You can run your company’s Facebook and Instagram yourself, with an agency or with a mix of both. The question isn’t “all or nothing,” but which tasks you do best and which ones waste your time and money. In this article, you’ll find how to split the tasks, situations where an agency isn’t worth it and the questions to ask yourself before you hire one.
What social media management includes
Everyone pictures something different when they hear “social media management.” Whether you’re agreeing on terms with an agency or planning the work yourself, break it down into these parts:
- Strategy: who you’re writing for, what you want to achieve and which platforms you should be on.
- Content plan: post topics and dates, weeks in advance.
- Content creation: photos, videos, graphics and copy.
- Publishing: uploading and scheduling posts.
- Communication: replying to comments and messages.
- Paid ads: campaigns in Meta’s Ads Manager, targeting, budgets and tracking.
- Reporting: what brought in messages, inquiries, website visits and sales.
What you can do yourself – often better than an agency
An agency isn’t in your workshop, kitchen or store. That’s why there are things you do better:
- Behind-the-scenes shots: production, prep, installation, new stock arriving. Content like this feels authentic and can’t be made from behind a desk.
- Replies to customers: you know the prices, dates and exceptions. An agency can prepare answers to common questions for you, but a specific quote is best coming from the person who does the work.
- Quick updates: changed opening hours, a new product, an open slot. You don’t need a graphic designer for that.
- People and stories: introducing your team, a happy customer (with their permission), an answer to a common question recorded on your phone.
You don’t need a studio for a short video. Good light, clear sound and one clear idea are enough. Perfection isn’t a requirement here – consistency is.
What’s worth handing to an agency
Facebook and Instagram ads
With paid ads, mistakes come straight out of your budget: poor targeting, broken tracking, the wrong campaign objective or a single creative without testing. An expert sets up conversion tracking – tracking the actions that matter to you (a submitted form, a purchase, a phone call) – builds audiences and keeps evaluating what works. If you’re unsure whether to invest in social media ads or Google, our comparison Google Ads or Facebook and Instagram ads will help.
Strategy and content plan
Even if you create the content yourself, it pays to get a plan from someone who looks at your business from the outside: topics that answer customers’ questions, a balanced mix of sales and non-sales posts, seasonal opportunities. A plan makes creating easier, because you don’t have to figure out every morning what to post that day.
Visual style and templates
Consistent colors, fonts and graphic templates that you can then fill in yourself in a simple tool. It’s a one-time job for a designer that saves you time on every future post and makes your business recognizable on social media.
Reporting
A regular look at the numbers tied to your business: messages, inquiries, website clicks, orders. The number of likes alone doesn’t tell you much – more on that in our article Why likes don’t pay the bills.
Who does what: splitting the tasks
| Task | Who usually does it better | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy and goals | The agency, with your input | A good strategy can’t happen without your knowledge of your customers |
| Content plan | Together | The agency proposes it, you add news and the reality of your business |
| Photos and videos from your business | You | The agency advises on how to shoot and edits the footage |
| Graphic templates | The agency or a designer | A one-time job you then use yourself |
| Post copy | Together | Expert details from you, the wording from the agency |
| Replies to comments and messages | You | The agency can prepare answers to common questions |
| Paid ads | The agency | Setup, tracking and ongoing optimization |
| Reporting | The agency, decisions together | A report should lead to a decision about what to do next |
Can you do it yourself? A quick test
Answer these questions honestly:
- Do you set aside time for social media every week, or do you handle it “whenever you get a moment”?
- Do you enjoy it, or do you keep putting it off?
- Can you say how many inquiries or orders social media has brought you in recent months?
- Do you run ads, and if so, do you know which campaign brought in customers and which only brought clicks?
- Do your posts look consistent, or does each one look different?
If you have regular time for social media, enjoy it and can answer the other questions at least partly, feel free to keep going on your own and consider an agency for ads at most. If you keep putting social media off and don’t know what it brings in, it’s worth handing at least part of the work to someone else.
A simple weekly routine if you do it yourself
- At the start of the week, write down post topics based on what’s happening in your business.
- Take photos and videos during your regular work – don’t stage anything.
- Once a week, write the copy and schedule your posts in Meta Business Suite.
- Every workday, briefly check messages and comments.
- Once a month, look at which posts brought in messages or website visits, and adjust your next topics accordingly.
When an agency isn’t worth it
To be fair: not every business needs an agency for social media.
- You run a small local business, you enjoy social media and customers find you mainly through referrals and Google. A well-filled-out Google Business Profile may do more for you than an agency’s content plan.
- You don’t have a clear offer or a website for people from social media to land on. Sort that out first.
- You expect the agency to create content entirely without you. Without photos, information and quick feedback, you’ll get generic content that could belong to any business.
- Your budget covers management, but nothing is left for ads. The organic reach of business pages tends to be limited, so posts on their own are often seen mainly by people who already follow you.
In these cases, a one-time consultation or training makes sense, after which you continue on your own. Another option is someone in-house – we break down how to compare the costs in our article Hire one person for everything or an agency.
If you choose an agency: what to watch out for
- Who owns the page and the ad account? Your Facebook page, Instagram profile and ad account should all be yours. The agency gets access through the business settings in Meta Business Suite, not your password. You’ll find the steps in our guide how to give access to Meta Ads Manager. At Tronos, we run campaigns in ad accounts owned by the client.
- Who approves posts, and by when? Agree on a simple process, such as a plan for the next period that you approve in advance.
- Who replies to messages and comments? And what about weekends or negative comments?
- What will the report include? Results tied to your business, not just reach and likes.
- What materials do you provide? Photos, information about what’s new, event dates – and how far in advance.
- How can the collaboration be ended? The notice period and the handover of graphics, templates and access.
Frequently asked questions
How many times a week should I post on social media?
There’s no universal number. Consistency and content that matters to your customers are more important. It’s better to post less but steadily than to churn out posts without any ideas and stop after a month.
Is it worth paying an agency just for posts without ads?
For a small business, often not. Posts without ads usually reach mainly people who already follow you. If you want new customers, budget for ads too, or have an agency prepare a plan and create the content yourself.
Do I have to give an agency my Facebook password?
No. Access is granted through the business settings in Meta Business Suite, where you give the agency access to your page and ad account and can remove it at any time. Never give anyone your personal password.
How do I know if social media management is getting results?
Track how many messages, calls, inquiries and orders came from social media. Tag the links in your posts and ads with UTM parameters – tags in a link that show you in Google Analytics where a visitor came from and what they did on your website. Treat reach and likes as secondary numbers.
If you want to split up your social media work so you only do what you’re best at, see how we approach social media management and advertising. We can take over the ads and the plan while you provide what only you can.
