Hire a social media virtual assistant when you can name the recurring tasks, supply accurate source material and check the result. A capable VA can write as well as schedule if writing is part of their skill set. If you need someone to decide the priorities, coordinate channels and own a monthly delivery, compare a manager or defined service scope too. The title alone does not tell you what the person can do.
Start with a small paid test from your real website, photos and customer questions. Check the facts, usefulness and time you spend editing. That gives you more evidence than a generic sample portfolio. If the job you want removed includes website and Google profile work as well as social posts, compare the broader service plans.
Social media VA or virtual marketing assistant?
A social media VA focuses on recurring account work. A virtual marketing assistant may also format email, enter website content, organise campaign material and gather reports. The roles can overlap, so list outputs rather than relying on the name. Start with one list of work, even when it crosses channels. You do not need two hires simply because the task list touches both email and social media.
| Work you want removed | Scope to ask for |
|---|---|
| Drafting posts | Writing from your approved pages, offers and examples, with a factual check and review step. |
| Formatting and scheduling | Loading approved text and images into named accounts, checking links and confirming the schedule. |
| Routine replies | An agreed response script, working hours and escalation rule. Replies are a separate responsibility. |
| Email or website content entry | Loading approved material into the existing system and checking the visible result. |
| Reporting | A repeatable record of the work and customer actions, with sources and dates. |
| Strategy or specialist work | Evidence of the required skill and a separate scope. Do not assume the assistant title includes it. |
A content-entry task does not automatically include coding, backups or recovery. The website-care guide explains that buying boundary. If you need someone to set the plan and direct others, in-house marketing vs agency helps choose the arrangement.
What does a social media virtual assistant cost?
Get a quote for the actual task list and expected output. Location, experience, working hours and whether a company manages the relationship can all affect the offer. This guide does not provide a market-average hourly rate.
As one published example, Time etc's pricing page lists ten hours with a dedicated US assistant at $390 a month. That is $39 per hour under its listed package, checked October 21, 2026. It is a general assistant package, not a promise of a particular number of social posts. It also does not establish what an independent assistant should charge.
Compare three things in a quote:
- Capacity. Hours, working overlap and what happens if the work takes longer.
- Output. The exact tasks or deliverables and the skill needed for each.
- Your remaining work. Source gathering, briefing, approval, software and supervision.
A lower hourly rate is not a lower total cost if you must rewrite the work. A more expensive assistant may finish a specialist task in less time. Use the paid test to check those differences in your own situation. Do not present the test as an industry savings calculation.
For the broader role that owns campaigns and decisions, use the freelance manager rates guide. For a recurring service fee, the marketing packages guide lists the actual monthly work. Hours and service packages are different products.
Give candidates the same paid test
Choose one service page and one current customer question. Supply a real photo you have permission to use and your correct offer details. Ask for a small, agreed piece of work, such as two draft posts and a scheduling checklist. Pay for the test and agree how the material may be used.
Then inspect the result:
- Does every claim come from the supplied source or a question they raised with you?
- Is the post specific to your business?
- Does the image have the required permission and fit the subject?
- Is the next step correct and does its link work?
- Can you understand what remains to approve or supply?
- How much editing and explanation did you need?
A neat calendar does not prove the posts are accurate. A scheduled label does not prove a post reached the public account. Ask the candidate to explain how they would confirm the result after publishing. Keep the first live work under review until the process is reliable.
A brief you can hand over
Keep one document with the current version of these instructions. Use links to source material rather than copying old prices into several places.
Business facts. Name the services, service area, current offers, hours and contact step. Link the pages that explain the work. Say who answers a fact question and how soon the assistant can expect a reply.
Voice. Give two examples that sound right and one that does not. Explain the differences in plain words. A short rule such as using customer rather than client is easier to apply than a page of adjectives.
Work list. Name the channels, number of drafts, formats, deadlines and tools. Define whether the person drafts, schedules, publishes, replies or reports. Each verb needs an owner.
Approval. Say what must wait for your decision and where that decision is recorded. Prices, regulated claims, identifiable customers and permissions need explicit handling. Set a rule for missing information: ask, do not invent.
Access. Use separate user access and the least permission needed for the task. Keep the business owner role yourself. Do not paste passwords into the brief. Agree how access will be removed when the work ends.
Evidence of completion. Ask for the draft location, confirmed schedule or public post link as appropriate. For a website edit, ask for the changed page and a check of the contact path. State who handles a failure.
Replies and escalation. If replies are included, give approved answers, hours and an escalation route. Do not let a general assistant improvise professional advice or settle a complaint without authority. If replies are excluded, name the person who will still check them.
A worked example from an existing service page
Imagine a repair business whose website explains what a first visit includes. This is an editorial example, not a customer result. The source says the team checks the fault and explains the options before agreeing further work. It does not promise a free visit or a repair on the same day.
The assistant can turn that into a post explaining what to expect and pointing to the service page. The useful transformation is a long answer into one short customer decision. A draft saying free same-day repair would fail because the source does not support it. The assistant should ask about missing price or timing information instead of filling the gap.
The same source can supply a reply draft to a common question. A named person still approves the answer and handles the customer's details. This is how a brief becomes a repeatable process without asking the owner to invent a new idea each week.
When a monthly partner fits better
An assistant fits when the process exists and you want working capacity. A monthly partner fits when you want a defined body of work handled and a direct person responsible for it. The agency guide covers the larger team option.
At boomp.net, Social, handled is $275 a month. The software prepares the Core content volume, Kathleen reviews the posts and scheduling runs to connected accounts. Local marketing is $900 and adds Google Business Profile updates, a review-request process sent to every customer, one new or improved search page and up to two small website updates each month, inquiry tracking and a monthly progress update. Marketing partner is $1,800 and adds a second search page, one customer email, one offer page or promotion and a monthly planning and progress call.
The local scope covers one business at one location. The broader plans start with a 15-minute call and work agreed before payment. Ads and ad spend, customer or review replies, shoots, full website rebuilds, link building and technical audits sit outside the monthly scope. Current facts, customer permissions and professional claims still need your judgment. Compare the plans and discuss the work you want handled.
If you will publish yourself, self-serve Packs is $9 a month. Core is $39 with connected publishing and your review in the app by default. To check the output first, enter your website and email for ten free posts. The link arrives by email, with no account or card.
