Strategy

Social Media Agency: What It Does and What It Really Costs

Published 2026-08-13 · By Launch & Found

A plain-language guide to what a social media agency does, what it costs, and whether a local contractor or service business actually needs one.

A social media agency is a company you hire to plan, create, and post content on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok on your behalf, and in many cases to run paid ads on those platforms too. For a local contractor or service business, that usually means job-site photos, before-and-after posts, and reviews turned into content, published on a schedule, with some amount of ad spend management layered on top. The value depends heavily on whether social media is actually where your customers are looking for you, which for most trades is only part of the picture.

In this article

• What does a social media agency actually do?
• How much does a social media agency cost?
• Does a contractor or local service business need a social media agency?
• Social media agency vs. other marketing options: which is right for you?
• How do you choose a social media agency?
• FAQ
• Key takeaways

What does a social media agency actually do?

A typical social media agency handles four things: content creation, scheduling and posting, community management (replying to comments and messages), and reporting. Some also manage paid social ads, which is a distinct skill from organic posting.

For a home services business, the content usually comes from your own job sites. A good agency will ask for photos and short videos from every completed job, then turn that raw material into a posting calendar. They will write captions, add your branding, and post consistently, often 3 to 5 times per week across one or two platforms.

The reporting side varies a lot in quality. Some agencies send a screenshot of follower counts. Better ones tie posts back to actual inquiries, using UTM-tagged links or call tracking so you can see whether a post led to a phone call or a form fill.

It's worth being clear-eyed about what social media does and doesn't do for a contractor. It builds brand recognition and trust over time, especially in a local area where the same faces keep showing up in feeds. It rarely replaces the two channels that actually generate most inbound leads for trades: a strong Google Business Profile and a website that ranks and converts.

"Social proof closes the deal, but search is what gets you found in the first place," is how one Toronto GC put it after switching most of his budget from Instagram ads to local SEO.

Pro tip: before hiring anyone, pull your last 90 days of leads and ask each new customer how they found you. Most contractors are surprised how few say "social media" and how many say "I Googled you" or "I saw your truck."

How much does a social media agency cost?

Pricing varies widely depending on scope. A freelancer posting a few times a week might charge CAD $400 to $800 per month. A full-service agency handling content, community management, and paid ads typically runs CAD $1,500 to $4,000 per month, not including ad spend. Enterprise-level agencies working with multiple locations can charge $8,000 or more per month.

Ad spend is separate from management fees. A common structure is a flat management fee plus 10 to 20 percent of ad spend, or a flat fee regardless of spend.

For contractors specifically, we usually see better return moving budget toward things that show up when someone actively searches "plumber near me" or "roofer in [city]," which is what Local SEO and a well-built website are built for. Social spend tends to work best as a smaller, supporting line item rather than the whole strategy.

Does a contractor or local service business need a social media agency?

Not always, and it depends on your sales cycle. Businesses with a visual, one-time or occasional purchase, like landscaping, renovations, or roofing, tend to get more value from social media because before-and-after photos are genuinely compelling and shareable. Businesses with urgent, search-driven needs, like plumbing or electrical emergencies, tend to see less direct return from social and more from being found the moment someone searches.

a contractor photographing a finished kitchen renovation on a phone for social media content

A rough way to think about it: if your last ten customers came from referrals and Google searches, a social media agency is a nice-to-have that builds long-term brand trust. If you rely on repeat business and community reputation, like a landscaping company with a strong local following, social content can meaningfully shorten your sales cycle.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and other regulators also have rules around commercial electronic messages and advertising that apply if you're running paid social campaigns targeting Canadians, so it's worth having whoever runs your ads understand Canada's anti-spam legislation if you're collecting contacts through social forms.

Pro tip: if you're testing whether social is worth a dedicated budget, run it yourself for 60 days first with just your phone and a free scheduling tool. If you can't keep it up consistently as the owner, an agency won't fix that problem, it will just cost more while you figure out if the channel works for your trade.

Social media agency vs. other marketing options: which is right for you?

Most local businesses aren't choosing between social media and nothing. They're choosing how to split a limited budget across social, search, and paid ads. Here's how the main options compare on practical trade-offs.

In practice, most contractors get the best return from a website and Google Business Profile that convert well first, then layer in paid ads for immediate volume, and treat social media as a supporting channel for brand and referrals rather than the primary lead source. This is roughly the order the Found System is built around: a converting website, review generation, and lead tracking as the base, with digital marketing and paid ads added once that foundation is in place.

How do you choose a social media agency?

If you decide social is worth a dedicated budget, a few practical checks help separate agencies that will genuinely help from ones that will just post filler content.

Ask to see actual client accounts they currently manage, not just a portfolio of best examples. Look at engagement, not just follower counts. A page with 2,000 followers and real comments from local people is worth more than one with 20,000 followers and no engagement.

Ask how they'll source content. If the answer is "we'll find stock photos," be cautious. The content that performs for contractors is almost always real job photos and short videos, which means they need a system for you to send them material regularly, ideally within 24 hours of finishing a job.

Ask how reporting works and whether it connects to actual leads. A monthly report showing follower growth is not the same as a report showing which posts led to a phone call or quote request.

Finally, ask how they coordinate with your other marketing. If you already have a website, local SEO work, or an AI receptionist handling inbound calls, the social agency should be able to point traffic toward those systems rather than working in isolation with its own separate contact forms and tracking.

FAQ

Does a social media agency guarantee more leads? No reputable agency can guarantee leads from organic social posting alone. Paid social ads can guarantee reach and clicks, but converting those into booked jobs depends on your offer, your website, and your follow-up process.

How long does it take to see results from social media marketing? Organic growth typically takes 3 to 6 months of consistent posting to build real traction. Paid ads can generate clicks within days, but converting that traffic into paying customers still depends on what happens after the click.

Should a contractor handle social media themselves or hire an agency? Many contractors start by posting job photos themselves for a couple of months to see if the channel works for their trade, then hire an agency once they know it's worth the ongoing time and budget. This avoids paying for a channel that turns out not to fit the business.

Key takeaways

If you want to see how social fits alongside a website and lead system built for contractors, our work and contractor marketing guides walk through real examples, and our blog covers more on channel selection for trades.