Cheapest way to do social media for your business
Direct Answer
The cheapest way to maintain a professional social media presence is to use an AI done-for-you platform at around $99/month. While DIY is technically free in dollars, it costs 8-12 hours of your time monthly — time worth far more than $99 to most business owners. The cheapest option in total cost (money + time) is automation.Why This Matters
"Cheapest" means different things depending on how you value your time. If your time is worth $0 — if you genuinely have nothing else to do — then DIY posting with free tools is the cheapest approach. But if your billable rate is $50/hour or more, spending 10 hours a month on social media costs you $500 in opportunity cost, even though you didn't write a check. The real math shows that a $99/month automation tool that takes 5 minutes of your time is dramatically cheaper than "free" DIY when you account for what your time is actually worth.Real-World Example
A mobile notary tracked her actual time for one month: 2.5 hours brainstorming content ideas, 3 hours writing captions, 2 hours hunting for images, 1.5 hours formatting and scheduling across platforms. Total: 9 hours. At her $75/hour signing rate, that's $675 in lost revenue to save $99 on a social media tool. When she switched to an automated platform, she got those 9 hours back and spent them doing three additional signings — earning $225 more per month while spending $99.What Most People Get Wrong
Comparing only the subscription price. Buffer costs $15/month. Hootsuite costs $99/month. But both are scheduling tools — they don't create content. You still write every caption, design every graphic, and source every image yourself. A $15/month tool that still requires 8 hours of your time isn't cheaper than a $99/month tool that requires 5 minutes. Always compare total cost: subscription price plus the dollar value of your time.👉 Start free — get your profiles set up in 15 minutes with the Profile Kit →
