How to Outsource Your Social Media Manager: A Small Business Guide

Should you outsource social media or manage it yourself?

Outsource your social media if you are not posting consistently today. Manage it yourself only if you enjoy it and can protect a few hours every week.

Managing social media for a small business is not one job. It is planning, writing, designing, filming or animating, editing, captioning, posting, replying and reporting, on several platforms, every week. Most owners start strong and stop when the business gets busy, which is exactly when posting matters.

Signs it is time to outsource:

• Your last post is weeks or months old.
• You post in bursts, then go quiet.
• You know what you should post but never find the time.
• You want video, but you do not want to film or edit.
• Social media time is coming out of paid client work.

The money usually works out too. Indeed puts the average US social media manager salary at $65,623 a year, about $5,470 a month before taxes, benefits and tools. Outsourced help costs most small businesses $100 to $5,000 a month. Our social media management pricing guide compares published prices per post.

What parts of social media can you outsource?

You can outsource almost everything. The only things to keep are final approval and replies that need your personal knowledge.

Who should you outsource social media to?

Pick a freelancer for one channel on a small budget, an agency when you also need ads and community management, and a done-for-you service when you mainly need steady content.

How to outsource social media marketing, step by step

Write down what you want, compare providers on the same terms, then hand over access safely and agree on a simple approval routine.

1. Set one clear goal. More inquiries, more bookings, or simply being seen every week. It decides what you measure later.
2. List your channels and posting frequency. For example, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, one post a day.
3. Write your brand basics. Three answers do most of the work: who you serve, what you fix for them, and what makes you different.
4. Ask for quotes with post counts. Compare them by cost per post, not monthly price alone.
5. Ask the questions below before you sign anything.
6. Start small. Prefer month-to-month terms or a trial period.
7. Give access the safe way, through partner and role settings (next section).
8. Agree on approvals. Decide who approves what, and how fast. A weekly batch works for most owners.
9. Review after a few months. Check your goal, not just likes.

How to give access without sharing your password

Never hand over your password. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn all let you add a partner or assign a role that you can remove at any time.

• Facebook and Instagram. In Meta Business Suite, go to Settings, then Partners, and choose “Give a partner access to your assets.” Your provider sends you their business portfolio ID. You choose the assets and either full control or partial access for specific tasks. Meta recommends turning on two-factor authentication first. A partner with full control still cannot share your assets with another business.
• YouTube. In YouTube Studio, open Settings, then Permissions, and invite the person by email with a role. Editors can upload and publish but cannot delete the channel or manage permissions. Invitations expire after 30 days.
• LinkedIn. Add your provider as a Content admin. They can create and manage posts and events, while only a Super admin can add or remove admins.
• TikTok. TikTok’s Business Center also supports adding partners, so ask your provider how they connect before you share anything.

When you end the relationship, remove the partner or role on each platform. Your accounts stay yours.

Questions to ask before you hire anyone

Ask about output, ownership, approvals and exit terms. Good providers answer all of them in writing.

• How many posts a month, on which platforms, in which formats?
• Is video included, and who makes it?
• Do you publish for us, or send files for us to post?
• Do you answer comments and messages? Which ones come to us?
• How do approvals work, and how many revision rounds are included?
• What do you report each month, and does it change what you make next?
• Are there setup fees, a minimum term or a notice period?
• How do you access our accounts? (The right answer never includes our password.)
• Who owns the content and the accounts if we leave?

Red flags

• They ask for your password instead of partner or role access.
• They promise a number of followers or guaranteed virality.
• They want to create the accounts in their own name.
• They cannot show you samples or a sample calendar.
• They require a long contract before you have seen a month of work.

Where SamayLine fits

SamayLine is a done-for-you option: one 15-minute setup call, once for life, then you only approve scripts while videos, carousels and image posts publish automatically.

It covers content, publishing and performance tracking on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn, from $100 a month. Its published plans do not list comment replies or ad management, so pair it with your own replies or an ads specialist if you need those. See SamayLine pricing, or read what SamayLine is.

This guide is published by OutFinance, an authorized reseller of SamayLine, so weigh our view of SamayLine with that in mind.