Digital marketing
Social media management
Whether this needs a licence in Ireland
No licence required
Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer
Social media management: what the job involves
Managing a business’s social media — planning and posting content, replying to comments and messages, running paid social ads, and working with influencers — on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and others. Ad budgets are paid to the platforms, separate from the manager’s fee.
Also asked for as: social media manager · Instagram manager · Facebook ads · TikTok marketing · influencer marketing
How the job is usually done
- Agree goals, platforms, tone, posting frequency and who approves posts
- Review the current accounts, audience and competitors
- Plan a monthly content calendar, including seasonal dates
- Create or collect the content: photos, video, graphics and captions
- Schedule and publish posts, and reply to comments and messages within agreed hours
- Run paid ads to agreed audiences, if included, with the budget paid to the platform by the customer
- Report monthly on reach, engagement, followers, enquiries and ad results
Social media management: what is included
Usually included
- A monthly content plan
- Posting the agreed number of posts
- Community management within agreed hours, if included
- A monthly report
Usually not included — agree it separately
- The ad budget paid to Meta, TikTok or LinkedIn
- Professional photography or video shoots, unless agreed
- Influencer fees and products
- Replying to messages out of hours or at weekends, unless agreed
- Buying followers, likes or reviews — never acceptable
Materials and who supplies them
- Social media accounts and ad accounts — in the customer’s name, with the manager added through business tools
- Photos, videos and product information — supplied by the customer or shot as agreed
- Scheduling and design tools — the manager’s, or the customer’s
How long it takes
Set-up and the first month’s plan usually take one to two weeks; after that it is ongoing month-to-month work, with growth typically seen over several months.
When to book
Plan around your busy season and the Irish calendar — Christmas, St Patrick’s Day, Communion and wedding season, back to school.
Social media management: the rules in Ireland
What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.
Social media content that has been paid for, gifted or otherwise commercially connected must be labelled clearly at the start — #ad, #gifted or the platform’s paid-partnership label. A brand working with an influencer is responsible for making sure the posts are labelled.
Applies to: the brand, its agency and the influencer
Advertising Standards Authority (ASAI) — Guidance on Influencer Advertising and Marketing · adstandards.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Using editorial content — an article, blog post or video — to promote a product that the trader has paid for, without making clear it is a paid promotion, is a prohibited practice.
Applies to: the business paying for the promotion
Consumer Protection Act 2007, section 55(1)(q) · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
It is a prohibited practice in all circumstances to submit, or commission anyone to submit, false consumer reviews or endorsements, or to misrepresent reviews or social endorsements, to promote products — and to claim reviews come from real customers without taking reasonable steps to check that they do.
Applies to: the business, and any agency or freelancer it hires
Consumer Protection Act 2007, section 55(1)(za) and (zb), inserted by the Consumer Rights Act 2022, section 157 · irishstatutebook.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Marketing communications in Ireland, in every channel including search and social ads, are expected to follow the Advertising Standards Authority Code: legal, decent, honest and truthful, with claims that can be substantiated. If a complaint is upheld, the advertiser must withdraw or change the ad.
Applies to: the advertiser, its agency and the media carrying the ad
Advertising Standards Authority (ASAI) — Code of Standards for Advertising and Marketing Communications in Ireland · adstandards.ie · Checked 10 October 2026
Anyone can object at any time to their personal data being used for direct marketing, and once they do it must no longer be used for that purpose. Marketing lists, custom audiences for ads and CRM data are personal data and must be handled under the GDPR.
Applies to: the business that holds the marketing data
General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Article 21(2) and (3) · eur-lex.europa.eu · Checked 10 October 2026
What social media management costs, and why
What jobs on Talqero came to
Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.
What affects the price
- Number of platforms and posts per month
- Whether content creation — photos, video, graphics — is included
- Community management hours and response times
- Paid ads management and the size of the ad budget
- Influencer campaigns
- Visits to shoot content on site
What you should get at the end
- Admin access to every social and ad account, which stay in the customer’s name
- The content calendar and the files of all posts created
- Licences for stock images and music used, including any limits on ads
- Monthly reports on organic and paid results
- Written influencer agreements, including the #ad labelling requirement
What the provider should hand over
- Confirm the customer holds admin access to all accounts
- Hand over the content library and calendar
- Remove your access when the engagement ends
Safety
- Add the manager through Meta Business Suite or the platform’s business tools rather than sharing your password, and remove them when the work ends
- Never buy followers, likes or reviews: fake reviews and endorsements are prohibited by Irish law and get accounts restricted
- Get written permission before posting photos of customers, staff or children
Social media management: before you hire
Questions to ask before you hire
- How many posts a month, on which platforms, and who creates the content?
- Will my accounts stay in my name, with you added as a user?
- Is the ad budget separate from your fee?
- How do you handle negative comments?
- What will you report each month?
What you can do yourself
Posting your own behind-the-scenes photos and replying to comments yourself works well for small businesses; a manager earns their keep on planning, ads and consistency.
What to put in your task
- Which platforms do you want managed?
- How many posts a week would you like?
- Who will provide photos and video?
- Do you want paid social ads run too?
- Should the manager reply to comments and messages?
Photos that help
- Links to your social media profiles
- Your brand guide, logo and recent photos you are happy to use
- Examples of accounts you like
- Access to the platforms’ insights, through business tools
Social media management by county
Done at your place or remotely. Choose your county for social media management close to home, or post the task for anywhere in Ireland.
- Social media management in Dublin
- Social media management in Cork
- Social media management in Galway
- Social media management in Kildare
- Social media management in Limerick
- Social media management in Meath
- Social media management in Tipperary
- Social media management in Donegal
- Social media management in Wexford
- Social media management in Kerry
- Social media management in Wicklow
- Social media management in Mayo
- Social media management in Louth
- Social media management in Waterford
- Social media management in Clare
- Social media management in Kilkenny
- Social media management in Westmeath
- Social media management in Laois
- Social media management in Cavan
- Social media management in Offaly
- Social media management in Sligo
- Social media management in Roscommon
- Social media management in Monaghan
- Social media management in Carlow
- Social media management in Longford
- Social media management in Leitrim
Digital marketing
Need social media management? Describe the job.
Post it once, free, for work at your place or done remotely. Professionals reply with their own price and when they could start. You choose, and pay them directly.
Questions about social media management
Does social media management need a licence in Ireland?
No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.irishstatutebook.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.
Do influencer posts I pay for need #ad?
Yes. The Advertising Standards Authority’s guidance says content that has been paid for, gifted or otherwise commercially connected must be labelled clearly at the start, and the brand is responsible for making sure it is. Agree this in writing with every influencer.
Can I buy followers or reviews to get started?
No. Commissioning fake reviews or endorsements is a prohibited practice under Irish consumer law, and the platforms remove fake accounts and restrict pages that use them. Bought followers also do not buy anything.
Is the ad budget included?
Usually not. You pay the platform directly from your own ad account, and the manager charges a fee for their work. Ask each offer to state the two separately.