The questions business owners actually ask us.

In South Africa, social media management typically runs R3,000–R8,000 a month with a freelancer, R10,000–R25,000 a month with an agency, and higher for studio-level work that includes original video, photography and strategy.

Yes, if you sell anything considered — a website is the only sales asset you own, it is where Google can find you, and it is what turns curiosity into a booking. No, if your entire business runs on walk-ins and repeat customers who already know you.

Almost always because one of four links is broken: nobody new is seeing you, they see you but feel nothing, they feel something but do not know what to do next, or they reach out and nobody answers fast enough.

It is worth it when three things are true: your margins can carry the cost, you know what one customer is worth, and you commit to one clear direction for at least three months. Break any of those and it burns cash.

Work the levers in order — first make sure enough of the right people see you, then give them a reason to trust you quickly, then make the next step obvious and follow up fast. Skipping to lever one alone is why most attempts stall.

You need professional imagery when what you sell is judged by how it looks or who you are — product, food, property, coaching, health, anything premium. For everything else, a modern phone plus good light and direction gets you most of the way.

Judge them on three things: whether they can show results for a business like yours, whether they will tell you what they would not do, and whether the person who pitched you is the person doing the work.

A good social media manager owns four things: the strategy for what gets said, the production of content that says it, the conversations in comments and DMs, and the reporting that decides what changes next month.

Paid advertising can produce enquiries in one to three weeks. Organic content and brand typically take two to four months to show consistent leads. SEO usually takes three to six months. Conversion and follow-up fixes can pay off the same week.

As a rough floor, established businesses spend 5–10% of revenue on marketing and businesses chasing growth spend 10–20%. But the number that matters is what one customer is worth to you, and what you can afford to pay to get one.