How to Manage Your Social Media Cost Effectively

Hey there! Jim here!

If you’re struggling to keep up with your social media, or you’d rather not have to deal with it, this is for you. This article will show you how to get all of it managed so cost-effectively you’ll want to keep it a secret. We’ll go over strategy, content, scheduling, automation, and engagement. Social media management can be a complex, multifaceted process. But by the time we’re done, you’ll never be anxious when you hear the word Instagram again.

Ok, let’s jump in.

The Big Problemo...

Hiring employees, agencies, graphic designers, and editors for quality work can be frustrating, expensive, and slow. Anyone who’s done it or is doing it right now can tell you it’s a headache. You’re probably going through it right now too. Learning new tools, platforms, and software, or taking time to review, post, schedule, and engage with an audience can be exhausting to even think about.

Getting the whole social media system managed might require you to go to many different sources, and that can be a headache to organize. But by taking a little time and getting it all in order, you can save months of time and a whole lot of money. Altogether, you just need a clear strategy, great content, and a way to make it all run smoothly.

So, let’s break it down.

Making Good Content...

Unless you have the time to add graphics and captions to make your photos stand out, or edit all your videos into compelling content (which if you’re reading this article you probably don’t), you’re probably going to need a designer and editor. One compelling photo that turns eyeballs into followers or customers will save you a lot compared to dozens of photos that weren’t very well thought out.

There are a few popular choices for hiring good designers and editors available, such as agencies, website services, and individual artists like freelancers. I’ll try to provide some links and examples for each one.

Agencies

Agencies can be expensive depending on the model. In some cases, a single graphic design, stock photo, or edited video can be upwards of a few hundred to thousands of dollars by itself. However, they often focus on creating an overall strategy to inform the kind of content you need. So generally, the work you get from them is very effective and geared toward your audience.

Some good examples of agencies that do great work are:

Braxton – around $2,000 per month
Siege Media – around $5,000 per month

If that’s a bit hefty, for most people the quickest, most affordable way to hire a good designer might be to hire a freelancer.

Freelancers

A freelancer is basically an independent artist or contractor who you can hire, usually at a more affordable cost than an agency. The easiest way people have been hiring design freelancers for a while has been through sites like Fiverr or Upwork.

These sites allow you to find a wide range of different independent workers, artists, and service providers. You might even find some smaller agencies there as well. Each freelancer can set their own price to compete with others on the platform, so you can often find some really good deals. It’s important to compare and have actual conversations with the freelancers so you know what you’re getting.

While these sites do provide a great market for designers and editors, you’ll still probably be paying per each design. And that can be more expensive in the long run. The average small business can spend upward of $2,000 per month on freelance design and editing work.

So... wouldn’t it be nice if there were, say... a service that provides unlimited graphic designs and video editing for one low monthly subscription?

Unlimited Design Services

Well, yeah! There are companies out there like GraphicsZoo.com or Buzzcube.com that offer “unlimited” graphic design and video editing for about $900/month (industry standard price). Their plans include unlimited requests and revisions, which means you get to order as many designs as you can and change them as much as you want.

That might sound like the best deal online, and maybe for you it is, but let’s break it down for a second. They say delivery time for a project can be as low as 24 hours, but it’s one design or edit at a time. Each design has to be ordered, made, and then approved by you. So true turnaround time averages around 2-3 days. If you have to revise a request, that could take another 2-3 days. Twice the time means half the results—so, half the value.

So worst-case scenario, you’re spending $1,000 every month and getting 4 to 7 bits of content every month. That can still be a much better deal than the freelancers though. More scalable too. But considering my approach to this issue, I’d say it’s still not that great.

In order to save even more time and money, especially with something like Graphics Zoo, you need to know what kind of content you actually need to serve your goals and why.

Scheduling Automation...

With a clear strategy and a stockpile of content, finally, we need a system to schedule all that content so we can get it out to everyone in your audience as consistently as possible. Consistently posted content can be just as important as the quality of the content you post—if not more!

The Importance of Consistency

The consistency of your content is what builds trust in your audience and encourages them to keep following. They want to stay because they know the next useful picture or video is coming soon. Also, depending on the platform you use, the consistency of the content you post can go a long way toward reaching new audiences. If you’ve ever heard someone say something like “playing to the algorithm,” that’s what they mean.

Scheduling Tools

There are many different scheduling methods out there, each with different features you can use to customize your campaigns. One of the best out there is SproutSocial.com.

Sprout Social Pro plan is $299 per month and offers social media scheduling, monitoring, and analytics. It’s a comprehensive tool with CRM features, allowing businesses to engage with their audience effectively.

However, if you’re primarily focused on Instagram or Facebook, I’d recommend using good old-fashioned Meta Business Suite.

Meta Business Suite is a free set of tools and features designed to help businesses and is built right into Instagram and Facebook. That’s what I use, and I’ve never had the issues I’ve had with some other third-party tools. They also provide a host of analytics tools that can help you get a better understanding of how your content is performing and offer insights into getting better results.

Getting that taken care of is the best way to keep consistency with your posting, support your growing audience, and free up your time.

And with all that out of the way, it’s time for the not-so-secret, secret sauce!

Engagement...

This is where the waters get murky when it comes to available online tools. There are many bots and programs you can run on certain platforms that are said to automatically increase your followers or likes or other things. A lot of them are banned or dangerous, so it’s really important to play it safe.

One program that I use and trust is Kicksta.co. Essentially, they work by sending little robots out to like or follow people or posts based on certain hashtags or profiles you instruct. In turn, some of the profiles like and follow you back. They don’t break any rules, and they’re only about $70 per month per profile.

There is no real substitute for real interaction though. So for Facebook users, getting involved in groups is king. There are about a billion of them if not more, and some of the focus topics get so specific it’s almost impossible not to find one that resonates with you. Find them all and chat with folks there. Don’t advertise, just relate and respond from your professional page. Over time, this will save you a ton of money on advertising and steadily increase your followers.

And with that, you have your entire social media system managed and automated, saving you tons of time each month!

The Breakdown

Strategy: Free
By studying with Social Media Examiner and using ChatGPT, you create your strategy for free and save $1,000 compared to hiring a consultant!
Content Creation: $999/month
By selecting an affordable content creation system, such as GraphicsZoo.com, you save on average $1,000 compared to hiring freelancers!
Posting Schedule Automation: $299/month
By choosing a tool like Sprout Social, you save tons of time throughout the month in posting your content!
Engagement: $70/month
By using a tool like Kicksta, you can grow your followers and save more time than a human can spend on repetitive tasks like liking, following, and unfollowing.

What the average Joe might spend: $3,368 per month

What YOU spent: $1,368 per month for a totally managed social media system

Total Savings: $2,000 per month!!!

Not bad. Not bad. But of course, I would save the best for last.

My Approach...

Let me do it for you!

If you go to this website right here: www.squishy.systems (my website), you’ll find that I offer all of these services together in one package. The way I see it, you need all of these things at one time anyway. Why suffer the added problem of having to manage four different accounts PLUS the original social media when I can just do it for you?

I guarantee 20 posts per month and Instagram growth. That’s 15 graphic designs, five explainer videos, and written content for all. PLUS automated posting AND Instagram engagement.

Here’s how I do it:

Consultation: We sit together and discuss every detail about your project and goals.
Strategy Development: Using that information, I develop a comprehensive strategy for your content.
Content Creation: With that strategy and clear goals in mind, I am able to create all your content in one batch, allowing you to revise as you go and giving us the rest of the month to edit your posts. That means you’ll always get the FULL value every month.
Scheduling and Automation: I then schedule it all out to post on Meta based on your strategy and automate engagement on Instagram.

Boom. Completely covered.

By consolidating all these services, I make it easier and more cost-effective for you to manage your social media presence. No more juggling multiple platforms and services—just a streamlined solution tailored to your needs.