Hire social media manager time, not a salary
When you hire social media manager time through RemoteMarketer, you get an experienced specialist for the exact number of hours your accounts need each month, without recruiting, onboarding a new employee or paying for idle weeks. The specialist plans, writes, publishes and moderates, and a weekly report shows every hour in writing. This page compares that arrangement with a full-time hire and lists the questions that separate a strong social media manager from a weak one.
No calls. Month-to-month. You own every ad account.
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Planning, pillars and calendar1 h
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Writing and batching posts3.5 h
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Design and video edits2 h
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Community management2 h
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Report and next month notes1.5 h
What a hired social media manager handles in a typical month
Think of the role as four jobs that most small teams squeeze into one person's spare time. Our manager covers all four on a schedule you can read in advance, so your team stops writing captions at ten at night.
- Strategy in miniature: which platforms earn attention for your business, which content pillars to repeat, and what a good month looks like in numbers you can check.
- Production: captions, carousels, short video edits and story sequences prepared in batches, then queued for approval in a shared doc.
- Publishing: posts go out at the times your audience is active, with tags, alt text and links checked before they are scheduled.
- Community: comments, mentions and direct messages answered in your voice, with sales leads and complaints passed to you the same day.
- Learning loop: a short written note each month on what to keep, what to drop and what to test next.
A salaried social media manager compared with a monthly hour plan
In the US a full-time social media manager commonly costs well above the base salary once payroll taxes, benefits, software seats and recruiting time are added. Many small businesses only need a fraction of that capacity, and the rest of the week goes to tasks outside the role.
| What you compare | Full-time in-house hire | RemoteMarketer plan |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start | weeks of job posts, interviews and notice periods | proposal by email within 2 business days, onboarding in week one |
| Monthly cost | salary plus taxes, benefits and tools | from $990 for 10 hours, all included except ad spend |
| Capacity | about 160 hours, needed or not | 10, 25 or 60 hours, matched to the work |
| Skills | one person's strengths | a lead specialist, plus ads, content or email specialists on larger plans |
| Holidays and sick days | coverage gap | another specialist on the team picks up the queue |
| Ending it | notice period and offboarding | month-to-month, cancel before the next cycle |
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Time to start
- Full-time in-house hire
- weeks of job posts, interviews and notice periods
- RemoteMarketer plan
- proposal by email within 2 business days, onboarding in week one
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Monthly cost
- Full-time in-house hire
- salary plus taxes, benefits and tools
- RemoteMarketer plan
- from $990 for 10 hours, all included except ad spend
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Capacity
- Full-time in-house hire
- about 160 hours, needed or not
- RemoteMarketer plan
- 10, 25 or 60 hours, matched to the work
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Skills
- Full-time in-house hire
- one person's strengths
- RemoteMarketer plan
- a lead specialist, plus ads, content or email specialists on larger plans
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Holidays and sick days
- Full-time in-house hire
- coverage gap
- RemoteMarketer plan
- another specialist on the team picks up the queue
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Ending it
- Full-time in-house hire
- notice period and offboarding
- RemoteMarketer plan
- month-to-month, cancel before the next cycle
A full-time hire is the better route once social becomes a daily, on-site job: live event coverage, in-store filming, or a creator-led brand where one face is the product. Below that point, paying for hours is usually the more efficient choice.
How the hours of a hired manager are typically divided
- Planning, pillars and calendar Starter, 10 h 1 h Growth, social share of about 15 h 2 h
- Writing and batching posts Starter, 10 h 3.5 h Growth, social share of about 15 h 4.5 h
- Design and video edits Starter, 10 h 2 h Growth, social share of about 15 h 3.5 h
- Community management Starter, 10 h 2 h Growth, social share of about 15 h 3 h
- Report and next month notes Starter, 10 h 1.5 h Growth, social share of about 15 h 2 h
How to judge a social media manager before you hire one
Follower counts on a candidate's own profile say little. Ask for things that show how they think about your business.
- A written first month plan for your brand, with pillars tied to your offers, not a generic list of national days.
- Three captions in your voice for the same post on two different platforms, so you can see whether they adapt or copy and paste.
- How they decide what to stop doing, and which numbers they watch beyond likes: saves, shares, profile visits, link clicks, and messages that turn into leads.
- Their rules for replying to a complaint in public and when they hand it over to you.
- How they keep your accounts secure: role-based access, two-factor login, no shared passwords.
Our proposal answers these points in writing for your brand before you pay anything.
Plans for hiring social media help
Starter gives you 10 hours a month for $990 ($841 billed yearly) with one lead specialist, which is enough for a solid presence on one or two platforms. Growth adds up to 4 channels and 2 to 3 specialists for $2,290 a month, for example social plus content marketing or paid social. Team, at $4,990 for 60 hours, includes a marketing lead and up to 6 fractional CMO hours. See every detail on pricing, or read about agency-style coverage on social media management services.
What happens after you send the brief
The brief takes a couple of minutes: platforms, goal, budget band. You see the estimate immediately. A written proposal reaches your inbox within 2 business days, naming the lead specialist's focus, the hour split and the first priorities. Week one covers account access, a review of recent posts, voice and approval rules, and the first draft calendar. More on how it works.
1. Answer three questions
Pick the channels you need, your main goal and your monthly ad budget. It takes under a minute and needs no account.
2. See your estimate
The estimate shows the recommended plan, total hours, monthly price and the mix of specialists. It is built from typical hours per channel, adjusted for your goal and budget, plus time for coordination.
3. Send the brief
Create an account, confirm your email with a 6-digit code and add your company, website, timeline and anything we should know. You can edit the brief until the proposal arrives.
4. Read your written proposal
Within 2 business days you get the plan, the hours per channel, the specialist roles and a first-month task list by email. Questions go back and forth in writing, and replies arrive within one business day.
5. Start in week one
After you accept, we request access to your accounts, check tracking, agree the first priorities and start the work.
Ownership stays with your business
Profiles, pages, scheduling tools, brand templates and every published asset belong to you. Access is granted as a role on your accounts with the least privilege the work needs, and removed on the day a plan ends.
Questions before you hire a social media manager
01
Is it one person or a team?
On Starter you work with one lead specialist. On Growth and Team the social lead is joined by specialists for other channels, coordinated under one plan and one hour report.
02
Can I talk to the manager directly?
Yes, in writing. Questions, approvals and feedback go by email and shared docs, and replies come within one business day. There are no sales calls.
03
What if the person is not the right fit?
Tell us in writing and the lead changes. Your calendar, files and access stay in place, so the new specialist picks up where the work stopped.
04
Can the manager work in my time zone?
Specialists work hours that overlap with your business day in the US, Canada, the UK, the EU or Australia.
05
Do unused hours carry over?
No. Hours do not roll over, so the plan is sized to what your accounts genuinely need. Plan changes apply from the next billing cycle.
Related reading
Back to all servicesSee what a social media manager costs for your accounts
Choose social in the brief and get an hour count and monthly price on the spot.
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