Social media packages for small businesses sell you a set amount of work each month for a set price. The name tells you almost nothing. Two packages called “Standard” can cover very different work, so read the scope and ignore the label.
Our position is simple. A package is worth buying when the problem is that the work doesn’t get done, and not worth buying when the real problem is that too few people know you exist. This article covers what’s inside a package, what the research says, and how to choose.
Why social media matters, and where it doesn’t
Your customers are on these platforms. Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey of 5,022 U.S. adults found that 71% use Facebook and half use Instagram. Those are national numbers for all adults. They show where people spend time, not how many are looking for a fence installer.
For a local business, we think the main job of social media is to back up referrals. Think about the last time a friend recommended a contractor. You probably looked them up before calling. If the last post was from two summers ago, you may have wondered whether they were still in business.
Social media can bring in new customers too. We wouldn’t tell you that a few posts a week will fill your schedule.
Take a fence installer in Skippack who finishes a good job every week in spring, takes photos, and means to post them. Then an estimate runs long and an invoice needs chasing. Three weeks later the photos are still on the phone. Nothing is wrong with his business. The page just looks closed.
What’s inside social media packages for small businesses
Most packages are built from five kinds of work. Few include all five.
1. Content creation
Planning what to post, writing it and designing the graphics. The best material comes from your own jobs and the questions customers ask. Video takes more planning and editing than a photo post, so check whether it’s included or scoped separately.
2. Scheduling
Posts are prepared ahead and published on an agreed schedule. This is what keeps the page current in September, when you’re too busy to think about it.
3. Analytics
Some form of reporting, so you can see what was published and how people responded.
4. Community management
Replying to comments and private messages. Owners often assume this is included, and it frequently isn’t. It matters because some of those messages are customers asking for a quote.
In the 2025 Sprout Social Index, 73% of consumers said they would buy from a competitor if a brand didn’t respond on social. That survey covered 4,044 people in four countries who follow at least five brands, so it isn’t a picture of your town. The direction is still clear. Ask who will be answering.
5. Advertising
Paid ads that put a specific offer in front of more people. This is different work from posting, and it needs its own budget. Our article on marketing campaigns for small businesses has examples.
You can see how we describe ours on the social media packages page.
Do it yourself, or pay for a package?
Doing it yourself is a real option. If you or someone on your team enjoys it and posts regularly, you may not need anyone.
The trouble is almost never skill. It’s time, and it shows up as gaps. Imagine a painter in Easton who posts four times in March, when work is slow, and not at all from April to September, when the best projects of the year are finishing. That page tells a visitor the business went quiet in the best months.
A package takes planning, writing and publishing off your list, and it costs money every month. It also saves you the occasional evening, though you’ll still send photos and approve drafts. Most small businesses don’t have enough social media work to fill a full-time job, so paying for a set amount of it is reasonable. Whether it’s good value depends on what the page does for you.
So we’d frame the choice as whether the work will get done, not who is more expert. Sometimes the answer is a package. Sometimes it’s a simple routine and one person in the office who owns it. We’ve written about why marketing packages suit small businesses, and the same logic applies here: you can plan around a known scope and cost.
How to choose a package
A few answers narrow the options quickly.
- What should social media do for you? Backing up referrals, showing a service you’d like to sell more of and finding new employees all call for different posts.
- What can you spend each month? Set the number first, then compare scope.
- Who writes the posts, who approves them, and who answers a message at eight in the evening? Ask to see work done for a business like yours.
- Can you start small? If this is new, begin with a basic package and add to it once you see how it fits.
You don’t need every platform. Our guide to which social media platform fits a small business can help you pick one or two.
If your page is current and nobody is finding it, a package is probably not your first move. Search or advertising may need to come first, because posts only help people who already know where to look.
What a package can’t do, and what it needs from you
No package runs without the owner. We can’t photograph a job we weren’t at, and we won’t know you added a service unless you tell us. Your photos, your updates and a quick yes or no on drafts are what make the content sound like your business.
There are limits on our side too. Nobody controls how many people a platform shows a post to, and an audience builds slowly. We can keep the page useful and current, show you what was published, and adjust based on what you tell us. Did anyone mention the page when they called?
Check your messages this week
Open your business page and look for the oldest message nobody answered. It takes about five minutes and costs nothing. If there’s one sitting there, you’ve found the first thing a package, or you, should fix.
Then send us a message or call (215) 368-8900. Tell us what you post now, what keeps getting pushed aside and what you want customers to understand about the business. We’ll say whether a package fits or something else should come first. Your first consultation is free.