their food well is a different project from a law firm with nothing but a logo. Know what you have to work with.

The platform decision

Based on the scoping conversation, you and the client decide which platforms to run. Some simple guidelines:

Instagram and Facebook are the baseline for most local consumer businesses — restaurants, salons, gyms, retail shops. If they are not on both, they should be.

TikTok makes sense for businesses with visual, demonstrable products or services — food, fitness, beauty, anything with a process worth watching.

LinkedIn is worth it for professional service businesses — dental practices, law firms, accountants, financial advisors — where the client wants to be found by other professionals or higher-income individuals.

Google Business Profile — not a social platform but worth mentioning. Make sure their Google listing is claimed and up to date. It is free and it matters for local search.

Do not add platforms for the sake of adding them. Consistent, quality presence on two platforms beats thin presence on six.

The collateral system

The most important thing you set up for a new client is how they get content to you.

Create a shared folder — Google Drive or Dropbox, whichever they already use or can easily adopt. Label it clearly with their business name. Show them how to use it. Tell them what to put in it: photos of their products or space, short videos, screenshots of good reviews, any upcoming specials or events.

Give them a simple standing instruction: whenever something happens at the business worth sharing — a new menu item, a packed house, a staff moment, an upcoming event — drop it in the folder.

The more material they give you, the better the content is. The simpler the system is, the more material you will get. Keep it as frictionless as possible.

The posting frequency

Three to five times per week is a solid baseline for most local businesses. Enough to stay visible. Not so much that you are scrambling for content or flooding their audience's feed.

You can post more on platforms where content disappears quickly — Stories on Instagram, for instance. You can post less on platforms where content lives longer — LinkedIn, for example.

Set a frequency you can commit to and deliver it consistently. Consistency matters more than volume.

What ForaPost does in this setup

This is where the tool changes the job.

Once you have the client's collateral in the shared folder, you upload it to their ForaPost account. ForaPost's AI Manager analyzes the materials — the photos, the brand description, the website if they have one — and builds a brand profile that captures their voice and style.

From there, it creates posts every day, tailored to each platform, scheduled at the times you set. You review and approve what goes out. The client's accounts stay active without you manually writing and posting every single thing.

When new collateral comes in from the client, you add it to their ForaPost account and it feeds into the next cycle of content. The system runs. You manage the relationship.

That is what makes it possible to serve several clients without losing your mind over the logistics. The operational part — the daily content creation, the platform-specific formatting, the scheduling — is handled. Your job is quality control and client relationships.

Putting it on paper

Once you know what you are doing, write it down simply. Not a legal contract — just a one-page summary of what you are providing, what the client needs to provide, and what it costs.

Something like:

"I will manage your Instagram and Facebook pages, posting four to five times per week using photos and materials you share with me. You will share content in a Google Drive folder I set up for you. I will handle the rest. The monthly fee is $[amount], due on the first of each month."

That is enough for a first client. Clear, specific, and easy for both of you to refer back to.

The Give Back program

If you are setting up your first client and want a professional tool that handles the operational side — content creation, scheduling, 8-platform publishing across all your clients — the ForaPost Give Back program provides a full agency account free for three months, with dedicated support to help you set everything up properly.

After three months, you pay only for the client seats you have running. No minimum, no cliff. You build at your own pace.

Want the full picture in one place? Read The ForaPost Give Back Guide — the complete walkthrough for starting a social media management business serving local businesses, including pricing, finding clients, and building your first management package.