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Looking for advice on how to handle SMM and client creative differences
Hey, I’m a social media manager and content creator, working with a client with limited photographic content for their somewhat remote mountain lodge. I have been using a mix of stock images and their inventory of photography, but the previous account managers have already used most of the content they have generated. The client doesn’t have the budget to hire me or someone else to do more photography, but I went ahead and drove the hour and a half to the location and took some photos (for which I can’t charge them) at the lodge anyways so I could at least solve my own bottleneck problem for content. But they still don’t seem to like any content I’m showing them. I’ve been generating content for 2 years now and all of my current/previous clients have been satisfied with my work, rarely have edits or input, and very rarely outright reject content.
After working together for almost a month, this new client has rejected 9 of the 13 posts I have crafted for them. I made a cutesy Easter logo for their Insta profile and they wanted to use it as a post too… I personally would not consider the logo high quality enough for a post, it was just meant as a temporary profile picture. I made them a separate Easter post and they rejected it, saying they just want the Easter logo I made instead. They also rejected the copy I wrote for the Easter post and just want to say “Happy Easter from Company”.
This is total whiplash because they said they want someone to manage their social media professionally (the previous managers of the company were managing it themselves, and it does show, very Mom and Pop kind of feel, which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing, but the new management wanted the socials to look more professional and high quality), with thoughtful content and strategic copywriting. I’ve asked for clarity on what they’re looking for, but they keep moving the target. The lady I’ve been dealing with said she wants “behind the scenes” posts, so I made up a few options with images they have, and some with stock images, but she didn’t like any of them. None. She said they weren’t “behind the scenes” (no one is up at the lodge, there’s one caretaker who I was going to ask to send me some photos of her work, but she just quit, and the client herself doesn’t want to be in the posts). I asked which of the photos from their inventory she *would* like and she said that none of them had the “behind the scenes” theme she wanted.
I’ve asked for clarity, I’ve remade entire weekly plans, I’ve offered multiple options per post. Now I’m thinking this is a creative difference we can’t overcome. This situation is causing me quite a bit of stress (since I am a customer service person at heart, this situation is really upsetting for me), but it also isn’t good for the client, they are obviously not getting what they want either. I’m wondering, how long would you keep trying before letting a client like this go? Is there anything I haven’t tried? Is there something I could be doing better?
**TL,DR**: social media manager (2 years experience) having creative differences with a new client for the month I’ve been working for them. They reject most of the content I make for them, how long should I continue to attempt to give them what they want before ending the relationship?
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1 Reply
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Ugh, that one is tough. It seems you already done everything you could and the client’s expectations for “professionally made content” obviously are different from your expectations. If this client is one that you think it’s worth trying again, I’d try to start over. Say “I think that I don’t have the right briefing for what you want for branding your business online and to solve that we must try a new approach”. Treat them as a new client, ask them to fill a new briefing and ask for tons of references on what they like and what they don’t like. Then present a new plan using a lot of data and “do’s and dont’s” showing why the “dont’s” don’t work.
However, I personally wouldn’t try anymore. Your situation seems tiring and sometimes we need to know when to let go. Some clients become overwhelming and stressful because of different expectations or because they just don’t know how to work with communications/advertising and keep insisting on stuff that are not professional. They don’t see us as specialists, don’t trust out work and usually don’t like to pay what we are worth. This lead to you working three times more and kinda making the work not interesting anymore from the financial point of view. Not mentioning the stress.
You can politely dump them and suggest they hire an agency or something. I’d be honest on why you’re doing this so they know what the issue is.
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