Outsourcing social media or doing it yourself: what does it really cost?

The real cost of social media is not in an agency's invoice or in the free apps on your phone, but in the sum of hours, tools, start-up time and the revenue you miss when it gets left undone. Done seriously, doing it yourself quickly costs half a day a week; outsourcing costs with us a fixed amount of € 349 to € 899 per month, plus a one-off € 199 onboarding and a few hours a month of your own time for approval and input. In this article we work through both routes honestly, including the items missing from most comparisons.

Why "free" doing it yourself is rarely free

An Instagram account or a LinkedIn page costs nothing. That is exactly why doing it yourself looks so attractive: no invoice arrives. But anyone taking it seriously pays in four other ways.

Hours. A good post needs an idea, a text, visuals or video, a check and the scheduling. After that comes replying to comments and messages. For two channels with a few posts a week, that adds up to half a day a week, often spread over evenings and weekends.

Tools. A scheduling tool, a design program, stock images, a video editor and sometimes a subscription to an analytics tool. Individually they are small amounts; together they are a fixed monthly cost nobody puts on the cost overview.

Learning time. Formats change, algorithms change, what worked last year does not work now. Keeping up with what works is work in itself, and mistakes cost reach you do not get back.

Lost revenue. This is the largest item and at the same time the least visible. Every hour on social media is an hour you do not spend on clients, quotes or your trade. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce advises entrepreneurs to weigh their own time as a cost item when judging marketing spend; anyone who does suddenly sees doing it yourself very differently.

A worked example of doing it yourself

The outcome depends entirely on your own figures, so do fill in your own hours and hourly rate. By way of illustration: suppose you spend four hours a week on social media and that an hour of your time is worth a certain amount to your business, for example the rate you charge clients yourself. Four hours a week is more than sixteen hours a month. Multiply that by your hourly rate and add the monthly cost of your tools. For most freelancers and SME owners who do that calculation honestly, the amount comes close to or above an entry package, while the result is often more erratic because the work gets left undone when things are busy.

What outsourcing really costs

With outsourcing the invoice is clear, but there too are items you should know in advance. At SocialMediaGroei.nl these amounts apply, excluding 21% VAT:

Two items come on top of that which are not on the invoice but are real all the same.

Your own time. Even with full outsourcing you are still needed: providing input about what is going on in your business, approving content and now and then sharing a photo or video from the shop floor. Expect a few hours a month. Anyone who skips that gets generic content, and your audience notices.

The term. We work with a minimum term of three months, after which you can cancel monthly with one month's notice. That is a deliberate choice, because in the first weeks things are mainly being built up and only measured afterwards. But it does mean you commit for a quarter.

The disadvantages of outsourcing you should know

We earn our money from outsourcing, so it is tempting to mention only the advantages. Still, there are real disadvantages.

• Distance. An agency is not on your shop floor. The spontaneous photo of a job well done or a new colleague is something you make faster and better than we do. The best collaboration is therefore never a hundred per cent out of your hands.
• Start-up time. In the first month we get to know your business, your tone and your clients. Content in that phase is good, but not yet as sharp as after a quarter.
• Fixed costs. A package continues through a quiet month. Doing it yourself can be put on hold temporarily; a subscription cannot, just like that.
• Dependence. If you stop with the agency, someone has to take the work over. With us you remain the owner of all accounts and content, but you do have to continue the rhythm yourself or outsource it again.

When doing it yourself wins

Doing it yourself is the better choice if social media sits close to your daily work and you enjoy it, if you have a colleague who gets time for it structurally, or if your business is still so small that every euro has to go to production or stock. Also when your clients come mainly through word of mouth and social media only needs to be a calling card, a few posts a month in your own hands is enough. Do then choose one channel and a fixed moment in the week, otherwise it fades away.

When outsourcing wins

Outsourcing wins as soon as your own time is worth more than the monthly price of a package, as soon as you notice your channels have been quiet for months, or as soon as you want to use social media to get enquiries instead of only being visible. It also wins when you want to serve several channels and do not have the skills for it yourself: a carousel on LinkedIn, a Reel on Instagram and an ad on Meta each ask for something different. Read also how outsourcing social media works with us in practice.

The middle way: divide the work

For many businesses the fairest outcome is a division. The agency takes care of the strategy, the fixed content calendar, the design and the reporting; you supply the photos and stories from the shop floor and answer substantive client questions yourself. That way you pay for the work you cannot do well or consistently yourself, and you keep the parts where your own voice makes the difference. Our Zichtbaar package is meant precisely for that division.

How to work it out for your own business

1. Add up the hours you currently spend on social media each week, including replying to messages.
2. Multiply that by what an hour of your time is worth to your business.
3. Add the monthly cost of your tools.
4. Put the package price next to it, plus two to three hours of your own time per month.
5. Compare not only the amount, but also what happens in a busy month: does the work get left undone then?

Would you like us to work it out with you? The free package calculator shows which package suits your situation, without obligations.

Conclusion

Doing it yourself is cheap on paper and expensive in hours; outsourcing is clear in euros and asks for a quarter's commitment plus a few hours of your own time per month. The right choice follows from your own hourly rate, the time you can structurally free up and the question of whether social media should be a calling card or a channel for acquisition. Do the sum honestly and the answer is usually clear quickly.