Social media management for small business comes down to one decision before any tool: do you run it in-house, or do you buy it from an outside provider? For a firm of 10 to 250 people with flat revenue, either can work. What fails is the middle ground, where nobody owns it, posts go out when someone remembers, and messages wait for days. This article helps you choose, explains what good social media management packages should include if you buy one, and shows how to set up the levelpartner.ai platform so the work stays visible whichever route you take.
The real cost of social at your size
Social looks cheap because posting is free. The cost is time: planning, drafting, finding images, approving, replying and reporting. For a firm posting three or four times a week on three networks, that adds up to several hours a week of somebody's attention. If that somebody is an adviser or a director, those hours come out of billable work or selling.
So the question is not whether to spend on social, but where the hours come from. That is the decision this article helps you make.
In-house or outside provider
Run it in-house when you have someone with writing ability and spare capacity, and when your best material comes from client conversations that an outsider would never hear. Most consultants and mortgage brokers fit this description. Their posts are strongest when they answer real client questions.
Buy it in when nobody internal has the time or the writing skill, or when you need volume and design work beyond your team. Agencies and real estate firms with heavy visual content often go this way.
What a social media management package should include
If you compare social media management packages from outside providers, check that each one covers the full loop, not only posting:
- A monthly plan you approve before anything is drafted.
- Drafts submitted for your sign-off, never published without it.
- Replies to comments and messages, or a clear handover rule to your team.
- A monthly report that shows enquiries, not just reach and followers.
- Work done inside your own accounts and your own platform, so you keep everything if you part ways.
The last point matters most. If a provider works from their own tools and logins, you lose the history when the contract ends.
Before you start
- A decision on in-house, outside provider or a split between the two.
- Your social accounts connected to the Social Planner under a company login.
- A named internal owner, even if a provider does the drafting.
- Written approval rules and a list of topics never to post about.
How to set it up
Connect every business account with a company login and add a user for each internal person and for any outside provider. Then route every draft, whoever writes it, through the planner's approval flow, so nothing goes live without your internal owner. Assign social messages in Conversations to your own team, and judge the arrangement after a quarter against the enquiries it produced.
- The drafter goes to Marketing > Social Planner and creates the post.
- They schedule it for approval and choose your internal owner.
- They set the date and time and add a note.
- Your owner opens Content > Approval.
- Your owner views, edits, approves or rejects the post.
- Approved posts appear on the social calendar at the set time.
Suppose running social in-house would take the office manager about five hours a week, worth an illustrative £600 a month of her time. Say an outside package costs £900 a month and covers drafting and design but not replies. A split route might win: keep drafting in-house, pay a freelancer £150 a month for images, and handle replies internally. That would be £750 a month in time and cash, with the client questions staying in the firm's own voice.
Time budget for each route
In-house at three or four posts a week, budget five to six hours weekly for the social lead and thirty minutes for approval. With an outside provider, budget an hour a week internally for approval, replies and feeding the provider client questions. Without that internal hour, outsourced posts drift into generic industry content. Structured planning helps either route; see how to plan a social media calendar.
Outsourcing social and then giving the provider nothing to work with. Without client questions, case material and approval within a day or two, any provider will fall back on stock posts. Budget the internal hour or do not outsource.
When to do less
If your firm wins work almost entirely through referrals and nobody internal enjoys writing, a light presence may be the right call. Keep profiles current, post a couple of times a month about real client questions, and answer every message quickly. A small, steady output beats an ambitious plan that stops in month two. The social media posting schedule article covers how to pick a pace you can keep.
Troubleshooting
Posts stop after a few weeks. Nobody owns the work. Name one person and give them a fixed weekly slot.
The provider's posts sound generic. They lack inside material. Send them three client questions a week.
Approval delays push posts back. The approver has no set time. Book a recurring slot.
Messages go unanswered when the provider handles posting. Replies were never assigned. Make the internal team responsible for Conversations, whoever drafts.
Frequently asked questions
Is social media worth it for a small professional services firm?
It is when it starts conversations with buyers. Judge it on enquiries over a quarter, not on followers.
What should social media management packages cost?
Prices vary widely by volume and what is included. Compare packages on what they cover, especially replies and reporting, and on whether the work stays in your accounts.
Can one person run social for a 50-person firm?
Yes, with a clear plan, an approver and a tidy asset library. Our guide to manage social media accounts covers the access side, and social media organizer covers the assets.