In the past 6+ years that I’ve been teaching and consulting with small business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers, the thing that still surprises people most is how much TIME social media can take up. 

There’s planning your content, writing content, creating images, scheduling content, checking in with comments—and that’s not even starting in on the time it takes to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in social media. 

So if it takes so much time, that means everyone should hire a consultant to help, right? 

Not so much. Hiring a social media manager and building that external relationship can also take up time while your consultant learns to integrate with your company. So how can you tell if you really need a social media consultant? 

First, decide what you want them to actually do for you. 4 common ways that consultants help is: 

• Create a strategy 

• Creating content

• Posting content

• Analytics

Hiring a social media consultant saves you time in the long run, but in some cases, you’d be better off hiring someone internally to do the work for you.

Before you make a decision, ask yourself a few of these questions: 

How many platforms are you currently using? 

Many consultants have a minimum per-month charge for each platform. Some platforms, like Instagram, can cost more because there are more posts that need to be created, not to mention stories, reels and more. 

Are the accounts already set up? 

Setting up accounts and developing the profiles takes time, so you might not get started with posting the first month if there are platforms that need to be set up. 

Do you write all the content yourself? 

Some social media managers work with content writers, so if you’re not willing or have the time to dedicate to creating content monthly, you can expect a higher retainer cost and a longer runway for getting your platforms up and running as the consultant and their team will have to get a bank of content prepared and approved. 

How much do you want to be posting? 

Posting 3-4 times a week is standard for most consultants, but if you have a goal for explosive growth that requires posting several times a day—this might be a time to have someone internally handle your social media. Consider having a social media consultant create a strategy for an in-house employee to follow, as posting multiple times a day is much easier with an employee who is on location. 

Do you have professional photos? Or content already ready for posting? 

If you don’t have a lot of imagery ready to be turned into graphics, you can expect your monthly cost to increase as your consultant will have to either use a contractor to create the content or use more time to create the graphics themselves. Aim to have a whole folder full of relevant images before hiring out. 

Once you’ve determined if your business is in the position to work with a social media consultant, the next thing to figure out is if you have a budget to work with a professional. 

A good social media manager can cost anywhere between $1,500 - $20,000 per month, depending on if you’re working with an individual consultant or a media agency. If this isn’t within the monthly budget, consider hiring a professional to help with a social media audit and strategy so you can handle the posting in-house. 

Do your homework before hiring

Anyone can call themselves a social media consultant, but aim to hire someone with a proven track record managing growing brands. 

Before hiring, ask for: 

• Current and past clients

• Samples of the work

• References

Check out platforms they manage and see if you like their style and the content they create. 

And whether you decide to handle your social media yourself or outsource it, remember that social media isn’t cheap. You just need to decide if you’d rather spend the time or spend the money on having it done well. 

Looking to hire a social media consultant? Send me a message to find out when my next openings are.