Social media marketing: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What social media marketing is

A social media marketer plans and posts content on social platforms, grows your audience, responds to comments and reports on engagement for your business. Businesses hire social media help when they lack time to post consistently, do not know which platforms suit their customers or need someone to manage comments and messages.

Signs you need it

  • Your social accounts have not been updated in months, and customers ask about it
  • You do not have time to plan, write and post content on several platforms
  • You get messages and comments that go unanswered for days
  • You are not sure which platforms your customers use, and you are posting everywhere with no plan
  • You are launching a product, event or location and need a steady stream of posts around it

What the pro does

  • Review your goals, your audience, your current accounts and the platforms that fit your customers
  • Set a content plan with themes, post types and a calendar for each platform
  • Write the captions and choose or create the images and short videos for each post
  • Post on schedule, respond to comments and messages within the agreed time, and flag questions you need to answer
  • Track the reach, engagement, clicks and messages, and note what worked
  • Send a monthly report with the posts, the results and the plan for the next month

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • The number of platforms managed and the number of posts each week
  • Whether the marketer creates the images and videos, or only posts what you provide
  • How many comments and messages must be answered each week, and how quickly
  • Whether the marketer runs paid promotion on the platforms, which adds work and a separate budget
  • How much research and planning the account needs at the start
  • Whether the marketer must attend events to create content, or work from your material

What a written quote should spell out

  • The platforms covered, the number of posts per week and the post types
  • Whether images and videos are created, and who supplies the raw material
  • The comment and message response times and who handles urgent messages
  • Whether paid promotion is included, and the separate budget for ads
  • The reporting schedule and the measures the reports include

Questions to ask before you hire

  • Which platforms do you recommend for my customers, and why?
  • How will you approve posts before they go live?
  • Who has access to my accounts, and how is that access ended?
  • How will you handle a negative comment or a complaint in public?
  • Can you show me a content calendar you made for a business like mine?
  • What will you report each month, and how do you measure engagement?

Red flags

  • Asks for your account passwords instead of using the platform's access tools
  • Offers to buy followers, likes or reviews
  • Promises a set number of followers or sales
  • Posts under your name without a written approval step

What you can do yourself

You can schedule posts in a free planning tool, keep a list of ideas for posts and reply to messages each day at a set time. Hire a social media marketer when you have several platforms to run, when posts must go out every week without fail, or when the messages and comments need timely answers.

Licenses and permits

No license is usually required for social media marketing. Ask for examples of accounts they manage, references and a written statement of how they handle access and approvals; check with your state or local business licensing office if the marketer operates as a registered business.

Social media marketing questions

Who owns the accounts?

You should. Keep the account in your name, and give the marketer access through the platform's own roles, so you can remove access at any time.

Can a marketer post for me without my approval?

They should not, unless you have agreed in writing to a set type of post. Ask for a content calendar you approve each month.

How do I handle a complaint posted in public?

Agree on a response plan before it happens. The marketer should acknowledge the complaint quickly, move the conversation to a private channel and tell you about it the same day.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer social media marketing remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

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