You've had amazing discovery calls where clients love your social media ideas, but then your proposal lands with a thud, and they ghost you. The problem isn't your strategy– it's that generic proposals fail to show your value. You need a strong social media proposal template that turns conversations into signed contracts.
Let’s start with the basics.
A social media proposal template is a reusable document that outlines your client's social media goals, target audience, content strategy, platforms, timeline, metrics, and pricing– basically, how to pitch social media services in document form.
Why use a template? Templates save time while keeping your proposals professional and consistent, letting you focus on customizing the parts that matter.
Your cover page should include the client's company name, project title, today's date, and an expiration date. Don't forget your agency logo and how they can reach you.
Your executive summary comes next.
Keep it to 2-3 sentences. Tell them what problem they're facing, how you'll fix it, and what they'll gain from working with you.
For example: "Your Instagram engagement dropped 30% last quarter due to inconsistent posting. We'll create a data-driven content calendar with 20 posts per month, targeting a 25% engagement increase in 90 days."
This section of your social media services proposal proves you did your homework by analyzing their current follower growth, engagement rates, top-performing content, and identifying gaps, such as inconsistent branding.
From there, compare their metrics to 3-5 competitors. Include audience demographics and behaviors, backed up with quotes from your discovery call plus screenshots or charts.
Don't just list vanity metrics like followers or likes; instead, connect your work to real business outcomes, e.g., revenue growth, using the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
Tailor these objectives to each platform's strengths, like using Instagram Reels for brand awareness, LinkedIn for lead generation, or TikTok for community building through duets and challenges.
For example, "Increase qualified leads by 25% through LinkedIn lead generation forms within 6 months."
Choose 3-5 platforms based on where the client's audience actually spends time– TikTok and Instagram for Gen Z creators, or LinkedIn for B2B audiences. From there, define your content mix for each platform (such as 70% Reels, 20% trending sounds on TikTok), along with the posting frequency and optimal timing based on when their audience is most active.
Choose 4-6 content pillars that tie to their business goals. For example, a podcast agency might include education, behind-the-scenes, promotions, and community.
From there, include a sample content calendar so clients can visualize your posting schedule. Here's what a week might look like:
Sample 7-Day Content Calendar
Podcast Agency - Week 1 of Month 1
Walk them through your workflow, from brief to script to production, to review, and then to scheduling. If you plan to use influencers or user-generated content, explain how you'll find and work with them.
Get specific about monthly content creation. For example, "20-25 assets per month: 12 TikTok/Instagram Reels (15-60 seconds, AI-edited), 8 static graphics, 4 Stories templates, and 1 YouTube video."
Then allocate hours for community management, define your reporting schedule, and set up regular strategy calls. Most importantly, list what's NOT included to prevent scope creep– things like extra platforms or print materials should be billed separately.
Break your work into clear phases, starting with weeks 1-2 for onboarding (kickoff call, collecting brand assets, refining your audit), then weeks 3-4 for content planning, where you'll develop the first 30-day calendar and allow two rounds of revisions. Months 1-3 focus on launch and execution with weekly metric tracking, while months 4 and beyond shift to optimization and scaling.
Here's why that flexibility matters: social media algorithms constantly change, so build in quarterly strategy reviews to adapt your content based on what's currently getting the most reach.
For example, when Instagram started favoring Reels over photo posts, agencies stuck with old photo strategies saw engagement drop by half. Those who checked in quarterly switched to videos quickly and kept their engagement strong.
Offer three pricing tiers to give clients options– most will choose the middle tier, which typically includes more platforms, assets, and management hours than your starter package. Structure your social media retainer proposal carefully– retainers beat project-based pricing. Include payment terms like a 50% deposit upfront, monthly invoicing, and a 1.5% late fee after 15 days.
After you show pricing, clients want to know one thing: how will you prove it's worth the money?
Start by listing the KPIs you'll track– reach, engagement, conversions, and sentiment. Then explain your reporting schedule: bi-weekly dashboards and monthly full reports. Finally, show how you'll prove ROI with clear formulas that tie social media results to their revenue.
This ROI focus helps you handle the most common client question:
"Why do we only have 8,000 followers when our competitor has 50,000?" Show them what actually counts. Their 8,000 followers generate 45 leads per month, while their competitor's 50,000 followers produce only 12. Quality beats quantity every time.
Keep your agency bio short– just 3-4 sentences highlighting your specialty, track record, and client retention rate. Include 2-3 case studies with actual results, client testimonials, and relevant certifications.
Agencies that have organized workflows for handling content requests and approvals have higher client satisfaction. When clients see your systems for delivering what you promise, they feel more confident working with you.
Make it easy for them to say yes. They can reply "Approved" or click an eSign button. Then walk them through what comes next: client portal access, kickoff call timing, and the onboarding process. Don't skip the expiration date; something like "This proposal expires January 15, 2026" creates urgency.
Having all the right sections is important, but how you write them matters even more.
Templates provide structure, but these strategies turn that structure into signed contracts.
Schedule a 30-60-minute discovery call before writing anything, where you'll ask open-ended questions about their challenges and budget range to prevent wasted time on mismatched proposals. After the call, research their industry and competitors by auditing their social profiles and seeing what's working well in their space.
Personalize examples to their specific industry. For example, showing LinkedIn strategies for B2B clients or Instagram Shopping tactics for e-commerce brands. Reference specific challenges they mentioned by quoting them directly, which proves you actually listened during your discovery call.
Explain the "why" behind every recommendation instead of just listing tactics. For example, show how posting at specific times targets their audience's peak activity to maximize views. Connect these social media efforts to actual business outcomes by showing how your campaigns will drive revenue.
Use headers, bullet points, and white space to break up dense text, keeping paragraphs to 2-3 sentences, including lists and charts throughout.
Show mockups of what their content will look like and before/after charts that display growth. Keep the language clear and skip the jargon. For example, saying "TikTok and Instagram posts driving 25% more sign-ups" instead of "omnichannel synergy."
You can have the perfect template and know exactly what to write, but some mistakes will kill your proposal before clients finish reading it. Here's what trips up most agencies, and what you should do instead.
Don't just say social content, tell them exactly what they're getting. Specifics show professionalism and prevent clients from expecting things you never agreed to deliver.
Don't promise things you can't deliver just to win the client over. When you guarantee "10,000 followers in 30 days," you set yourself up to lose the client when reality doesn't match the hype.
If you don't map out approval steps, expect delays and constant back-and-forth. Set specific deadlines to keep projects on track.
Without telling them what's included and what's not, you'll get stuck doing endless revisions. Define revision limits upfront; something like "two rounds of revisions included" saves you from scope creep later.
Write like a normal person– use words your client actually understands, not industry buzzwords that sound impressive but mean nothing to them. When you say "synergistic content ecosystem," clients tune out; say "content that works together" instead.
Keep these mistakes in mind, and you'll write proposals that actually get read—and signed. You now have everything you need to create proposals that close deals.
A strong social media proposal shows clients that you think ahead and sets clear expectations from the start. The template gives you the structure, but personalization is what actually wins deals.
Of course, winning the proposal is just the start; delivering on your promises without chaos is the real challenge. That's where ManyRequests comes in, an all-in-one platform that streamlines your agency's operations and helps you manage content requests, approvals, and revisions in one place.
Download our free proposal template and customize it for your next pitch. Start your 14-day free trial of ManyRequests to manage projects, approvals, and revisions in one place.
A complete social media proposal template includes an executive summary, client audit, strategic goals, platform recommendations, content strategy, deliverables, timeline, pricing tiers, success metrics, agency credentials, and clear next steps.
Aim for 8-15 pages. Include enough detail to show you understand the client's needs without overwhelming them. Use visuals and white space to keep it scannable.
Send your proposal within 24-48 hours after the discovery call, while the conversation is still fresh in the client's mind. Waiting longer than a week will make you look disorganized and give competitors time to swoop in.