FREE Social Media Proposal Template

Master social media proposal timelines with our intuitive social media proposal Gantt chart template.

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Gantt chart template

Why use our Social Media Proposal Template instead of Excel or Google Sheets?

Get started with our Social Media Proposal Template in seconds while skipping the hassle involved with Excel or Google Sheets.

Build Gantt charts in minutes, not hours.

Build Gantt charts in minutes, not hours.

No project management experience? No problem. Tom's Planner offers a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface that's intuitive and easy to learn. Creating Gantt charts is a breeze, saving you time and effort. Compare that to the time-consuming, frustrating, manual formatting-intensive process of building a Gantt chart in Excel or Google Sheets.

Create a Gantt chart in minutes, not hours

Move at the pace of modern business with no learning curve or Googling formulas.

Good luck figuring out how to make a Gantt chart work in Excel or Google Sheets. Excel’s user manual weighs in at a hefty 500+ pages. It takes just five minutes with Tom’s Planner to start planning your first real project plan.

Create a Gantt chart in minutes, not hours

Headache-free collaboration and sharing.

Tom's Planner offers powerful options for sharing and collaborating on Gantt charts, including public links, PDF exports, and team access with customizable permission levels. It’s never been easier to communicate or ensure everyone’s on the same page. Compare that to Excel, where sharing and collaboration mean jumping through hoop after hoop and dealing with confusion and chaos.

How to use Tom’s Planner’s social media proposal template to build and share your social media proposal.

Getting your project off the ground is as easy as 1-2-3.

Step #1

Click the 'start with template’ button to open the Social Media Proposal Template.

Step #2

Register for a free account and watch a short video on using Tom’s Planner. The account is free forever, with no strings attached.

Step #3

You’re all set to use the Gantt chart template. Need additional help? Our AI assistant can create a custom Gantt chart Social Media Proposal Template based on your project description.

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What Is a Social Media Proposal?

A social media proposal is a blueprint that shows how you’ll approach, execute, and monitor a potential client’s social media marketing plan. It’s more than just a static document. It’s an outline of your strategy at a very high level.

Whether you’re pitching to a small business or a large organization, a well-crafted proposal creates a foundation you can build on.

With a social media proposal template, you streamline the proposal creation process. That saves you time and effort while helping you deliver a professional plan. Whether you’re drafting a proposal for social media management, a creative social media proposal, or a social media marketing proposal example, the right template keeps you organized and ready to start as soon as you get approval.

Gantt Charts: Essential Components

Your social media marketing proposal template serves a couple of functions. First, it’s designed to communicate the campaign's scope and key points in development to a potential client. It’s all about getting buy-in. Second, it keeps the project in bounds once the client gives you the green light. A Gantt chart helps with both of those purposes.

If you’re unfamiliar, a Gantt chart looks a bit like a spreadsheet, but it’s a very different tool. Check out a successful social media proposal sample PDF and you’ll find that it’s a living document that you can update in real-time to show:

  • A visual timeline of the project from beginning to end
  • Resources (allocated, unallocated, used, etc.)
  • Team members (tasks, dependencies, etc.)

A Gantt chart lets you track, manage, and even share information with everyone involved. It definitely deserves a pretty central spot in your social media strategy proposal template.

When to Use a Social Media Proposal Template

Having a social media campaign proposal in your toolkit isn’t just about looking professional—it’s about clarity. Clients want to see exactly how you’ll drive results. A structured social media management proposal template builds trust, showing potential clients you’ve thought through every detail.

Pitching a Social Media Marketing Strategy

If you’re pitching a strategy to a potential new client, social media proposal examples can help illustrate your expertise and the steps you’d take to create a customized strategy for them. You can also use a social media proposal template free download to jumpstart your ideation process and help you avoid starting from scratch.

Revising an Existing Social Media Marketing Strategy

Wondering how to write a social media strategy proposal that highlights the need for improvement in previous strategies? Social media marketing strategies aren’t static. They evolve as the business and audience changes. A proposal for social media management can help highlight what’s changed, why, and how it will drive success moving forward.

Responding to RFPs

If a potential client sends out a request for proposal (RFP), you’ll need to use a social media strategy proposal template to reply. This reduces the amount of work you have to put in, because you’re not starting from scratch, but lets you customize the strategy to the potential client’s goals.

Beyond knowing when to use a creative social media proposal, it’s also important to know who should use one.

Who Should Use a Social Media Proposal Template?

While social media proposals are usually pitched by marketers, that’s a pretty loose term. Some of those who’ll find lots to love with our sample social media management proposal include the following:

Freelancers and Agencies

Whether you’re a solo social media manager or part of a larger agency, this social media proposal template PDF is for you. It simplifies the process of crafting a proposal for social media marketing. It also helps you present your ideas clearly and professionally.

Small Business Owners

If you’re a small business owner handling multiple responsibilities, this tool helps you create a solid social media marketing plan for small business. It’s straightforward and doesn’t require any technical skills.

Marketing Teams

In-house marketing teams can use this SMMA propsal template to pitch ideas to internal stakeholders or tie together cross-functional efforts. From strategy to execution, it keeps everyone on the same page.

Startups and Entrepreneurs

For startups, a proposal social media marketing plan can be the key to getting needed funding or starting new partnerships. This template helps you communicate your vision effectively.

Top Three Pitfalls to Avoid When Planning a Social Media Proposal

Planning and launching a successful social media strategy is rarely easy. However, if you avoid these three pitfalls, you’ll bel able to create a social media proposal PDF that speaks directly to your client’s goals.

  1. Skipping Audience Research

    Too often, social media marketers approach campaigns like they’re all the same. That’s not true and this approach can quickly lose your client’s confidence. Solution: Don’t assume that you know the client’s audience, where they spend their time online, or what content resonates with them. Do your research.

  2. Going Promotion Heavy

    Yes, social media marketing does require promoting the client’s products or services, but going too heavy with promotion can drive followers away. Solution: Show a mixture of content types in your social media marketing proposals to keep the audience engaged, not just promotional posts.

  3. Choosing the Wrong Platform

    What’s the difference between Facebook, X, and LinkedIn? A lot depending on your client and their goals, but too often campaigns are built around platforms that just don’t fit the target audience or campaign goals. Solution: Make platform research a big part of your planning so you can identify the best places for your client’s content.

With a better understanding of the pitfalls that can affect your strategies, it’s time to turn our attention to what you might find within a social media proposal template.

What Does a Free Social Media Proposal Template Include?

You know the value of using the right tools for the right purposes. Your social media proposal template is no different. Our template includes everything you’ll need to create a proposal, regardless of the client or the campaign’s scope. Here’s what’s included:

  1. Gantt Chart

    Visualize your project’s timeline with a Gantt chart. This tool maps out every step of your campaign, from strategy development to post-launch analysis, simplifying progress and deadline tracking. It also makes it easy for clients to understand the campaign’s scope.

  2. Cost Estimation

    Outline the budget the campaign requires. A clear cost estimation adds transparency and makes sure the client understands the investment needed for success.

  3. Portfolio

    Show off your previous work with a portfolio section. Highlighting successful campaigns adds credibility and shows your abilities. If you can, include examples that are similar to the campaign you’re pitching.

  4. Example Projects

    Give clients a taste of what to expect by sharing similar projects you’ve worked on. Whether it’s a social media strategy proposal template or a social media marketing proposal example, real-world results speak directly to client expectations.

  5. References

    Build trust with the potential client. You can do that by including references clients. Note that these are most effective when the client writes them. This section can help persuade new clients to partner with you. It can also give them a better idea of what to expect from you during the project based on client testimonials.

Four tips on how to make sure you reach your deadlines

Worried that writing a social media strategy proposal will imperil your deadlines? It can be tough to beat time crunches, but the good news is that a few important tips can really set you up for success.

Analyze the Current Landscape

Start by evaluating the client’s existing social media presence. What’s working? What isn’t? This analysis sets the stage for your social media optimization plan, ensuring your recommendations are grounded in data.

The Right Goals Matter

How will you track performance? Make that part of your early planning. Your goals might include engagement, brand awareness, and lead generation. Set your social media campaign proposal to achieve those objectives, and make sure they follow the SMART format (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound).

Prioritize the Audience

Who’s the audience? This is a critical consideration because it will inform every part of your campaign. Dive into important metrics like audience breakdowns and statistics, where they live online, and their communication preferences during your planning. Use this data to create a proposal for social media management that connects with the client’s audience.

Plan Content Strategically

Your content strategy needs to dovetail with the client’s goals. Use the template to map themes, post types, and scheduling frequencies. A well-thought-out social media post plan can make all the difference.

Gantt charts in Tom's Planner vs in Excel

Excel Tom's Planner
Cost License required Free version available
Learning curve Hours Minutes
Create your first Gantt chart Hours Minutes
Making an update in your chart Several minutes Seconds (drag & drop)
Sharing charts with others At some point you will save and email a file titled: version_4_def_usethisversion_reallyfinal.xlsx Online, one source of truth, always up to date, with no confusion
Look & Feel Messy Clean, polished and professional
Dependencies
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Export to image or pdf Requires workarounds to export One mouse click

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