A 6 to 12 month commitment with a month's notice
A one-off project or a monthly scope, with no long-term lock-in
Outsource social media management: read the agency terms before you sign for a year
Before you outsource social media management to a traditional agency, consider another option. Within 24 hours, a senior project manager with 15+ years in marketing matches your brand with a vetted specialist or a small team, chosen for your industry, your channels and a posting schedule you can actually keep up. We review each specialist's portfolio and the profiles they run before matching, and the project manager stays on top of your content calendar and results.
Free, no obligation. A senior project manager walks you through the analysis.
Free analysis in 24 hours
Send us your website. Within 24 hours, you'll get a written analysis comparing your marketing with your competitors'.
Key takeaways
The short version
Before you read on
- A traditional agency adds a 20 to 40 percent markup and usually locks you in for 6 to 12 months, with a month's notice to leave.
- You'll meet your matched specialist within 24 hours, with no retainer. You pay for a defined scope of work.
- US market ranges: $500 to $1,500 a month for one channel, $1,500 to $4,000 for a multichannel brand, $3,000 to $10,000 for a campaign project.
- A project manager with 15+ years in marketing signs off on every deliverable with you, from a content plan to a month of posts.
- We check portfolios and live profiles before any match, and the project manager resolves disagreements.
- We pick the specialist for your industry, channels and budget, so you never have to explain your market from scratch.
Worth knowing
A social media agency versus a matched specialist: the real difference
A typical social media agency sells you a bundle: an account manager, a designer, sometimes a junior writing the posts, and a markup of roughly 20 to 40 percent on every hour. Terms usually run 3, 6 or 12 months, with a month's notice. We work differently. Within 24 hours, a senior project manager connects you directly with one vetted marketer, often an independent specialist in a specific social niche, picked for your industry and budget, with no upfront retainer. You pay for a defined project or a fixed monthly scope, and you review each deliverable, like the content plan or a month of posts, with the project manager before the work moves on.
That project manager is accountable for the whole engagement, so you get real oversight of quality, pace and scope. If quality or timing slips, they make the call on anything in dispute, and when needed they bring in a replacement who gets the full history of the work. For a closer look at the ongoing service, visit our social media management page.
Side by side
Agency terms next to a matched specialist, line by line
An agency markup of 20 to 40 percent on every billable hour
A price for a defined scope, agreed before any work starts
An account manager stands between you and the person doing the work
You talk to the marketer directly, and the project manager oversees quality and steps in when you disagree
Your account lands with whoever has free hours, often a junior
A specialist chosen for your industry and channels, with a reviewed portfolio and live profiles
Step by step
How the matching works
Step 1
1. A short brief and a call with the project manager
Tell us your industry, channels (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn), monthly budget and goal: reach, sales through social commerce, or a community around the brand. By phone or email, the project manager figures out what kind of specialist your channels need.
Step 2
2. A specialist matched within 24 hours
The project manager introduces one person who fits your sector, with a portfolio and experience at a budget like yours.
Step 3
3. A conversation and an agreed scope
You talk with the specialist and agree on the scope, say 12 posts and 20 stories a month plus comment moderation, with the ad budget kept separate. The project manager puts the scope in writing and makes sure it gets delivered.
Step 4
4. Monthly cycles with regular reviews
The specialist delivers content on the agreed calendar, you approve each batch, and the project manager checks that everything stays in scope and on target.
Worth knowing
Social media agency cost compared with market price ranges
Rather than agency packages, here are typical US market ranges for defined scopes of work, and they vary by region and seniority. Social media agency pricing often comes as a bundle, so check what each line actually covers.
Small brand, one channel
About $500 to $1,500 a month for 8 to 12 posts and basic comment moderation. Works well for a local business with one Instagram or Facebook profile.
Multichannel brand
About $1,500 to $4,000 a month for Instagram and Facebook plus LinkedIn or TikTok, with graphics, short videos and a monthly report. Paid ad spend comes on top of this.
Campaign project or product launch
About $3,000 to $10,000 for a one-off project: a launch content strategy, a series of creatives, or work with one or two micro-influencers. Priced for the specific scope, not as a flat package, and you review every deliverable with the project manager.
Who it's for
When a matched specialist makes more sense than an agency
This setup works especially well in these situations.
A startup or small firm on a tight budget
An agency package starting at $2,500 a month is out of reach, but you still need consistency and quality, not whoever answered a job post. Plenty of owners go looking for a social media management company for small business budgets and find the bundle too much.
An online store testing a new channel
You want to find out whether TikTok or Instagram Reels can sell your product before committing a year to an agency.
A seasonal service business
You need a busier social presence three or four months a year, not the same spend every month.
A brand with its own marketer who needs extra hands
Your marketer doesn't have time for graphics, video or moderation, so you bring in an independent specialist for that piece instead of a whole agency.
Checklist
What to check before you sign anything
Whether you go with an agency, someone from social media management freelance listings, or a matched specialist, check these first.
Checklist
- A portfolio with real results in your industry, not just pretty graphics with no numbers behind them
- A clear written scope: how many posts and stories, how fast comments get answered, who makes the graphics
- How the ad budget is handled, apart from the fee for the work
- The notice period and any penalty for ending early
- Who actually does the work: a senior specialist, or a junior handed your account
- What happens if month one falls short of what you agreed
What you can count on
Safeguards you won't get when hiring from a job ad
Every engagement we set up includes these.
A specialist checked before the start
Every social media marketer passed a review of their portfolio, the profiles they run and their references before working with any client.
Matched to your industry and channels
The person we pick has already run company profiles in your sector on the same channels. You won't get the first junior who happens to be free.
A project manager who settles disputes
If quality or pace strays from what you agreed, a project manager with years of marketing experience sizes up the situation and mediates.
Pay for scope, not for access
You pay for the work you ordered, never a standing monthly charge just for the right to order more.
In short
The engagement in four figures
24 hours
from brief to a matched social media specialist
15+ years
in marketing for the person steering your engagement
Portfolio
and live profiles reviewed ahead of any match
Industry
social media experience in a field like yours
FAQ
Questions companies ask us
Short answers. The free analysis call covers anything specific to your company.
01How is this different from a regular social media agency?
An agency has its own staff and hands your profile to whoever has spare hours, often on a multi-month commitment. With us, a project manager matches your brief with one vetted marketer whose portfolio and live profiles we've already checked. You pay for a specific job, and the project manager keeps an eye on quality.
02What does social media management realistically cost a small company?
For one channel, like Instagram, with 8 to 12 posts a month and basic comment moderation, the US market range is roughly $500 to $1,500 a month. Run two or three channels with graphics and short videos, and it climbs to $1,500 to $4,000. Paid ad spend is always separate from the specialist's fee.
03Who checks content quality before I approve a stage?
You and a senior project manager with 15+ years in marketing review each deliverable together, whether it's a monthly content plan or individual posts. The manager checks the work against the agreed scope and goal, and if quality falls short, nothing moves forward until the specialist works through a specific list of fixes.
04How quickly can I start working with a social media marketer?
Getting from brief to a matched specialist usually takes 24 hours. Once you've talked with the specialist and agreed on scope, the project manager writes up the first deliverable right away, so your first content can be ready within a week of your request.
05Do I have to sign a long agreement like with an agency?
No. There's no retainer and no annual lock-in. You can order a single project, like a launch campaign, or set a monthly scope you extend or end as your needs change, without the early termination penalty agencies often charge.
06Should I hire social media manager staff in-house instead?
An in-house hire makes sense once social media needs someone full time, every day. Until then, a matched specialist gives you the same skills for just the hours you need, and the project manager handles the supervision you'd otherwise do yourself. Many companies try outsourcing first and hire later.
07What if the matched social media specialist is not the right fit?
The project manager stays close to the engagement and, if something goes wrong, suggests a different specialist or mediates. If there's a switch, the new person gets the full history, the content calendar and results to date, so you don't start over.
Free analysis
See where your marketing stands, then decide what to do next
Send us your website. Within 24 hours, you'll get a written analysis comparing your channels with your competitors', plus a call with a senior project manager who has run marketing for 15+ years.
- Analysis within 24 h
- No obligation
- PDF covering 5 competitors
- Team picked by your PM