Two quotes for “social media management” can describe very different work. One posts what you give it; another plans, films, edits and posts every video. This guide shows what the work is, what moves the price, how to compare quotes fairly, and what to read before you sign.
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What “social media management” usually means
The phrase covers a lot of different work. Before you compare prices, check which of these jobs a quote includes:
- Strategy. Who the posts are for, what the account should be known for, and what each month is trying to do.
- Planning. A calendar of what goes up, and when.
- Making the content. Ideas, scripts, filming, editing, captions and on-screen text. This is usually most of the work.
- Posting. Putting each post up on each platform, at the right size and length.
- Replying and reporting. Answering comments, and telling you what happened.
A lower price often means the content comes from you: photos you send, or videos your team films. A higher price usually means someone else is making it.
What changes the price
- Who makes the videos. Filming at your business takes people, time and travel. Posting what you send doesn’t.
- How many posts. More posts mean more ideas, more filming and more editing.
- How many platforms. One video can go on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, but each upload still has to be done well.
- What’s promised. Most quotes promise work: a number of posts. Few promise a result you can count.
Three ways it’s priced
Social media work is usually sold one of three ways: per video, per shoot day, or as a monthly plan that covers a set number of posts. What each includes depends on the quote: a per-video or per-day price may or may not cover the planning, the posting and the next month, so ask, and add whatever is left to you before comparing it with a monthly plan. Our guide to how much short-form video costs compares the three in detail.
How to compare two quotes
Put each quote into the same terms:
- Divide the monthly price by the number of finished posts. That’s what each post costs.
- Check who films, edits and posts. If any of it is left to you, add your own time.
- Ask what you can count on at the end of the month. If the views are guaranteed, divide the price by them too.
Here is that sum on our own three plans, so you can see how it works:
| Example: our plans, per post and per 1,000 guaranteed views | Monthly price | Posts | Each post | Views guaranteed | Each 1,000 views |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | $3,599.99 | 20 | $180.00 | 250,000 | $14.40 |
| Growth | $4,999.99 | 30 | $166.67 | 500,000 | $10.00 |
| Premium | $9,999.99 | 60 | $166.67 | 1 million | $10.00 |
Each post is the monthly price divided by the posts; each 1,000 views is the price divided by the guaranteed views, times 1,000. Without a guarantee, the second number can only be worked out after the month is over, and it changes every month.
Compare before tax
Check whether each quote includes sales tax before comparing them. In Ontario, the HST rate is 13%, and it differs by province (Canada Revenue Agency, GST/HST rates by province). A quote that includes the tax and one that adds it can look further apart, or closer, than they are. A business registered for GST/HST can generally claim back the tax it pays on business purchases as input tax credits; ask your accountant how that applies to yours.
Extras to ask about
Some costs sit outside a monthly price. Ask about each before you sign:
- Travel to a second location, or outside the city.
- People on camera: whether your own team appears, or actors are hired, and who pays them.
- Music: whether the music used is cleared for business use on each platform.
- Rush work and extra rounds of edits.
- Extra platforms or locations beyond what the plan names.
What to read in the agreement
- Term and renewal: how long it runs, and whether it renews by itself.
- Notice: how to end it, and how much notice it takes.
- What a month includes: posts, platforms, and what counts as a post.
- Ownership: who owns the finished videos, and from when. Under Canada’s Copyright Act, the person who makes a work is its first owner unless they made it as an employee, and an assignment is valid only “in writing signed by the owner of the right” (Copyright Act, section 13). The agreement should say what becomes yours.
- Accounts: who holds the logins, and how access works.
- Counting: what is promised at the end of the month, and how it is counted.
What a month with us includes
Every plan covers the planning, filming, editing, posting and counting:
- We plan the month. Your content calendar arrives before the month starts.
- We film on site. At your business.
- We edit and post. On TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts.
- We count the views. Every post, on each platform’s own numbers, until a month after the month ends.
| Plan | Posts a month | Guaranteed views a month | Price a month | Per 1,000 views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 20 | 250,000 | $3,599.99 | $14.40 |
| Growth | 30 | 500,000 | $4,999.99 | $10.00 |
| Premium | 60 | 1,000,000 | $9,999.99 | $10.00 |
Every plan starts with a free consultation, a growth plan and a marketing strategy plan. Once a month is paid, the videos we delivered that month are yours to post and repost anywhere, during and after our agreement.
If someone on your team already films
If your team can film but needs to know what to film, DIY gives them the plan: Our strategy and content plan, filmed by your own team. It’s $1,750 a month, with 20 complete post scripts, with references, captions and storyboard.
Common mistakes
- Comparing monthly prices alone. Divide by the posts first, and add any work left to you.
- Mixing prices with and without tax. Put every quote on the same footing.
- Not asking who owns the videos. Without it in writing, they may not be yours to keep posting.
- Paying for posts without a measure. Ask what you can count when the month ends.
What you should get, whoever you hire
A month should leave you with posts that sound like your business, a calendar you saw before the month started, and numbers you can check on each platform yourself. If a quote can’t tell you those three things, ask before you sign.
Questions owners ask
Is social media management the same as content creation?
Not always. Some managers post content you supply; others make it too. Ask whether filming and editing are in the price.
How much does it cost to have someone film and post for my business?
With us, $3,599.99 a month for 20 posts, up to $9,999.99 for 60, with the views guaranteed on every plan.
Is posting what I send cheaper than having videos made?
Usually, because filming and editing are most of the work. Compare by what each post costs once the work left to you is counted.
Which platforms are included?
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, on every plan.
How are the views counted?
We count every post, on each platform’s own numbers, until a month after the month ends.
How do I start?
Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us
Keep reading
- ChoosingAgency, freelancer or in-house for short videos?
- ChoosingWhat is UGC, and does a local business need it?
- RestaurantsSocial media for restaurants: what works
- ViewsHow many views is good on TikTok and Reels?
Sources
Updates
- : Rewritten at full length: the ways it is priced, a worked comparison per post and per 1,000 views, tax (CRA rates page read), extras to ask about, what to read in the agreement including who owns the videos (Copyright Act read), and common mistakes.