Download this social media client onboarding template to introduce your clients to your services.
Your client needs help with their social media presence, and you can help them, but you need to be on the same page for that to happen. You need to align on brand positioning, social media strategies, and the kind of content to post.
A well-structured client onboarding process clarifies how you can meet your client's expectations. It also helps them understand your approach. In this article, I'll discuss a social media client onboarding checklist, why you need one, and how to apply it with new clients.
What is Client Onboarding?
Client onboarding is the process of introducing new clients to your services and setting project expectations. During onboarding, you set clear expectations for your services and align with them on communication platforms as well as their responsibilities towards the project.
Client onboarding is a stage where you (freelancer, project manager, or creative social media agency owner) discuss essential areas of the project, like the brand tone, content strategy, and posting schedules, with the client so they know your processes and how you will help them achieve their goals.
Why You Need a Social Media Client Onboarding Checklist
Onboarding your clients settles many potential misunderstandings in the future. It tells them what they need to know about your operation, which will improve their trust in you. Here are other reasons why you need an onboarding checklist:
- It improves consistency with all your clients. A checklist ensures a standard onboarding process with your clients. This means each client you work with receives the same structured onboarding experience— it also ensures you don't miss details you went over with a previous client.
- It sets clear expectations. Your clients may sometimes have perceived expectations that were not discussed initially. This checklist clarifies every deliverable, timeline, and responsibility upfront. It communicates your scope of services to your clients, who, in turn, know what to and not to expect from you. This helps you utilize your time and avoid going back and forth on decisions.
- To collect relevant client login details to different social media platforms. This helps you gain access to their accounts and avoid situations where you text them back for login details.
- It helps you communicate with your clients better. An onboarding checklist establishes schedules for regular updates and how you want to communicate with them—via email, Slack, or client portals like ManyRequests.
Explaining this during onboarding gives your clients a clear understanding of when and where you'll update them on the project and how they can send feedback.
- It strengthens your relationship with your client. A structured onboarding process shows your clients that your agency is reliable and professional. This will improve their trust in your services and may encourage them to become long-term clients.
- It reduces client churn. Onboarding your clients aligns them with your timelines and processes. This reduces misaligned expectations that may cause a client to leave halfway— clients are more likely to remain loyal to you when they know what to expect from the beginning.
Disadvantages Of Not Using A Social Media Client Onboarding Checklist
Several things could go wrong if you don't have a proper social media client onboarding checklist. Here's what could happen:
- You may overlook important steps. This could be forgetting to ask for their Canva design templates (if they have one) which must be aligned with future brand designs.
You may also forget to collect login details to all the social media apps they want brand visibility on. This may include Thread, which is easy to forget because it's not a major platform yet.
Aside from this, if you already talked to your client about handling part of their outreach to potential customers, gaining access to their LinkedIn Sales Navigator is equally important. Remember to ask them if they have an account like this or if they use tools like Buffer or Sprouts Social to automate posting across different social media platforms. Getting all these access will make your work easier and you can get results faster.
- Clients may expect more services than you offer if you're not aligned on the project scope and deliverables from the beginning. This can result in scope creep, where clients expect additional work outside your agreed services. In cases like this, it's important to discuss your services with the client when onboarding them.
If a client wants your team to offer services outside of your scope of work, mention that other tasks outside your retainer agreement contract will be billed for.
You can also create an Add-on service with ManyRequests to bill for the extra tasks.
- You may miss specific project scope and delivery without a proper onboarding in place. A few nuances may slip through the cracks— for example, your client's preferred posting schedule, or brand-specific words that they avoid using.
Key Components of Your Social Media Client Onboarding Checklist
If you've decided on onboarding your clients with a checklist, here's everything you should add to it:
- Welcome Clients Onboard: The first step is to welcome your clients with an email that introduces them to your team.
Here's an example:
Hi (Client’s Name),
Welcome to (Your Agency's Name). We are excited to start this journey with you and bring your social media vision to life.
Here’s a quick introduction to our team and what you can expect in the coming days.
Your dedicated account manager, (Team Member’s Name), will be your primary point of contact throughout our work together.
You’ll also work closely with (Content Strategist’s Name), who will develop your tailored content strategy, and (Analytics Lead’s Name), who will monitor and optimize campaign performance to keep everything on track.
To kick things off, we’d love to schedule a quick meeting to discuss your goals, target audience, and any initial ideas. This will help us align our strategy with your brand vision and build a strong foundation for success.
Attached is an outline of our onboarding process so you’ll know exactly what’s coming next.
Looking forward to achieving great things together!
Best regards,
(Your Name)
(Agency Name)
👉🏼 Read our article on best practices for clients onboard to learn how to write welcome emails.
Besides email, you can also onboard your clients through the ManyRequests client portal. Sign up for a 14-day free ,trial to learn how these features work and how to use them to give your clients the best onboarding experience.
- Prepare Legal Documents: Present every legal document you want to share with your clients during onboarding, like a social media retainer agreement. It will clarify your and your client’s responsibility toward the project.
- Set up a Payment Structure: Confirm the payment details early to prevent delays later.
Ask your clients about their payment methods, and discuss your preferred methods and timeline with them.
For example, you may prefer to be paid in Net 0, Net 15, or Net 30. You may want to be paid the same day after the month's work, 15 days after, or 30 days after.
- Collect client login details: Request access to your client's social media accounts and any necessary tools they use— analytics or scheduling platforms, for instance — to help you manage their account smoothly.
Getting login details ensures you can schedule posts, track performance, and respond to engagement without needing repeated access requests. For security, you can use a password-sharing tool like 1Password if they prefer sharing these details with you through a secure app.
- Create Client Questionnaire: Create a list of questions you want to ask your client. This questionnaire should help you gather information about their goals, brand, past KPIs, and preferences for social media posts.
These are some questions you can ask:
- What are your main goals for social media? (Give them options— could be brand awareness, lead generation, or customer engagement.)
- Who is your target audience, and what are their interests?
- What platforms do you currently use, and are you looking to add more platforms or prioritize some over others?
- Are there specific types of content you'd like us to focus on? (Add options like videos, stories, infographics, etc…)
- Do you have any competitors that you admire or dislike for their social media presence?
- Do you have any upcoming events, promotions, or product launches we should know?
These questions help you better understand your client's needs and show them you're intentional about their growth.
- Define Metrics for Success. Identify and discuss the key performance indicators (KPIs) you will use to track your client's social media success with them.
Your KPIs can include engagement rate, follower growth, and click-through rates from social ads. For example, if the client's goal is engagement on their pages, you can measure success by comments and shares rather than follower count.
- Project Kick-off: Schedule a kick-off call to review everything you've discussed during onboarding, including the content calendar, timeline, and approval processes.
Discuss any content or campaign milestone, like the launch of a new product or holiday campaign, so you and your clients are aligned on important dates. Use this meeting to review any final questions you may have and encourage your client to do the same.
You should also ensure you finalize communication channels on your kick-off call. Discuss your preferred communication channels— Slack, emails, calls, etc… and confirm if they would like to communicate through that channel. If they don't, find a middle ground to make communication easier.
Tips and Best Practices for Social Media Onboarding
These are important tips when creating your social media onboarding checklist:
- Break down the project into deliverables by week or month. For example, create an initial content calendar draft that shows your client how often you want to send out posts or monthly reports to communicate that the team will meet at the end of each month.
- Schedule demos to get familiar with your client's platform before the project begins.
- Clarify expectations thoroughly during onboarding. Discuss issues like when clients should approve content for posts—24 hours or a 48 hours after submission—their preferred communication channel, goals, and your process to achieve them.
Your clients may forget a vague discussion on approval times and take more time than agreed, so ensure you reiterate it as much as possible.
- Review your checklist regularly, especially if you make changes to the social media content calendar or your business process.
Mistakes to Avoid When Onboarding Social Media Clients
These are things you should avoid when onboarding your clients:
- Don't neglect brand alignment. If you don't discuss and align with your client on brand tone and visual identity, you may create mismatched content, which would throw you off the goal.
- Don't generalize across platforms. Discuss each platform separately, and don't expect what works for LinkedIn to work for Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (now, X). Discuss the different strategies for these different social media websites with your client before proceeding.
- Don't skip analytics briefings. Educate your clients on your metrics and reporting methods so they understand how to follow these KPIs.
How to Use Our Free Social Media Client Onboarding Checklist Template
Our free client onboarding checklist template is designed to help you onboard your client successfully without hassle.
Here's how to use it:
- Download the template from our website
- Edit the text to add your business name.
- Include tasks that are specific to your agency.
- Add visuals or links to resources(videos, articles).
- Add the specific services you'll offer clients.
- Review it with your team members.
Wrap Up
A structured social media onboarding checklist sets clear expectations, discusses communication, and, more importantly, aligns your clients with your process. You can simplify these steps—managing tasks, approving content, and communicating with clients, with ManyRequests.
ManyRequests is an all-in-one client onboarding platform that helps you onboard your clients, discuss the project with them, and receive content requests and approval in one platform. Sign up for a 14-day free trial to get started.
