One of the first questions business owner often want to know when thinking about outsourcing their social media is ‘how much does a social media manager charge?’

This question, of course, comes up time and again, whether you are looking for an accountant, a new kitchen, a car or a graphic designer. The answer will be ‘it depends’-  on a variety of factors.

However, I will explain here some general pricing factors for you to consider when speaking to a social media manager.

What support do you actually need?

There are various levels of social media support you might need.

Some business owners love to write their own content but they don’t want to use up time by scheduling it all.  Indeed, they shouldn’t be scheduling the content – this is not the work of a CEO of their own company.

If it’s purely scheduling you need then it might be more cost effective to employ the services of a general Virtual Assistant (VA) whose hourly rate may well work out cheaper than the monthly rates of  Social Media Manager (SMM).  In the UK, the hourly rate for a VA is around £25-30.  An SMM doesn’t generally charge by the hour and even if they did, they would mostly charge more than a VA.

Then again, you may want to hand over all content creation and curation, including creating social media graphics.  This will, of course, require a lot more work from your SMM.  As a very rough ball park figure, expect a proposal of at least £300-£500 per platform.

The experience of the Social Media Manager

An SMM who is just starting out is probably going to charge less than an SMM who has several years under their belt.

If you’re going for the full content creation support, the SMM will need to have a full understanding of your business and your industry. They will need to undertake considerable amount of initial and ongoing research so that they are able to write social media posts with clarity.

Additionally, if an SMM is niched in your area with extensive knowledge, then they may charge a premium.

Do you have a marketing and social media strategy?

I’m sure you know that you need to have a business plan with solid goals and objectives, so that you know exactly where you are heading.

The same goes for the social media strategy.  This would form part of the overall marketing strategy.  If you don’t have a social media strategy then how do you know when and what to post in line with your business goals.

An experienced SMM can work with you to create such a strategy and is likely to charge extra for this before they begin their monthly management, or at least factor it into their monthly fee.  A stand-alone social media strategy might start at £199, absolute minimum.

Additionally, if an SMM has come from a marketing background, as some do, then they may be able to support you with an overall marketing strategy too.  Costs for this will be in £000s.

The size of your business and brand

A well known company will need to protect it’s brand at all costs. Whilst no business would want a slip up on social media, this could be particularly disastrous for a household brand.

The bigger the company and brand, and the larger the marketing budgets, the more likely you’ll be paying a higher rate for social media management.

What if my budget is lower than £300 per month?

There may still be a way you can work with a Social Media Manager. 

£100-300 would buy you 2-3 Power Hours during which you could get some training so you could manage your social media yourself. You could also have 2-3 platforms audited and simply by making the changes recommended by the SMM, you may well see a difference.  

As for monthly management, however, it’s unlikely you would get much for your money, maybe a couple of posts per week with no engagement.  But that level of activity isn’t going to change your business significantly.

 

So as you can see, there are various factors that will determine the costs you’ll be paying for social media management and the levels of service you will receive.

 

Need some help with your social media?  Whether you’re stuck on content ideas or want to outsource it all, let’s have a chat about how I can support you.