The Hidden Costs of DIY Social Media
What you’ll learn:
- The red flags that show your DIY social media isn’t working
- Why business owners stick with DIY (and the hidden costs of it)
- Real results you can expect when you hire a social media manager
- Signs it’s time to stop doing it yourself and hand it off
- Simple steps to improve your social media if you’re not ready to hire yet
Let’s be real for a second. Social media today isn’t the same playground it was back in 2008 when I first got started. Back then it was already a full-time job, but now? With algorithm shifts happening constantly, new platforms popping up, and strategies that have to be adjusted week by week, most business owners simply can’t keep up. And honestly, you shouldn’t have to.
If you’re running a business, your job is to take care of clients, grow revenue, and keep the ship afloat. Social media should be working in the background to support that. But for many small and medium businesses, social ends up being the thing you either dread, forget about, or throw together at the last minute. That’s when you know it’s time to stop DIY-ing and consider bringing in a professional.
So how do you know when to make that leap? Let’s talk about it.
Red Flags That DIY Isn’t Working Anymore
Whenever I look at a business’s social media, the signs usually show up pretty quickly. Here are a few I see all the time:
1. Sporadic posting. Maybe you post once a month. Maybe once a week if you remember. It feels random, disconnected, and more like an afterthought than a strategy.
2. Unpolished content. Graphics that don’t look professional, photos that don’t fit the brand, or content that just feels generic. If it looks like “noise,” your audience is tuning it out.
3. No content variety. Every post looks and feels the same. It’s all graphics, or all links, or all photos. There’s no mix of media to keep people engaged.
4. The “default social media person” approach. This happens when a business hands social media to an employee simply because they have a personal Instagram or TikTok account. Just because someone knows how to post for themselves doesn’t mean they understand how to build a consistent brand voice, create a strategy, or track results. The outcome is usually content that feels off-brand, inconsistent, or cheap. Not because the employee isn’t smart, but because running social for a business is a completely different skillset.
If you’re nodding your head right now, it’s probably because you recognize your own feed in that list. And you’re not alone. Most DIY social media accounts look exactly like this.
Why Business Owners Stick With DIY
Here’s what usually happens. A business owner decides to keep social media in-house because of one of three reasons:
- “I can’t afford it.”
- “Will it even be worth it?”
- “I can handle it myself.”
Sound familiar? Let’s break these down.
“I can’t afford it.”
This one comes up all the time, and I get it. On the surface, hiring a social media manager can feel like a big expense. But here’s the truth: you’re already paying for it with your time and missed opportunities. If you’re spending hours stressing over what to post, throwing together graphics at midnight, or worse, not posting at all, you’re losing money in the form of wasted time, reduced visibility, and missed leads. Consistency and strategy pay off, and when social media is treated like an actual investment instead of an afterthought, the returns can far outweigh the cost.
“Will it even be worth it?”
This is really about fear. Fear that you’ll spend money and not see results. Fear that social media is just fluff. But the numbers tell a different story. My clients have seen massive jumps in engagement, reach, and brand recognition after handing over their social media to me. For example, my nonprofit client hit nearly one million people in four months. A pool builder saw over 2,000 percent more impressions in less than a year. Those aren’t vanity metrics. That’s visibility that translates into donations, sales, and booked projects. Social media isn’t about instant wins. It’s about building authority and trust over time, so when your customer is ready to buy, you’re the obvious choice.
“I can handle it myself.”
This is probably the most common excuse, and the most dangerous. Because yes, you can technically handle it. Just like you can technically do your own taxes, design your own website, or fix your own HVAC unit. But should you? Running social media for a business isn’t the same as posting on your personal Instagram. It’s not just about snapping a photo and writing a clever caption. It’s about strategy, consistency, analytics, and knowing how to adapt when the platforms shift overnight. If it keeps slipping through the cracks or if the results aren’t there, that’s your sign that “handling it yourself” isn’t working anymore.
Here’s the kicker. Even when a business owner does stick with DIY, it often comes at a cost to the rest of the business. Social media becomes a stressor. It eats away at your confidence because you know you’re not doing it well. And instead of freeing you up, it pulls your focus away from the things only you can do, like closing deals, serving clients, or leading your team.
A quick story to bring this home.
I once had a client who resisted hiring me for months. He was in construction and swore he could handle his company’s Facebook and Instagram himself. He posted once in a while, usually photos of jobs, but it was inconsistent and his audience wasn’t growing. Every time we talked, he’d say the same thing: “I just don’t know if it’s worth the money.”
Eventually, he gave in and let me take over. Within the first quarter, his impressions had doubled and his engagement was up by over 40 percent. But the real win wasn’t just the numbers. It was that his phone started ringing more. People who had been quietly following his page finally reached out for bids. He admitted later, “I wish I had stopped fighting this sooner. I was wasting energy trying to do something I wasn’t good at.”
That right there is the difference between just surviving with social media and actually using it as a tool to grow your business.
What Happens When You Hire a Social Media Manager
Let me give you a snapshot of what happens when a professional takes over. These aren’t just theories. These are real results my clients are seeing right now:
- Pool & Spa client: +41% engagement and +155% impressions in just 3 months
- Outdoor Kitchens client: +884% engagement and +2,400% impressions since October 2024
- SaaS client: +4,900% engagement and +1,600% views in 3 months
- Nonprofit client: 984,000+ reach, +200% engagement, and a surge of user mentions in 4 months
That’s not fluff. That’s brand visibility, pipeline growth, donations, and sales.
I talked about this in a recent blog, Why 2025 Is the Year to Stop Sleeping on Social Media. Here’s the gist:
“The businesses that are winning right now are the ones that use social as a way to prove their value. Not by shouting ‘we’re cheaper’ than the next guy, but by showing, through content, that they’re the best choice. With the economy tightening, consumers are picky. That means your job isn’t just to exist. Your job is to make a crystal-clear case for why they should choose you instead of the other guy down the street. Social media is where that proof happens.”
If you want to dive deeper, you can read the full post here: Stop Sleeping on Social Media.
The bottom line is this. When you hand your social media over to a professional, you don’t just get better posts. You get consistency. You get strategy. And most importantly, you free up the mental load so you can focus on the parts of your business that actually make you money.
How to Know It’s Time to Hire
So how do you know if you’re ready to hand things over? Here are a few clear signs:
- Social media is always an afterthought. You’re either stressing about it or ignoring it.
- Your content is stale. Nobody’s engaging. You’re the only one liking your own posts.
- You’re not getting any organic traction. If new customers only find you when you pay for ads, that’s a red flag.
- You’re spending time creating content but you don’t see any payoff.
I’ll give you an example. One of my clients, an outdoor kitchen builder, doesn’t always see the highest engagement numbers. But he told me recently that since I started managing his social, more people are booking projects with him. His brand recognition has grown because his content is consistent and high-quality. That’s what matters.
Not Ready to Hire Yet? Start Here
I get it. Some people still feel like they’re not ready. Maybe budget is tight, maybe you want to keep things in-house for now. If that’s you, here are a few simple steps to get started on the right track:
- Dedicate one hour a week to your social. Put it on your calendar and treat it like any other important meeting.
- Post at least twice a week. On Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, consistency matters more than perfection. If you’re on TikTok, know that growth will require multiple posts per day, so start small elsewhere if you’re strapped for time.
- Pick one or two platforms and stick with them. Don’t try to do it all. Master a couple of platforms you’re comfortable with before expanding.
These steps won’t replace the depth of a full strategy, but they’ll keep your presence alive until you’re ready for more.
The Takeaway
Social media isn’t a “someday” project anymore. It’s where customers go to size you up, decide if you’re credible, and figure out if you’re the best choice. DIY might get you started, but if it’s inconsistent, stressful, or stale, it’s costing you business.
When you’re ready to take social media seriously, hiring a manager isn’t just an expense. It’s an investment in growth, visibility, and peace of mind.
Ready for Help?
If you’re tired of social media being a stress point in your business, let’s talk. I’ve spent nearly two decades helping businesses like yours turn social media into a growth engine. Whether you’re a local business, a SaaS company, a restaurant, or a service provider, I can help you move from “just posting” to actually winning on social.
👉 Contact me here and let’s see if we’re a fit.
TLDR
- Sporadic, unpolished, or cookie-cutter posts are red flags your DIY social media isn’t working.
- Handing social to the “young employee who’s on Instagram” doesn’t cut it for business strategy.
- Most owners stick with DIY because of cost fears, doubts about ROI, or the belief they can handle it themselves. The truth? It costs more in missed leads and wasted time.
- Hiring a social media manager means consistency, strategy, and results that grow your visibility and brand trust.
- Not ready to hire yet? Start small: post twice a week, focus on one or two platforms, and block an hour a week for content.
- The shift comes when you treat social as an investment, not an afterthought.
Bottom line: Social media is where customers decide if they trust you. DIY might get you started, but if it’s stressing you out or not producing results, it’s time to bring in a professional.