FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
What should a small business post on social media, and how often?
A workable content mix for small business social media, how often to post on Instagram and Facebook, and how to keep going when you are busy.
What a social media manager actually does, what the different routes cost in the UK, and the signs that you are ready to hand it over.
Hire a social media manager when your accounts affect sales but you can’t post regularly or well yourself. In the UK, price guides put freelancers at roughly £250 to £2,000 a month and agencies from around £800 to £5,000 or more. An employed manager earns about £25,000 to £50,000 a year. All figures are indicative.
Almost every business owner hits the same wall. You know social media counts. You post in bursts whenever you get a free evening, and then a busy month arrives and the accounts go silent. So you start wondering whether paying someone else to run them would be money well spent or just one more monthly bill.
This guide covers what a social media manager actually does and what each route costs in the UK, then helps you decide if you’re ready. It’s written for owner-led businesses, where customers often buy into the person as much as the company.
We quote social media management for each business individually. There are no set packages. The fee depends on how many accounts we look after and how much new content you need, including whether photography or video is part of it. How often you want to post affects it too, and so does whether paid advertising runs alongside.
Tell us where your accounts stand today and we’ll reply personally with an honest view of what you need and what it would cost.
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The job title stretches a long way, and two people with the same title can offer very different things. A full service usually covers the following.
First comes strategy: deciding who you want to reach, which platforms are worth your time, what you want to be known for and what success looks like. Then content planning, which means a calendar of posts and reels (stories too) built around your business and your offers, plus the seasons that count in your trade.
Content creation is the bulk of the work. That means writing captions and designing graphics. It also means editing photos and short videos. Some managers shoot new photography and film as well.
Paid advertising is often a separate service with its own fee, on top of the ad spend itself. Check whether it’s included before you compare quotes.
There’s no standard price. The work varies too much. Here’s what published UK sources say.
| Route | Indicative UK cost |
|---|---|
| Virtual assistant (scheduling only) | About £150 to £400 a month |
| Freelance social media manager | About £250 to £2,000 a month, depending on experience and scope |
| Small or boutique agency | About £800 to £4,000 a month |
| Mid-size agency | About £2,000 to £7,000 a month |
| Employed social media manager | About £25,000 to £50,000 a year in salary, plus employer costs |
The freelance and agency ranges come from UK price guides published by social media agencies and freelancers, checked in October 2026. The salary range is from the National Careers Service. Every figure is indicative, and ad spend is usually extra.
At the cheap end you usually get posting and little else. Someone schedules content you supply, or fills in templates, with not much strategy behind it. As the price climbs you tend to get more original content and more platforms, more thought about what each post is for, and more senior people doing that thinking.
Salary is only part of what an employee costs. You also pay employer National Insurance, and for 2026 to 2027 the rate is 15% on earnings above £5,000 a year, according to GOV.UK’s rates and thresholds for employers. Then add pension contributions and holiday cover. Equipment and software cost money, and so does training. For tax and employment questions, check GOV.UK or ask your accountant.
An employee also gives you one person’s skills. Finding a good social media manager who can photograph and film well, edit to a high standard and run ads on top is rare. That’s one reason so many small businesses go to a freelancer or an agency instead.
| Route | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | You want one person who gets to know your business, on a modest budget | Cover for holidays or illness, and gaps in skills such as video |
| Agency | You want strategy, content creation and reporting under one roof | Paying for layers of account management you don’t need |
| In-house | Social media is central to the business and there is a full-time job’s worth of work | Total employment cost, and relying on one person’s skills |
Most owner-led businesses with one or two accounts don’t need a full-time employee. The real choice is usually between a freelancer and a small agency, and what tips it is often content. Who’s actually going to make the photos and videos?
It’s probably time if several of these ring true:
It may be too early if you still don’t know who your customers are or what you want to be known for. A manager can amplify a message. Inventing one is a different job. If that’s where you are, start with your brand and your story and bring in help afterwards. The guide to what personal branding costs in the UK explains how the pieces fit together.
Yes. Plenty of small businesses do. If you enjoy it, can spare a few hours a week and don’t mind being on camera, running your own accounts costs you nothing but time. A simple routine and a bank of good photographs, plus a plan for what to post and how often, will get you a long way.
There’s a middle route too. Keep posting the personal, in-the-moment stuff yourself. Hand over the planned content and design work, along with the reporting. In an owner-led business your own voice is hard to replace, which is why many owners like to stay visible even after someone else takes over the accounts.
Ask to see accounts they run right now. Look at whether the content sounds like each business or could have been written for anyone.
Our social media management covers strategy and content creation on Instagram and Facebook. We also handle publishing and reporting, and the same team makes the photography and film. We manage author Jack Cartwright’s Facebook page. Between July and October 2026 it gained 1,125 followers, growing from 4,664 to 5,789 (source: Metricool). When you want to reach further, our advertising service can run paid campaigns alongside.
Published UK price guides put a freelancer at roughly £250 to £2,000 a month and a small agency at around £800 to £4,000 a month. Where you land depends on how many platforms you need and how much original content gets made, and on whether ads are included. Treat these as indicative ranges and compare what each quote actually covers.
For most small businesses, a freelancer or agency costs less than an employee. A salary of £25,000 to £50,000 a year comes with employer National Insurance and pension contributions on top, among other costs. A retainer pays only for the work you need.
Give it at least three months. The first month usually goes on strategy and building up a bank of content. Organic growth tends to be gradual, not sudden. Paid advertising can get you faster reach if you need it.
That depends on your business and how comfortable you are being its face. Many owner-led businesses use both. The business account handles offers and everyday updates, and the owner’s own voice carries stories and opinions, plus the behind-the-scenes moments. Agree the approach at the start so everything sounds consistent.
A little. A good manager needs your input on offers and news, and you’ll need to approve posts. In an owner-led business your face and voice usually make the content stronger. Expect a short check-in each month, not hours of work.
A workable content mix for small business social media, how often to post on Instagram and Facebook, and how to keep going when you are busy.
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Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.
A 30-minute introduction call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Your answers come with the booking, so we’ll be ready for you.
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A closer look at the work behind each part of your plan.
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