Social media is sold in packages more than almost any other marketing service, because buyers want a monthly figure before they will have a conversation. A package is a budget with activities fitted into it rather than a plan built from your business, so the tiers describe effort. Reading one properly means working out where the hours go and what is quietly outside the number.
What the tiers usually vary
Number of platforms, posts per week, whether content is created or only scheduled, whether photography and video are included, how much community management and reply handling is covered, and whether paid budget management sits inside the fee. Post count is the easiest thing to scale and is usually what separates tiers, which is why it is rarely the thing that separates results.
Creation and scheduling are different products
A package that publishes material you supply is a scheduling service. A package that produces the material is a production service and costs several times more, because filming, editing and design are the expensive hours. Establish which you are buying, because this single distinction explains most of the gap between two quotes for what looks like the same thing.
Community management is the hidden cost
Replies, comments, messages and complaints arrive continuously and do not fit a scheduled block. Ask what response time is promised, during what hours, and what happens at a weekend or during a complaint. A package silent on this usually means you are handling it, which is fine as long as you know before you sign.
Paid budget is not the fee
Where advertising is included, the media spend is separate from the management fee and should be stated separately. A percentage of spend rewards spending more, so if it is used, ask for the figure in absolute terms at your intended budget, with a floor and a ceiling, and compare that rather than the percentage.
Questions people ask about social media pricing
Are cheap social media packages ever worth it?
At the lowest prices the hours cannot cover creation, publishing and replying, so something is automated or omitted, usually the replying. That can suit a business that only needs a presence maintained, and it will not build an audience.
How many platforms should a package cover?
Fewer than most packages offer. Doing one platform properly, where your buyers actually are, beats a thin presence on four. Extra platforms are the cheapest way for a proposal to look generous.
Should the agency own the accounts?
No. The accounts, and the business manager or equivalent, should be yours with the agency granted access. Recovering an account from a former supplier is slow and sometimes impossible.
How do I compare two social quotes?
Convert both to what is produced each month, who produces it, who replies and within what time, and whether paid management is inside the fee. Those four answers make otherwise incomparable packages comparable.