Published 10 November 2026 · By Coelho Branco
What a social media manager actually does
A social media manager does three things: decides what to post, produces the posts and replies to people who comment or message. It sounds simple, and the hard part is consistency. Most small business accounts don't die from bad posts, they die from weeks of silence.
Day to day, that means a monthly content plan, edited photos or videos, short captions with a call to action, and a report that shows what brought in messages and bookings, not just likes. For a salon or barber, it also means showing real work, seasonal opening hours and this week's free slots.
Social media management prices and what should be included
The price depends on three things: how many networks, how many posts a month and who produces the content. A plan with fewer posts and no stories costs less than one with Reels, a report and replies to messages.
Our plans, excluding VAT:
| Plan | Posts | Stories and Reels | Report | Replies to messages | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | 2 a week | — | — | — | €190/month |
| Ativo | 3 a week | 2 stories a week | monthly | — | €340/month |
| Pro | 5 a week | 3 stories a week and 2 Reels a month | monthly, with a call | yes, on working days | €590/month |
Every plan covers Instagram and Facebook and has a 3-month minimum. Setting up or refreshing the profiles is a one-off €120. Each plan is detailed on our prices page.
Before signing with any agency, get it in writing: how many posts a month, who takes the photos, who answers messages and how fast, and whether there's a minimum term.
Hire someone for Instagram or do it yourself?
Doing it yourself works if you can block out two hours a week and enjoy photographing your work. Plenty of salon owners do it well.
A manager pays off when you notice the account goes quiet in your busiest weeks, exactly when there was most to show, or when foreign customers ask questions in English and nobody replies in time.
There's a middle way: a smaller plan to keep the rhythm going, with the owner posting behind-the-scenes content when there's time.
How to tell if it's working
Likes don't pay the bills. The numbers to watch are messages received, booking requests, calls and profile visits from local searches. If none of those has moved after three months, something needs to change in the content or the audience.
Not sure where to start? The free audit looks at your Instagram, Google profile and website and tells you what to fix first.
A month of work, from the inside
To understand what you're paying for, it helps to see how a typical month of management goes for a beauty salon.
In the first week, the manager agrees the month's plan with the owner: which services to promote, which dates matter (a bank holiday, the start of the season, a winter offer for residents) and what photos exist. The result is a calendar with every post, its caption and its image.
Over the following weeks, posts go out on the agreed days and times. On a plan with stories, there's also behind-the-scenes content: a client leaving the salon, a slot that's just opened up for today, the new window display. On plans that include replies, the manager answers comments and messages on working days, within agreed hours, and passes bookings and special requests to the salon.
At the end of the month comes the report: how many people saw the profile, how many messages and enquiries arrived, which posts worked best and what changes next month. It's the part many owners skip, and it's the part that shows whether the money is coming back.
What the owner keeps doing: approving the plan, sending photos of real work when there are some, and flagging news. No manager knows the salon is closing for a week in August unless someone tells them.