What you actually get when you pay for social media management

Quotes for running a profile look comparable until you look at what is inside them. Two agencies can both write twelve posts a month and charge completely differently, because the same sentence hides very different work.

Where the price difference hides

• Who makes the content: the client existing photos, or filming on location
• Whether video is included; editing is the most expensive part of the job
• Who answers messages and comments, and how quickly
• Whether there is a written strategy or posting happens by feel
• Whether the report contains enquiries and sales, or only reach and followers

Posts are not the product

The number of posts is the easiest thing to count, so it is the thing most often sold. But a profile with twenty posts a month and no answers to messages loses more customers than a profile with eight posts and a reply within the hour.

If the goal is sales, handling messages is part of the service, not an add-on.

How it relates to paid ads

An organic profile rarely brings enough enquiries on its own. Its job is to confirm what the ad promised: someone clicks the ad, opens the profile, and decides right there whether to message you or move on. An empty or neglected profile makes every ad pointing at it more expensive.

What to ask for in a quote

• Who specifically writes and films, and how much content a month is included
• The response time for messages, and who is responsible for it
• Whether ownership of the account and the content stays with you
• What the monthly report contains beyond follower count