If I got a penny for every time I hear someone had a negative experience with a freelance digital marketer…I’d be a millionaire. Unfortunately, this field is so wildly full of scams, arrogant professionals and unqualified specialists, that it is difficult to recognise who is actually worth your money. Therefore, in this article we will explore the most common mistakes clients make and how to avoid them.
One of the easiest and most common ways that I have encountered, where colleagues of mine can easily scam their clients, is when it comes to managing ads on social media. The platform doesn’t really matter in this case, but as a client, if a freelancer insists that the ads they’re going to run for you, go through their ads accounts – take that as a red flag. Now, if you’re working with an agency – it is more believable. However, in any of those situations if you request ads to be run from your own ads accounts and be paid out with your own company/personal card, a legit business or freelance should not have a problem in doing so. In case you get this request denied for countless of reasons – definitely take it as a red flag!
Take my word for it, as a freelancer now, and as a person who worked at an agency and then was a client to an agency – regardless of the scenario, it is always easier for accounting and administrative reasons to have your own ads accounts as a business/client. For me, as a freelancer, I have to register for VAT, re-invoice everything from each channel, deal with a ton of administration and taxes, just so that I can run your ads from my accounts. For a client on the other hand, it is always better to have your own ad accounts, since you accumulate ads data in them over time. This is important, because the more information you gather from ads in an account, the better your ads and targeting will be in the future (not to mention that you want to gather lists of users that have interacted with your business for retargeting ads on Google, expanding audiences on Facebook etc.).
This is a matter of two things combined: price for the service and your own research as a client. Now, I am not saying that the lower the price, the less experienced the specialist. That is not always the case. However, if you’re looking to settle for the cheapest service you can get – prepare yourself for the quality (or lack thereof) that comes with it. Experienced professionals that do know what they’re doing would probably not charge the low price you might be expecting.
Moving away from the price, as a client looking to hire a digital marketing freelancer, you can always do your own research to find out more about that person’s experience. You can always ask for a CV, portfolio, website, examples of works, etc. In the field of digital marketing it is sometimes difficult to showcase examples though (due to non-disclosure agreements with previous or current clients), however every professional should have at least a brief portfolio that they can show you. I personally stopped using a CV ever since I became a freelancer. Instead, I use a page on my website, where I can share previous projects and public information on the work I have done for my clients. If you check out my Portfolio page, you can see I have even embedded social media posts I have done in the past, pictures from events, general statistics from campaigns and project achievements.
As a client, there are two ways that you can approach this situation in the wrong way:
In our business analysis of what has been done and basing future decisions on accumulated results is crucial. So if you, as a client, are not receiving any reports or progress updates at all – are that as another red flag. I had a client that shared their story with me:
They were working with a freelancer on Facebook ads for an event. I am ignoring the fact that the contractor asked the client for everything – visuals, description, name of event, etc. (which for me is just not professional to do, the least you can do is consult on what to change or expand on the materials given). Now, for 3 months the client had the same ad and not getting results. At the end of month 3, the client has spent around 400 euros in ads and have received 1 phone call from an interested user. The client asked for results reports from the ads and an explanation of why the ads were not working. The explanation given was that it was not the season and no report was sent out. Do you see anything wrong? Because I do.
Of course, like any other field, there is seasonality in digital marketing too. Nonetheless, it is our job as digital marketers to try different things and find ways for something to work to the best of our abilities and knowledge. To sit and do nothing to improve a product that doesn’t give results is simply unprofessional, regardless of the situation and field you are working at.
On the other hand, I have had clients that were texting, calling and emailing me almost every day asking for results and updates on how things are going and expecting a sky full of stars and miracles in just a few days (not to mention ridiculously low budgets).
In my practice, I always send out carefully crafted reports with statistics and explanations on a monthly basis when it concerns a regular and constant social media profile and ads management. These are accompanied by contacting clients with updates by phone or informal messages on whatsapp or Viber about once a week, whenever it is needed. My point is, always strive to find a balance in progress updates without having one side being overwhelmed or not informed at all.
Not being respectful is wrong in any business or casual situation, however I will take a look at this concept within the context of the digital marketing field.
If you’re working with a specialist that is worth it and knows what they’re doing, that can definitely help your business – please be respectful to them and their effort. Yes, you are paying them for a specific service, but that does not mean they are your”bus-boy” when it comes to everything digital. Ask questions and request tasks in a respectful manner and if you require additional work that is not within your agreement, do not get defensive when the other side responds that said work would be for an additional charge. I have been in situations where clients have required insane things from my side and then argued why these efforts would be additionally charged (when such tasks were not in the initial agreement). I have always gone the extra mile for my clients, because I love what I do and I know that a little favour will go a long way in the future, but I also know when to say no.
Looking at this from the other side, if the specialist you are working with is being arrogant and disrespectful towards you, doesn’t honour all tasks in your agreement and tries to rip you off with additional charges – take a stand. But take the higher ground and be the bigger person and do it in a professional way.
Regardless of which side of the coin you are – my advice would be to handle every situation professional and with grace. Stay true to your own standards and never fall to someone else’s level.
Share your story in a reply to this article – lets uncover together the unspoken reality of the digital marketing field!
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