Restaurant Social Media Management: What You Get for $3k/Month (and What to Avoid)

If you’re a restaurant, bar, or cafe owner looking at social media management, you’ve probably seen pricing all over the place, from a $1,000 a month to $3,000+.

Here’s what a good $3k/month hospitality social package typically includes, what it should not include, and how to spot red flags before you sign.

What you should get for $3k/month

1) TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Community Posting + Influencers

A proper hospitality strategy answers:
  • Who are we trying to bring in (20-30 year olds, 30-40 year olds, function bookings, ethnic and allergy-conscious)?
  • What’s the offer angle (new menu, weekly specials, events, happy hour, limited drops)?
  • What platforms will drive action (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, RedBook, Google)?
  • What’s the 30/60/90-day plan?
If the strategy is vague, you’re paying for activity, not outcomes.

2) Content creation that matches how people actually discover venues

For hospitality, the content that moves the needle is usually short-form video.

A solid package typically includes:

  • A monthly content plan (Photos, videos, graphics, hooks, comedy shot list)
  • Filming days (or a repeatable process to capture content)
  • A mix of polished footage and “native” phone content
You’re not paying for “pretty posts.” You’re paying for content that makes locals think: “We should go there.”

3) 15–20 pieces of content per month (as a baseline)

For most venues, you want enough volume to stay top-of-mind without going stale.

A common, realistic output looks like:

  • 8–12 Reels
  • 3–6 carousels or photo posts
  • Supporting Stories (often several per week)
The exact mix depends on your venue type and what you can consistently capture.

4) Posting, scheduling, and cadence management

You should expect:
  • A consistent posting schedule
  • Scheduling tools used properly (with captions, hashtags, location tags)
  • Content organised around your weekly revenue moments (e.g., slow nights, lunch trade, weekends)
Consistency is the difference between “random content” and a channel that compounds.

5) Community management (done like hospitality, not like a brand page)

Hospitality DMs and comments are often sales conversations.

A good service includes:

  • Replying to comments
  • Managing DMs (hours, bookings, menu questions, events)
  • Escalation rules (what the venue handles vs what the agency handles)
Speed matters. If replies take more than 24 hours, you lose bookings.

6) A real feedback loop (what’s working in your venue)

The best agencies ask questions like:
  • “What are customers ordering most this week?”
  • “What nights are slow?”
  • “Any new menu items or limited drops?”
  • “What are staff hearing from customers?”
That feedback becomes content angles that convert.

What to avoid (red flags)

1) “We guarantee more followers”

Followers don’t mean bumbs on seats
  • Followers can be purchased
  • Followers could be part of an engagement pod
  • 10,000 followers doesn’t equate to 10,000 customers

2) No video

If your package is mostly static posts, you’ll usually be outperformed by venues doing simple, consistent Reels.
Also watch for overly polished edits that don’t feel native — they can look like ads and get ignored.

3) Limited contact hours

You shouldn’t have to pay extra to get things done; if you hear any of these – run:
  • “You signed up for 15 posts per month. If you want one more, you have to pay extra per post”
  • “If you want a strategy session each month, that costs extra because it’s an additional 2 hours”
  • “We outsource our content creation and can only see you for 1.5 hours per month”
  • “We can create a ‘Mother’s Day graphic’, but that will be an extra $120”
  • ‘We don’t run ads, we only do organic’
…you’re paying for a factory, not a partner.

4) No clarity on who owns the content

Before you sign, confirm:
  • Do you get to keep all of the content produced?
  • Can you use the content if you stop working together?
  • Can we have the raw phone footage used for TikToks
If it’s unclear, you can end up paying twice to recreate your own assets.

5) “We’ll go viral” promises

Viral is not a strategy.

A good hospitality approach is:

  • consistent discovery content
  • consistent local reach
  • consistent conversion moments (offers, events, bookings)

6) No process for approvals and speed

If approvals are messy, content gets delayed — and your marketing becomes reactive.

You want a simple system:

  • content calendar
  • drafts
  • approvals
  • scheduled posts

A quick checklist before you hire

  • Do they specialise in hospitality (restaurants/bars/cafes)?
  • Can they show examples that drove bookings/foot traffic (not just pretty feeds)?
  • Is video a core deliverable?
  • Is there a 30/60/90-day plan?
  • Do you keep the content assets?

If you want a simple benchmark

A fair $3k/month hospitality social package should feel like:
  • a strategy + content engine
  • consistent output
  • consistent local discovery
  • a partner who understands how venues make money week to week

Want a second opinion?

If you want, send us the package you’ve been quoted (even just the bullet points), and I’ll tell you what’s missing, what’s worth negotiating, and what’s a red flag.
Contact us