Last checked: October 21, 2026. Written by the DoSocial.me team. We run a social media agency and a social media course, so we earn money either way. This guide is about which one actually fits your business.
Most small business owners reach the same point. Social media clearly brings customers, but nobody has time to do it properly. So the question becomes: pay an outside company every month, or teach someone on your team to do it?
This guide compares social media training for employees with the three alternatives: hiring an agency, hiring a freelancer, and hiring a full-time social media manager. We use public price data, show the year-one cost of each option, and tell you plainly when training your staff is the wrong choice.
Social media training for employees vs outsourcing: year-one cost
Here is what each option costs in the first year. Ad spend is not included, because you pay Meta or Google directly with every option.
| Option | Typical price | Year-one cost | Knows your business |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train an existing employee | $399 one-time | $399 + their time | Yes, from day one |
| Freelancer (Upwork, small business) | $400 to $2,000/month | $4,800 to $24,000 | After onboarding |
| Agency (average retainer) | About $2,107/month | About $25,284 | After onboarding |
| Full-time social media manager (US) | About $64,139/year base | $64,139 + benefits | After a few months |
Sources: freelancer packages from Upwork's cost guide; agency average from HeyOrca's agency pricing survey; salary from Indeed (about 3,200 salaries, updated June 2026); training price from our course page.
Year-one cost, US dollars, before ad spend. Full-time hire shows base salary only.
The gap is big. Even if you count the employee's time, social media training for employees costs a fraction of any outsourced option in year one. In year two the training cost is zero, while outsourced options keep billing every month.
That does not make training right for everyone. The real cost of training is not the $399. It is the hours your employee spends on social media instead of their other work. If those hours are expensive or simply do not exist, outsourcing can still be the better deal. For a deeper look at outsourced prices, read our social media management cost guide.
When social media training for employees is the better choice
Training your own staff works best when most of these are true for your business.
You are a small, local business
Roofers, dentists, salons, movers, restaurants, real estate offices. Your content is your daily work, and your staff sees it every day.
Someone has a few hours a week
An office manager, a sales assistant or a younger team member who already uses social media and has some slack in their week.
Your budget is tight
Paying $1,500 to $2,000 every month for an agency is hard to justify for a team under 10 people.
Speed and authenticity matter
Your employee can film a finished job, a happy customer or a team moment the same day. An agency has to ask you for it.
You are also not alone in doing it in-house. Constant Contact's 2026 survey of more than 3,300 small businesses found that 47% of owners handle all their social media themselves. An earlier Clutch survey found 85% of small businesses run social media with internal staff. The problem is rarely who does it. It is that nobody was ever trained to do it well.
When hiring an agency is the better choice
We run an agency too, so here is when we would tell you to skip training and outsource instead.
Nobody has the time
If every person on your team is fully booked, training them just adds stress. Social media will be the first thing dropped in a busy week.
You spend a lot on ads
If you spend several thousand dollars a month on ads, an experienced specialist can save more than they cost. Beginner skills are not enough at that level.
You need results this month
Training takes 4 weeks, and your employee needs a few more months to get good. An agency can start in days.
You have high staff turnover
If the trained person leaves, the skill leaves with them. Plan for that: document the process and keep logins in the company's name.
If outsourcing fits better, look at our social media management plans from $350 a month. Many businesses also mix both: an agency for ads, and a trained employee for daily posts and stories.
Train one person on your team
$399 one-time per employee. 8 live lessons, practical assignments, recordings and a certificate. Full refund if you cancel before January 12, 2027.
What your employee learns in social media training
Good social media training for employees teaches the same work an agency would do for you. Here is what our 4-week course covers, week by week.
| Week | Topics | What your business gets |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | How social media works in business, platform overview, workflow | A clear plan for which platforms to use |
| Week 2 | Audience research, content strategy and calendars, copywriting, Canva | A monthly content calendar and better posts |
| Week 3 | Meta Business Manager, Facebook and Instagram ads, Pixel, Custom Audiences, live campaign | Ads set up correctly in your own account |
| Week 4 | Analytics, reporting, final strategy project | A monthly report you can actually read |
Full curriculum on the course page. Lessons run live on Google Meet, Tuesday and Thursday evenings US Eastern time, with recordings for every lesson.
A smart move: ask your employee to use your own business for every assignment. By the end of the 4 weeks, you have a real strategy, a content calendar and a working ad campaign for your company, not a practice project.
Meta's free Blueprint lessons and HubSpot's free course are useful extras afterwards. If you want to compare training options, see our best social media marketing courses comparison.
Which employee should get social media training?
The right person matters more than the course. Look for these five things.
They already like social media
Someone who posts, watches and comments naturally learns faster and enjoys the work.
They know your customers
Front desk staff, sales people and project managers hear customer questions every day. That is your best content.
They can write clearly
Good captions and replies need simple, friendly writing, not perfect grammar.
They have 3 to 5 hours a week
In our experience, that is enough for a small business to post regularly and manage a simple ad campaign. Agree on the hours before training starts.
They plan to stay
Training someone who is about to leave wastes the investment. Pick someone settled in the role.
Tip: give the role a name and a small bonus tied to results, such as leads or calls from social media. Social media treated as a side chore rarely gets done. Treated as part of someone's job, it does.
Hidden costs: social media training for employees vs outsourcing
The sticker price is only part of the story. Here is what each option costs that most comparisons leave out.
Training your staff
Their time each week, a few months of learning by doing, and the risk that they leave. Tools are cheap: Canva and Meta Business Suite cover most needs.
Freelancer
Your time briefing them, slower content because they are not on site, and switching costs if they disappear.
Agency
Minimum contracts, setup fees at some agencies, and content that can feel generic if they do not visit your business.
Full-time hire
Benefits, taxes, recruiting time and a desk. Hard to justify for a team under 10.
One cost is the same for everyone: ad spend. Whoever runs your social media, you still pay Meta for ads. Our pricing page suggests a starting ad budget of $150 to $300 a month for small local businesses. See real benchmarks in our Facebook ads cost guide.
The hybrid option: trained employee plus outside help
It does not have to be one or the other. Many small businesses get the best result by splitting the work between a trained employee and occasional outside help.
Employee does daily content
Photos and videos from real jobs, stories, replies to comments and messages. This is where being on site matters most.
Outside expert checks quarterly
A specialist reviews your ads and strategy every few months instead of running everything every month. Much cheaper than a full retainer.
Agency only for big campaigns
Seasonal pushes, a new location opening or a product launch can be outsourced as a one-off project.
Owner reviews monthly
A short monthly meeting keeps the work tied to real results: calls, quote requests and bookings.
Social media training for employees makes this hybrid model possible. Without training, the employee cannot judge whether the outside expert is doing a good job. With training, they can brief, check and learn from them.
How to choose social media training for employees
Not all social media training for employees fits a small business. Many courses are built for people who want a marketing career, not for staff who need to bring in customers next month. Check these points before you pay.
It covers ads, not only posts
Organic posts build trust, but local ads bring most of the leads. Training without hands-on Meta ads leaves out the part that pays.
Assignments can use your business
The best training lets your employee practise on your own accounts, so the work is useful from week one.
A real person answers questions
Self-paced videos cannot tell your employee why an ad is not working. Live lessons can.
It fits around working hours
Evening lessons and recordings mean your employee does not miss work to attend.
Price is one-time and refundable
Avoid open-ended subscriptions for a skill you want once. Look for a clear refund policy.
Free options are a good first step. HubSpot's free social media course takes about 5 hours, and Meta's Blueprint lessons are free. They work well as preparation before a structured, practical program.
Example: an 8-person roofing company
Here is a simple example to show the math. The numbers are illustrative, not a real client.
A roofing company has 8 people: the owner, an office manager, and six installers. The owner wants more quote requests from Facebook and Instagram. He gets two quotes: a local agency at $1,500 a month, and a freelancer at $800 a month.
| Option | Year one | Year two | Two-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency at $1,500/month | $18,000 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| Freelancer at $800/month | $9,600 | $9,600 | $19,200 |
| Train the office manager | $399 | $0 | $399 + her time |
Instead, he trains the office manager. She spends about 4 hours a week: installers send her photos and short videos from each job, she posts before-and-after content, answers messages, and runs one local lead ad. Even if her hours are worth a few thousand dollars a year, the saving over two years is large.
The trade-off is real: it takes her a few months to get good, and the first posts will not look like an agency's. But the content is real, fast and local, which is exactly what homeowners respond to.
The first 30 days after social media training
Training only pays off if it turns into a habit. Here is a simple plan for the month after the course.
Week 1: set up properly
Business Manager, ad account and Pixel in the company's name. Logins stored by the owner, not only the employee.
Week 2: build a content routine
A simple weekly calendar: two or three posts, daily stories from real work, and replies to every comment and message.
Week 3: launch one ad
One small local campaign with a clear goal, such as calls, messages or quote requests. Keep the budget small while learning.
Week 4: review together
A 30-minute monthly meeting with the owner: what was posted, what the ad cost, how many leads came in. Adjust and repeat.
That monthly review is what separates businesses that get customers from social media from businesses that just post. It also keeps the trained employee accountable and motivated.
A 2-minute test: train staff or outsource?
Answer these five questions with a simple yes or no. Count your yes answers.
| Question | Yes means |
|---|---|
| Do you have fewer than about 10 employees? | Outsourcing is a big share of your budget |
| Does one person have 3 to 5 free hours a week? | Training is realistic |
| Is your ad budget under about $1,000 a month? | Beginner ad skills are enough to start |
| Does your daily work make good photos and videos? | An on-site employee has the best content |
| Can you wait 2 to 3 months for results to build? | Learning time is not a problem |
4 or 5 yes: social media training for employees is almost certainly the better choice. 2 or 3 yes: consider the hybrid option above. 0 or 1 yes: outsource to a freelancer or agency for now, and revisit training once your team has more time.
What results to expect, and when
Be realistic. Social media training for employees does not make your business go viral in a month. Here is a fair timeline for a small local business that posts consistently and runs one small ad campaign.
| Time after training | What usually happens |
|---|---|
| Month 1 | Accounts set up properly, regular posting starts, first small ad runs |
| Months 2 to 3 | Content improves, the employee learns which posts and ads bring messages and calls |
| Months 4 to 6 | A steady routine, ad cost per lead goes down, social media becomes a reliable source of inquiries |
This is a general guide from our agency experience, not a guarantee. Results depend on your market, offer and ad budget.
An agency follows a similar timeline. The difference is that after six months of agency work you have paid around $12,000 at the average retainer, while after six months of social media training for employees you have a skilled person on your team who keeps improving at no extra cost.
Social media training for employees: FAQ
Is social media training for employees worth it for a small business?
Usually, yes. One-time training costs around $399, while an agency averages about $2,107 a month. If an employee has 3 to 5 hours a week and knows your customers, training pays for itself in the first month compared with outsourcing.
How much does social media training for employees cost?
Free courses like HubSpot cost nothing but are short and self-paced. Paid self-paced programs cost about $49 a month on Coursera. A live 4-week course like DoSocial.me's costs $399 per employee, one-time. University certificates can cost $2,000 to $3,750.
Is it cheaper to train staff or hire a social media agency?
Training is much cheaper. An agency at the average $2,107 a month costs about $25,284 a year. Training one employee costs $399 once, plus the hours they spend on social media each week.
How long does it take to train an employee to manage social media?
Our course takes 4 weeks with 8 live lessons. After that, most people need a few months of real practice on your accounts to become confident with content and ads.
How many hours a week does an employee need for social media?
In our experience, 3 to 5 hours a week is enough for a small local business to post regularly, reply to messages and run a simple ad campaign. Larger ad budgets need more time.
What if the trained employee leaves?
Keep every account, ad account and login in the company's name, and ask the employee to document the routine. Then a new person can take over quickly, and retraining costs only $399.
Can an employee learn to run Facebook and Instagram ads?
Yes. Good social media training covers Meta Business Manager, the Pixel, targeting and ad formats, with a live campaign. Beginners should start with a small budget and one clear goal.
Can I train more than one employee?
Yes. Each seat is $399 and groups are capped at 15 students, so several people from one business can join the same group. Book a free call to plan training for a team.
For a small business with up to about 10 employees, social media training for employees is usually far cheaper than outsourcing. One-time training costs around $399, while an agency averages about $2,107 a month ($25,284 a year) and a full-time social media manager earns about $64,139 a year in the US. Training wins when you have someone with a few hours a week and real knowledge of your customers. An agency wins when nobody has that time, or you need advanced ads at scale.