How Much Does A Social Media Manager Cost?

How Much Does A Social Media Manager Cost For A Small Business?

Table of Contents

What does a social media manager do?
Types of social media services
Average social media manager costs
How to choose the right social media manager
Stop doing it all yourself. A Social Media Manager can help.

Social media moves at the speed of life – sometimes at the speed of light if the headlines are compelling enough – so more and more businesses are hiring full-time managers to handle the 24/7 influx of activity, engagements and opportunities.

So businesses have to have a social media presence. That’s a non-negotiable now.

But if you’re a small-to-medium business, the thought of hiring someone to manage your social presence seems lofty at best, and decadently impossible at worst.

Ask yourself: Can you afford your own hourly rate if you were to take time away from other pressing matters to handle your own social media?

You may not have considered it from that perspective – but it warrants some thought.

Because while you may think you can’t afford to hire a social media manager, you’re technically costing yourself whatever your hourly time is worth every time you sit down to handle a task that could be delegated to someone – often surprisingly – more affordable than you. And let’s not even get into how they’re more qualified, dedicated to handling social media and nothing else and – GASP! – really enjoy doing it.

So here, we’ll cover how the cost of social media manager services varies depending on several factors and all the options available depending on the needs of your business.

First things first: Let’s cover what a social media manager is – and does.

A social media manager manages all of a client's unique social media needs to take their social media presence to the next level by managing their social channels, engaging with their audience, and tackling their scheduling to help them stay ahead of their competition and make lasting connections with their community and target audience.

Here are some typical tasks that social media managers can do, both for organizational and personal brands.

Personal Brand SMM	Corporate Brand SMM
Example Represents 40 Hours A Month	Example Represents 80 Hours A Month
Every 1 – 2 Days: Create and schedule posts Source images and/ or videos to accompany posts Monitor and respond to post comments and messages from client’s followers. Alert client if there’s a comment that requires their input.	Daily: Monitor posts at their scheduled time to ensure they posted correctly, and address/ troubleshoot any technology glitches immediately Monitor engagement on these posts, including responding to any comments when necessary in a timely manner Monitor social channels for brand mentions and messages and respond when appropriate Share interesting content that aligns with brand messaging or content that has mentioned the brand Grow following by seeking out and interacting/ creating relationships with key users Keep on top of current social media trends and implementing when appropriate
Weekly: Plan and manage content calendar Coordinate with client and/or marketing team to ensure content aligns with company campaigns and brand messaging Stay abreast of changes, trends and regulations for each social media platform (Social Media Examiner is a great resource) Research trending and most relevant hashtags Identify accounts to follow and engage	Weekly: Gather resources for the content calendar from a variety of sources from web searches for industry news to interacting with clients to get their updates, to mining content straight from other social profiles to reshare on BELAY channels Work with the graphic design team or design corresponding graphics to material that was sourced, and edit any photography to match the brand Schedule posts and corresponding links and request final approval Plan out upcoming weeks content calendar including any events to promote, holidays or other reminders Analyze posts from the previous week to incorporate content that resonated Analyze hashtag performance and adjust hashtag mix to drive engagement
Monthly: Assess and report performance results Reevaluate strategy and adjust if necessary for optimal performance Work with copywriter to plan articles and blog posts Create and manage ads and boosted posts	Monthly: Assess and report performance results Reevaluate strategy and adjust if necessary for optimal performance Work with copywriter to plan articles and blog posts
Quarterly: Coordinate photo-shoots around content needs Develop and manage giveaways and promotions	Quarterly: Develop quarterly and/or yearly strategy based on goals
Meetings: Attend monthly meeting to discuss content calendar Communicate with client throughout the week via client’s preferred channel (email, IM, etc.)	Meetings: Attend bi-weekly meetings with the internal marketing team to keep on top of events and important dates that are upcoming and names to watch out for Schedule weekly 1:1 with team member who owns social media Attend other meetings as needed
	As Needed: Update social media bios or logos when appropriate Create/ Update brand templates, or work with the graphic design team to create templates

“So then why couldn’t my VA handle all of the above?” you counter.

Great question! Technically, they can. And maybe for what you and your business need, that could be perfect. But maybe your needs exceed the bandwidth, expertise or experience of a Virtual Assistant.

So here’s a side-by-side comparison of two of our contractor services – social media managers and virtual assistants – so you can decide which one is right for your business – and realize why you probably need one, like yesterday!

Types Of Social Media Services

“Got it,” you say. “But then why not hire a social media assistant or manager? Aren’t they the same thing?

Another great question.

So let’s break this down. They all involve ‘social media.’ So we can nail that down. We know what they work on. But who does what?

See, a manager can pull double duty as an assistant and manager but the assistant and manager are likely not managers.

Clear as mud, right? Stick with us here.

Fear not – we can do this! Below, we compare both managers and assistants side-by-side, too!

Social Media Manager	Social Media Assistant
A Social Media Manager is responsible for the overall strategy of your social media from a big picture perspective.	A Social Media Assistant is responsible for the execution of the manager's plan.
Tasks	Tasks
The development, implementation and management of social media strategies	Posting content daily
Developing and managing a monthly content calendar	Curating or writing the content to share on your page
Managing, creating and publishing original, high-quality content	Creating graphics
Doing audience and buyer persona research	Finding content to share on your page
Defining the most important social media KPIs, such as distinguishing ‘vanity metrics’ from actionable metrics	Repurposing content you previously wrote
Building an online community	Keeping up on engagement, such as responding to all comments and DMs
Running a competitive analysis
Monitoring brand mentions
Measuring the success of social media campaigns
Early adoption of social media and technology
Collaborating with copywriters, designers, marketing, and sales, product, and development teams Tracking and analyzing results to provide effective solutions for content optimization
Facilitating client-company communication, such as responding to queries, getting reviews, and organizing chats and Q&A sessions
Prepare weekly and monthly reports
Communicating with industry professionals via social media to create a strong network
Mining curated content and monitoring current social media trends
Designing, managing and organizing brand assets, photography and graphics
Creating paid ad placements
Increasing followers and engagement
Leveraging social media to promote marketing initiatives and strategies
Handling all commenting and direct messaging across all social channels
Leveraging measurement tools to provide progress reports and mine insights
Finding ways to improve on metrics by honing in on content that resonates
Engaging with influencers and initiating conversations with industry leaders on social
Establishing and/or reinforcing brand voice and social media identity

Average Social Media Manager Costs

Maybe – hopefully – you’ve concluded you can’t afford your own hourly rate to keep managing your social media. Bravo!

Now, let’s lay the argument of in-house vs. outsourced social media squarely on what this looks like in application – with real dollars-and-cents.

On average, remote work is very often cheaper for employers – reportedly $11,000 cheaper – when instituted on just a part-time basis.

But let’s break it down a little further, shall we? Let’s compare the cost of an in-house social media employee vs. an outsourced social media manager. But keep in mind that these numbers are industry averages, and are subject to variables, like your location.

Full-Time In-House Social Media Costs

On average, a full-time in-house social media manager's annual salary is roughly $58,000 but unless you actually need full-time social media help – and we’re guessing you don’t … yet – you’re paying for more hours than you need.

Then, overhead costs add an additional 20 percent on top of an employee’s base salary and include …

Payroll Taxes
Medical/Benefits
Retirement Plans
Vacation/Sick Days
Placing Ads
Screening Interviews
Testing and Training

Outsourced Social Media Manager Costs

On average, outsourced social media manager services cost anywhere between $35 to $70 an hour for small and medium businesses depending on the hours you need each month.

And BONUS! You pay only for the hours you need – nothing more.

And DOUBLE BONUS! Outsourced social media services come with none of the a la carte overhead expenses.

Now that you have a better idea of what you’re looking for, here are five questions to ask to make sure you hire the right social media manager for your business.

What is your #1 objective when managing social media for a company?

Why this is an important question to ask: This question gets at the heart of why this person is or wants to be a social media manager. This is your opportunity to have them walk you through their goal development process