Social media is three jobs: deciding what to post, filming at your business, and posting every week without a gap. Hire for the ones you cannot hold yourself. A freelancer or a videographer usually takes one of the three. An in-house hire can take all three if you manage them. An agency takes whichever its package covers. What each costs in San Diego is in the table below.
The three jobs
Ideas. First, deciding what to post and why. Danny's method: find formats already proven in your market, work out why they worked, rebuild them in your voice. About 45 minutes of research and an hour of scripting a week.
Filming. Second, the person in your business holding the camera. Batches of 4 to 8 videos a shoot, then 15 to 30 minutes of editing on each.
Consistency. Third, posting on schedule and answering comments and DMs, about 20 minutes a day, on your busiest week too.
How the four options compare
| Freelancer | Videographer | In-house hire | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideas | Usually you. Ask: "Who decides what we post?" | You. Ask: "Do you script, or do I bring the shot list?" | Them, with your direction | Them, if the package includes strategy. Ask to see a month's plan. |
| Filming at your business | Usually you. Ask: "Do you come on site?" | Them, on the days you book | Them, any day | Ask: "Does someone come to my business, and how often?" |
| Weekly posting | Ask whether posting and replies are in scope | Usually not. Ask before assuming. | Them, while they stay | Ask: "Which package includes posting, and who replies?" |
| Cost | Rates vary widely and there is no reliable San Diego figure. Ask for a per-month or per-piece price in writing. | Ask for the day rate, how many finished edits it includes, and who owns the raw footage. | Median salary $79,440 a year for a San Diego marketing specialist, before payroll taxes, benefits and equipment (BLS, May 2025 data, read October 2026) | Published San Diego starting prices of about $500 to $3,000 a month (Thrive, Web Tonic, read October 2026) |
| Your time | Most of the planning and filming | Planning, posting and replies | Hiring, managing and judging the work | Whatever the package leaves out |
BLS has no "social media manager" category; Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists is the closest, and that is the figure above.
When a freelancer makes sense
A freelancer is one person, usually strong at one thing: editing, design, or captions and posting. Good fit if you already film every week and hate editing. Poor fit if the gap is the filming or the ideas, because a freelancer edits what you send. Ask who keeps the logins.
What about just hiring a videographer?
A videographer fixes the filming, which for most owners is the job that slips first. What you still do not have is the plan behind the shots and the daily posting and replies. Get usage rights in writing before the first shoot: you want the clips on your site, your ads and YouTube without asking again.
When an in-house hire makes sense
An employee is in the building every day, which for filming is a real edge. The hire makes sense when there is enough work to fill the role and someone to manage the person and judge the output. The risk is that the account rests on one person, and their knowledge of your audience leaves with them. Keep every login in the business's name.
When an agency makes sense
When you have no time to manage the work and want one party on the hook for the plan and the posts. The bad version runs a template: posts you could swap between clients, a contract that locks you in, and a pitch person you never hear from again. Signs your social media manager is not working covers how to spot that.
Which fits my budget?
Put your yearly marketing budget next to the cost row. One median San Diego marketing specialist salary takes $79,440 of it before payroll taxes and benefits. A published agency starting price of $500 to $3,000 a month is $6,000 to $36,000 a year. Then price your own hours for whatever each option leaves with you.
There is a fourth answer: you. If you like filming and can hold about five to six hours a week before filming, run it yourself. How often to post on Instagram lays the week out.
Where Launch Social fits
We take the ideas, the filming and the posting on both packages. One client put the handover this way: "I love when you are working with someone and you know they are so competent, that you can completely let go of the reins." (Tina-Jane Krohn, Google review)
If you are writing a job post mainly to get someone filming at your business, compare it with a crew that already does that first.
Questions people ask
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?
A freelancer's monthly fee is often lower than an agency's. A freelancer who only edits leaves the ideas and the filming with you, though, and your hours cost something too.
Who owns the work if I hire a freelancer or videographer?
Whoever the agreement says, so write it down before the first shoot: the account, the logins, the raw footage and the right to use every clip anywhere.
Should my social media manager be on site?
For a business customers visit, someone has to film on site: an employee, a videographer, an agency crew or you. Editing and scheduling need a laptop, so that part can live anywhere.
Related
- Social media management in San Diego
- Is a social media agency worth it?
- How to choose a social media agency in San Diego
- Short-form video content creation in San Diego
Want this done for you? Book a free 15-minute call with Danny. We look at your account and the businesses you compete with, and you leave with a written plan for your next 90 days, whether you hire us or not.