Hiring someone to manage your social media is a bigger decision than it might seem. Hand it to the wrong person and you end up with generic posts, disappearing acts, and no real results. Get it right and it’s one of the best investments you can make in your business.
Here’s what to look for and a few red flags to watch out for.
They Should Ask Questions Before Offering Answers
A good social media manager wants to understand your business before they suggest anything. What do you sell? Who are your customers? What’s worked before? What hasn’t? What tone do you want, friendly and informal, or polished and professional?
If someone quotes you a price before asking any of these questions, that’s a sign they’re selling a template, not a service. Social media that works is specific to your business, your audience, and your market. A Kerry tourism business has completely different needs to a Tralee retail shop or a Killarney accountancy firm.
Look for Local Knowledge, Not Just Social Knowledge
Plenty of social media managers know the platforms inside out but have no feel for local business or local audiences. For a business in Kerry, that matters. Understanding the rhythm of the county, the seasonal nature of tourism, the tight-knit nature of local communities, the events and occasions that resonate, makes a real difference to the content that gets created.
Someone based in Kerry, or who works closely with Kerry businesses, will bring that context to the work. Someone managing fifty accounts from a desk elsewhere probably won’t.
Check Their Track Record, Not Just Their Feed
A slick Instagram feed doesn’t mean much. What you want to know is whether their clients have seen actual results: more enquiries, better engagement, growth in followers that translated into something real.
Ask for examples. Ask what platforms they manage. Ask how they measure success. A good social media manager will have clear, honest answers. They’ll also tell you what didn’t work, and why, that’s usually more revealing than a list of wins.
Understand What’s Included
Social media management can mean very different things. Some agencies write and schedule posts. Others also handle community management like responding to comments and messages. Some include content creation (photography, video, graphics). Others expect you to supply the visuals.
Be clear about what you need and make sure it’s explicitly included in what you’re paying for. The most common source of frustration between businesses and agencies is a mismatch in expectations around what “managing social media” actually covers. You can see exactly what’s included in our social media packages and how we price them.
Access Should Be Done Properly
One practical thing worth checking: how does the agency handle access to your accounts? A professional agency will never ask for your personal login. On every platform from Meta Business Suite, TikTok Business Centre, and others, there are proper, secure ways to grant access without sharing passwords. We’ve put together a full guide to granting account access that walks you through each platform step by step.
Consistency Matters More Than Viral Moments
One of the biggest myths about social media is that you need to go viral to make it work. You don’t. What builds an audience and drives enquiries over time is showing up consistently by regular posting, genuine engagement, and content that actually reflects your business.
A good social media manager won’t promise you viral videos or overnight growth. They’ll give you a realistic picture of what consistent, quality work will deliver over three, six, and twelve months.
Red Flags to Watch For
A few things worth being cautious about: anyone who guarantees specific follower numbers or engagement rates (these can be gamed and don’t translate to real business); anyone who asks for your personal social media login rather than requesting proper access through the platform’s own tools; and anyone who disappears for weeks without an update.
What Working With Us Looks Like
At Seaweed Digital, we manage social media for businesses across Kerry including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Every client gets a content strategy built around their business, regular posting and community management, and clear reporting on what’s working. You can read more about what it’s like to work with us or get in touch for a no-obligation conversation.