15 Social Media Consultant Success Stories [2024]
Social media has become popular due to its ability to link businesses to their target customers. Social media consultants are professionals who help their clients improve, optimize and grow their social media presence.
Becoming a social media consultant comes with work flexibility and higher earning potential, but it also takes time and work commitment to grow the business.
To become a social media consultant, you must first become adept at using social media platforms and industry tools. Take online or offline courses like content marketing, public relations, and communication skills. Social media experts can choose a general practice or opt to focus on a niche.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a social media consultant:
1. Social Media Manager Society ($240K/year)
In her previous career as a social media manager, Amanda Shepherd developed a strong reputation in her niche and realized there was a gap in the market for aspiring social media managers who needed guidance on starting their own businesses. After conducting extensive market research, Amanda created the Social Media Manager Society, offering a program that teaches women how to run successful social media businesses. In just one year, she made nearly $100,000 while working an average of four hours per day, and continues to attract new students to her program.
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 1
A social media manager turned entrepreneur created a program that has brought in almost $100,000 in one year, designed to teach women how to run successful social media businesses in less than 30 days.
2. Good Chance ($240K/year)
to my old office to pick out a few things I forgot, and I treated myself to - you guessed it - a venti Starbucks iced coffee. I posted on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn that Good Chance Creative was starting to take on clients. I used some of the photos I had taken previously as examples of my work. I sent text messages to friends whose businesses I thought could benefit from my services. And then I waited. Not for long, though! I received my first client inquiry within a couple of hours. It was a friend of a friend who had a small online boutique. She loved my photos and wanted to hire me for product photography and social media management. From there, it was a domino effect. Word spread, referrals came in, and I started to build my client list. It was a slow and steady process in the beginning, but I was grateful for each and every client who trusted me with their social media presence. As the years went by, I continued to refine and expand my services, and here I am today, running a successful full-service social media creative agency.
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 1
This case study follows Kelsey Chance and her creative agency, Good Chance Creative, which specializes in social media content creation, and in just 3 years she has grown her one-woman business to make $20,000 in monthly revenue through a niche in small in-house marketing teams and start-ups managing their social content, with key services including lifestyle brand photography, social media account management, copywriting, and eCommerce strategy consulting.
So... can you actually make money with a social media consultant?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. BT Neil Consulting ($1.2K/year)
Cornelia "Miss Co" Malloy came up with the idea for her online consulting business, BT Neil Consulting, after reflecting on her desire to have her own business and her skills in creating documents and navigating the internet. Her experience working in a long-term care facility as the Director of Social Services also inspired her to focus on providing resources on long-term care placement in a nursing facility. Despite not yet making significant profits, Cornelia remains consistent and is using social media and affiliate marketing to build awareness for her business.
How much they make: $1.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 1
BT Neil Consulting founder, Cornelia "Miss Co" Malloy, shares how she started her online consulting business and the struggles she faced when trying to build awareness and gain customers while highlighting the importance of consistency and not giving up.
4. Inquivix ($1.2M/year)
keep coming back for more. Additionally, we provide exceptional customer service and personalized strategies tailored to each client's specific needs, which sets us apart from our competitors. Our 10X-ed annual revenue growth and our strong reputation in the industry also attract new customers to our agency.
How much they make: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
Current team size: 15
Inquivix is a leading digital marketing agency in Asia with regional hubs in multiple countries, generating $1.2M in annual revenue by helping clients enter the Korean market through social media and content creation, backed by extensive research, data analysis, and SEO strategies.
So... can you actually make money with a social media consultant?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Three Girls Media, Inc. ($600K/year)
Erika Taylor Montgomery, founder of Three Girls Media, came up with the idea for her marketing and PR agency after leaving her career in broadcasting and politics. Recognizing the need for work-life balance and wanting more control over her schedule, she decided to launch her own business. With just a $3,000 loan, Erika started Three Girls Media, which has since grown to a team of 10 and grosses about $550,000 annually.
How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $3K
Current team size: 10
A marketing and public relations agency founded by Erika Taylor Montgomery, Three Girls Media grosses about $550,000 annually and is a team of 11 who offer a range of services including social media management, digital marketing, email marketing, media relations, and website design and build.
6. Rossman Media ($11.9M/year)
How much they make: $11.9M/year
Current team size: 36
Rossman Media, founded in 2017, has been recognized by Business Insider as the "Best New Social Media Agency" of 2020 after collaborating with big brands such as Airbnb, Nike, and Louis Vuitton.
So... can you actually make money with a social media consultant?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. MeetEdgar ($4M/year)
Laura Roeder, the founder of MeetEdgar, came up with the idea for her social media automation tool after realizing the burden of managing social media accounts and creating new content across multiple platforms. With her background in teaching social media marketing and her own online course business, she saw the need for a tool that could handle the grunt work of social media management. By validating the idea through her course, she decided to create MeetEdgar and launched the software in 2014.
How much they make: $4M/year
Current team size: 11
MeetEdgar, a bootstrapped social media automation tool founded in 2014 by Laura Roeder, has grown to $4 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 5,000 customers, with a team size of two dozen, achieved through content marketing, social media marketing, and organic search.
8. Mari Smith ($1.32M/year)
How much they make: $1.32M/year
Current team size: 14
Learn from the "Queen of Facebook" herself - Mari Smith teaches entrepreneurs how to maximize their social media presence and produce measurable results with her comprehensive social networking strategy.
9. Eight Loop Social ($2.4M/year)
How much they make: $2.4M/year
Current team size: 5
This case study explores Eight Loop Social, an independent social media agency that has generated over $35M for companies since its establishment in 2011, having worked with huge brands such as Coca-Cola, AMP Insurance, Vodafone, and Midori through specialized digital growth solutions.
10. Pete Codes ($14.4K/year)
Pete focused on promoting his website on platforms like Product Hunt and Hacker News to attract a large number of visitors. He also prioritized charging customers for newsletter ads and sponsored articles early on to test demand. Overall, his strategy of gaining exposure and monetizing the website quickly helped him attract and retain customers.
How much they make: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $40
Current team size: 1
No CS Degree founder monetizes website interviewing self-taught web developers earning an average monthly revenue of $1,100, with email marketing and sponsored articles from coding boot camps, and plans to grow the site through job board and online course resources.
11. SevenAtoms Marketing Inc ($3.3M/year)
How much they make: $3.3M/year
Current team size: 0
This case study article dives into the journey of SevenAtoms Marketing, a bootstrapped startup that has grown into a successful business generating a recurring monthly revenue of $275K, specializing in ROI-focused paid search advertising and content marketing for SaaS, e-commerce, and Technology sectors.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
