2020 update: I?ve added a significant update to how to create a social media portolio on my website thanks to some excellent questions from people who read this post on Medium. Thank you for taking the time to reach out!
To read the updated post visit robynroste.com. If you have a question or suggestion for ways I can continue adding value to this article please contact me (most people choose LinkedIn).
Portfolios. In general I understand them ? a collection of your work assembled to demonstrate your experience and expertise in an area.
But I?ve struggled with social media and figuring out how to create a social media portfolio.
Because although it?s my work it?s not for me.
Most of my social media experience is creating content and strategies for other people or brands. It?s like ghostwriting. It?s ghostsocialing. (I sure hope that?s a hashtag.)
My mission is to figure out how to present my social media portfolio in a way that demonstrates my experience and expertise but doesn?t break client confidentiality.
As I searched the Internet I didn?t find a lot. Most how-to create a portfolio advice is for writing clips, marketing, or how to display your personal social media stats.
All of this is good and useful, but off topic. And I guess I shouldn?t be surprised because it?s a tricky balance.
So I started asking writing friends how they add ghostwriting credits to their portfolio. Short answer, they don?t. They leave it out and just refer to ?ghostwriting services? or ?x amount of books/blogs ghostwritten for x amount of clients.?
Vague but what else can you do?
But I want to do more for my social media portfolio.
The golden rule when you create a social media portfolio: SHOW DON?T TELL
You know you need to do it in your writing but it also is important in your portfolios. But how do you show (or even create a social media portfolio) when your clients don?t love the idea of admitting they don?t run their own accounts?
Or what if you did strategy work with a client, how do you display that?
And what if you worked with a client at one point and their feed looked amazing but now they manage their own and it isn?t so awesome?
How do you show that?
Here are my best three ideas for building an awesome social media portfolio
First, showcase the services you offer
The best social media portfolio?s I?ve seen break the services down into bite-sized pieces.
Here are a few tips for creating this section of your social media portfolio.
- Images are your friend. Find generic stock images representing the services you offer and the types of clients you serve
- Highlight the services you offer
- Make it interesting
You can expand on and explain the services you offer, or not. It depends on your target client and what will speak to him/her.
Second, list your clients
Gulp.
I know, we?ve been talking about the situation where you can?t name your clients or you aren?t sure how to talk about them. We?ll just do our best here.
Remember how you listed your services a few minutes ago? These are now our categories for organizing our clients.
So, in my case it?s Consulting, Social Media, Blogging and Platform Strategy.
Divide your clients into categories (they can be in more than one) and make them look pretty.
If you can?t name your client then describe them.
You can list them as a Wellness Company in Vancouver, BC for example. If you can?t show their logo or brand then find a nice stock image that represents the type of business they are. Now list how you worked with them according to your categories.
Bing, bang, boom.
Here are a few tips for creating this section of your social media portfolio.
- Describe the types of clients you?ve worked with and the types of services you provided
- Include links to client websites if you can
- Include client testimonials where you can
In my mock-up example I haven?t expanded to this point but you can see how more is more here.
However, if you can?t say more due to client confidentiality then a beautiful image and a short description of the work you did will suffice.
Update: Here?s how I?m working around this in 2020
Third, make sure your personal social media profiles are optimized
I?m listing this third but your social media profiles are the first and best part of your social media portfolio.
You don?t need them optimized to create a social media portfolio, but this is where many of your future clients will find you for the first time.
You want to make a positive, memorable impression here.
Wherever they find you.
I?ve outlined how to optimize your social media profiles before but here are the highlights.
- Choose a professional/standout profile picture and cover photo
- Make it easy for people to know who you are/what you do
- Link to your website
- Include keywords about your services
- Be clear on your location/contact info
A few other things to consider when you create a social media portfolio
- Think about what you want to be hired for. Is it social media management? What about content creation, content curation, platform development, strategy, etc. Curate your portfolio to display that ? you don?t need to list EVERY client or every freelance job you?ve ever performed (I mean, you can, but put some thought into it)
- Things to cover: who you are (about), your mission, what you do, and who you serve (aka who you want to work with)
- Is there an area you?d like more work in? Highlight this throughout your services, experience, expertise, and even which clients you mention
While I?m still building my social media portfolio, here?s what I?m doing with my writing portfolio on social media.
After I wrote this post, Thema asked this question about social media portfolios.
Hi Robyn! I ran across your article about social media portfolios on Medium. I am pursuing a career as a Public Relations Specialist but only have the social media pages I curated for my internship to show. Any suggestions on how to create a portfolio with very few work examples?
You can read my response (plus a few extra comments) on the extended version of this post on my website.
