How much to pay social media assistant?

Question

Greetings everyone.

As I'm ramping up my marketing in the coming months with what little time I have available trying to build a REI business, work a 9-5 (hoping to be out of this in 1-2 years), and chase a toddler around in the evenings, I have decided I need to outsource my social media & SEO work to someone else. Not to mention for building a successful business, this is my first step of outsourcing/delegating.

Not sure why this never dawned on me but over dinner this weekend with my wife, my cousin, and his wife I realized... DUH! His wife does social media, blogging, copywriting, marketing, etc for a living and went to school for it. She was recently laid off from her job but cannot go back to work because they have a 7 month old baby who needs more medical attention than most babies due to a birth defect. She is looking for freelance work to bring in some extra money.

I can utilize her for working on my social media presence, SEO, and some other administrative tasks around marketing.

I have already told her that it will probably be small tasks to start out with and I can't pay her anything steady until I start getting more deals and bring in more income as I scale.

Curious what everyone is paying for this type of work? I have no idea where to start.

David C. · Answer

Regarding SEO, be careful of scams.  Your SEO should be integrated in your content, so anything topical can get you in trouble.  Be careful of places like Fiverr, as I haven't seen anything good come from places like that.

For content creation, use someone domestic who has a clue about the industry.  What most people try and do is pay someone who doesn't really understand the business (of the industry in question -- in this case, real estate) and they cobble something together to get the minimum words they think the search engines like while re-packaging existing content.  Find someone who can target a topic and write something original.

We write our own software and have a very strong tech team, so we come across scams not only on SEO, but on development and site building in general.  Our last project is on the first page of Google for "houses for rent" in the particular city, generating ~10k leads per month, with a strong conversion rate where the lead fills out a lengthy application and pays an application fee.  We did that with some somewhat intelligent site development, understanding of what SEO really is, and some basic marketing strategies.  I say that to say I know how to do it right and cringe when I see people spending money on social media stuff, so please don't go down that rabbit hole.

Major Robertson · Answer

Social media assistant is not the same as what you are describing. They simply help you post and respond to people on social media and maybe do other small tasks. SEO and marketing is largely different and more complex. Hiring an SEO expert is not cheap and neither is a marketing firm. So depending on what she's doing I'd say minimum wage would be an insult.

Also do NOT use fiverr for SEO. It's not the place to get an assistant either. Use Upwork.

David C. · Answer

You're very kind, but they really are scam artists.  They have zero technical understanding and tell you they will do something they knowingly can't do, and more times than not, actually hurt you.  I'm actually going to start a new topic on this since too many good people are getting ripped off.

Matthew Morris · Answer

Echoing what @Major Robertson and @David C. have stated, you get what you pay for and there are a lot of "scams" (better yet, "under-qualified people, over-promising results"). Concerning the administrative tasks you're needing done, I don't think the $10/hr - $12/hr is unreasonable. If you're wanting to do SMM and SEO, on the other hand, you're looking closer to the $35/hr - $100/hr range... or more likely, a hefty monthly retainer.     Honestly, though, SMM and SEO aren't worth the money unless it is - if you get my drift.

That said, I recommend email marketing to everyone here that is serious about building an empire, and SMM and SEO may be part of that strategy.

Joel Owens · Answer

I have a full time onsite person doing my database in my office.

I used to have a commercial website company working on my website here and there but they have went big time now so only want to do accounts paying them 4,000 a month. I don't need nor would I pay that kind of money.

Recently one of my engineers creating a site plan for me on a development project had his website redone. He has a kid fresh out of college with a degree in the stuff. They are raring to go and you just have them work so many hours a week updating your site and doing the social media stuff.  So I am in talks to have her do the work for me so many times a week.

I have used Fiveer and the like but do not like it. Very limited English and being overseas the time zones and responses often do not gel together well. Communication can be frustrating as well. I have had instances before where overseas they get hit with a bad storm or earthquake and they are out of commission for a week.

I have found using local people close to your business tends to work well at least it has for me.

Jeff B. · Answer

Taking at your word, "Social Media Assistant?"  what is your expectation for that, handling and responding to Facebook and the like?

Brad Woodall · Answer

I'm looking for someone to write blog posts for my website, setup and maintain a facebook business page, update my G+ page, etc. All of which she was doing at the previous company she worked for.

I'll also have her do some administrative task like pulling leads/lists for mailings from county websites, ordering postcards, Maybe answering phone calls... haven't decided on that yet.

Christine Kankowski · Answer

Fiverr.com also does work for cheap. You can find someone who does a good job on the first small project and then work with them again if you like them

Ray Dipasupil · Answer

Minimum wage or anything above minimum wage is usually a good start for the scenario you presented. Alternatively, you can also outsource this type of work with more affordable options from countries in Eastern EU, China, Vietnam, Philippines, etc

Trevor Ewen · Answer

@Brad Woodall

You may have many reasons for wanting to hire your cousin's wife. All those notwithstanding, I would be hard pressed to hire a social media assistant in the US. You get a lot more bang for your buck in the Philippines or another country for good virtual assistants.

@Brandon Turner actually wrote an article on the topic for Entrepreneur, here:  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245561

Why do I prefer virtual assistants for social media? Primarily because it's a task that is tangential to the business with murky ROI.

If your cousin's wife is still very skilled, maybe you have a place higher in the business hierarchy where you can engage her (marketing, client relations, financial management).

How much to pay social media assistant?

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