What Am I Actually Paying For?
Understanding what goes into social media management before you compare proposals.
When you’re paying someone to manage your social media, you should understand what that payment covers. It’s a reasonable question, especially if you’ve paid for support before and weren’t sure what you were getting from it.
A proposal might list a number of posts per month, but I’d read further than that. Who is coming up with the ideas? Who is creating the photos and videos? What happens after the content is made? Those details help explain what the service actually involves.
What happens before the post goes up
Depending on the scope, the work can include planning concepts, preparing for a shoot, filming, photography, editing, writing captions, getting approvals, and publishing. Keeping up with account activity and discussing progress can be part of it too.
With my main social media management offering, planning and content production sit together. I can work out the ideas and create the material we need, including filming and photography. We agree on the specific deliverables and responsibilities before getting started.
The same job title can cover different work
A social media manager at an agency may work with a designer, a videographer, and an advertising specialist. Another provider may focus on managing and publishing content that your team supplies. An independent marketer may handle several parts of the process themselves.
These are different ways to organize the work. It’s worth asking who handles each part so you can understand the proposal. Photography, graphics, websites, and paid advertising should never be assumed to come with the title “social media manager.”
Compare what’s included
Two proposals can look similar until you see that one includes on location production and the other requires you to supply all the footage. Neither description is enough on its own to decide which fits your business.
Check the accounts covered, the type and amount of content, production time, revisions, and communication expectations. If you need someone to respond to messages, ask whether that is included and what the coverage looks like.
Paid advertising also needs clarification. The work of creating or managing an ad campaign and the money spent placing the ads are separate things to account for. Ask how each is handled in the proposal.
What would make the support worthwhile to you?
You may want more inquiries. You may need content that represents your business better. You may be spending evenings trying to do work you don’t enjoy and want that time back. Be clear about what you hope will change so the service can be discussed in that context.
I don’t think a posting schedule on its own answers whether your needs are being met. It’s worth talking about the work, what you’re seeing from it, and whether the expectations you started with still make sense. No provider can guarantee bookings simply by promising to post a certain number of times.
If you later want help with email marketing, a website, or another project, we can talk about that separately. You should be able to see what’s included now and understand how additional work would be agreed on.