How social media gets quoted
- A monthly retainer by deliverables, such as a number of posts, reels and reports.
- A project fee for a launch or a campaign with a clear start and end.
- Per-item pricing for one-off pieces, such as a single video.
- Creator fees, quoted by the creator or an agency, on top of the package.
- Ad spend, which goes to the platform and is never part of an agency's fee.
Whichever you pick, ask for the monthly list in numbers: how many posts, how many videos, how fast replies come and which platforms are covered. A quote without a list cannot be compared.
What moves the cost
- Number of platforms. Each one needs its own formats and its own watching.
- Share of video. Video takes more people and more time than a static post.
- Shoots. Travel, people, props and editing add up fast.
- Reply speed. Answering within an hour all day needs more people than answering next morning.
- Approvals. Slow sign-off slows the whole month and wastes planned work.
- Languages. Each language is its own writing and checking.
- Paid promotion. Running ads is its own skill and its own time.
These are our own observations from client work, not a pricing formula.
A made-up example
Say a regional furniture brand asks for "social media management". One agency quotes twelve static posts and a monthly report. Another quotes eight posts, four short videos, daily replies and a report. The second costs more, but it is a different job. The brand should compare the two lists, not the two fees. The example is made up.
Public rules that touch the bill
Meta ad budgets. A daily budget on Meta is an average over the week. Meta may spend up to 25% more on a good day, but a calendar week never goes above 7 times the daily budget. See our Instagram ads cost guide for how that works.
Influencer disclosure. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) requires influencers to label promotional content. Its guidelines cover ads published on or after 14 June 2021.
AI-made content. ASCI issued rules on labelling synthetically generated content in ads on 29 September 2026. They take effect three months after publication, around the end of December 2026. See our October 2026 update for what they cover.
These rules do not change a fee. But they can add review time to your posts and briefs, so ask how an agency handles them.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly do I get each month? Please give counts.
- Which parts are extra: shoots, creators, ad spend, extra revisions?
- How fast will you reply to comments and messages, and on which days?
- How will you report: reach and likes only, or enquiries and sales too?
- Who owns the accounts, the content and the audience if we stop?
- How long is the contract, and how much notice do we need to stop?
Ours has a minimum of 3 months and 30 days' notice to stop. We start with a free 30-minute call with a strategist, then a one-page plan, and we send the quote within 2 working days.
Red flags in a social media quote
- A promise of a number of followers or likes. Followers can be bought, and they do not buy from you.
- No list of deliverables, only a platform count.
- The agency holds the logins and will not hand them over.
- Reports with likes and no enquiries.
- Influencer fees hidden inside the package.
For what to post and why, read our social media marketing strategy guide.
