Running social media for clients

What tools do you need to start a social media agency?

You can start a social media agency with a laptop, a phone and five kinds of tool: something to design in, somewhere to plan, something that posts on schedule, a way to report results, and a way to get paid. The mistake most new agencies make is buying one tool per job. Plan in Notion or Airtable and add Ninecast, and planning, the Instagram grid preview, posting to every platform you connect and the post links (with Instagram results) all live in the same calendar.

The lean agency toolkit

  • Design: Canva for graphics and carousels, CapCut for Reels and TikToks.
  • Planning: Notion or Airtable, one content calendar per client, with briefs and brand notes beside it.
  • Posting and preview: Ninecast in each client’s calendar page: a live Instagram grid, and every row posted on its date to every platform you connect.
  • Files: Google Drive, one folder per client.
  • Reporting: the post links and Instagram numbers Ninecast writes into each row, turned into a monthly view.
  • Getting paid: an invoicing or payments tool that works in your country.

Every extra tool is another place a client’s post can be out of date.

Your first month, in order

  1. Pick a niche and a package, such as twelve posts a month on two platforms.
  2. Build one client template in Notion: brief, brand notes, content calendar.
  3. Show prospects their own feed with a free grid preview before they sign.
  4. Batch, then schedule the month so posting never depends on you being awake.
  5. Report from the calendar at month end.

More: managing several clients without getting overwhelmed and the agency setup.

Questions that follow

What tools do I need to start a social media management agency?

Five kinds: a design tool (Canva, CapCut for video), a planning workspace (Notion or Airtable), a scheduler that posts for you, somewhere for client files (Google Drive), and invoicing. Ninecast covers the planning-to-posting part from inside Notion or Airtable: a live Instagram grid per client, every row posted on its date to every platform you connect, and each post’s link and Instagram results written back.

How do I start a social media agency with no money?

Use free tiers until a client pays: Canva and CapCut for content, Notion’s free plan for the calendar, Google Drive for files. Ninecast’s grid preview is free for good with no card, so you can show a prospect their feed before you charge anything. Spend money only when a paying client needs it.

Do I need Hootsuite or Sprout Social to start?

No. Those suit larger teams. A new agency needs a calendar, a way to post on schedule and a simple report, and paying for a suite before the second client is the commonest early cost.

Should I use Notion or Airtable for my agency?

Notion if your work is mostly ideas, briefs and captions; Airtable if you handle a high volume of posts and like structured views. Both can hold one content calendar per client.

What does it cost to run the tools?

The grid preview is free, forever. Publishing is on Creator, $15 a month or $12 a month billed yearly, for 3 planners — and the free plan includes 2 posts so you can see it work first.

Try it on your own calendar

30 days free. No card, no password, no account. The guide walks through setup in ten minutes.

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