What should a social media retainer include in Australia?

A full-service social media retainer in Australia should include: original video production (a shoot day that produces 8–15 pieces of content per month); organic posting and scheduling (across Instagram, Facebook, and relevant platforms); paid advertising management (Meta Ads and/or Google Ads, with campaigns in the client's own accounts, not the agency's); a CRM and follow-up system (automated DM response, missed-call text-back, lead tracking); and monthly performance reporting (cost-per-lead, reach, and attributed bookings or revenue). Retainers that include only scheduling and caption management — without production or paid management — are content management services, not full-service social media retainers.

What do most Australian social media retainers leave out?

Most Australian social media agency retainers leave out: (1) original video production — the agency expects the client to supply content; (2) paid advertising management — ads are quoted separately or not offered; (3) CRM and follow-up automation — no system for converting enquiries into bookings; (4) clear ad account ownership — spend runs through the agency's accounts rather than the client's; (5) performance reporting tied to revenue outcomes — reporting shows reach and likes but not leads generated or bookings closed. A retainer that doesn't specify these five components is incomplete for a service business that needs leads, not just a busy social media feed.

How much should a full-service social media retainer cost in Australia?

A full-service social media retainer in Australia that includes production, paid campaigns, CRM, and reporting costs $2,500–$10,000/mo depending on scope. At $2,500/mo (Launch): one shoot day per month, 8–12 content pieces, organic posting, and $500 bundled ad spend. At $5,000/mo (Growth): two shoot days, Meta and Google Ads management, $1,500 bundled ad spend, CRM automation. At $10,000/mo (Scale): multiple shoot days, A/B creative testing, $3,000 bundled ad spend (scales to $7,500), performance reporting tied to revenue. Ad spend should be bundled at cost — not marked up. Retainers below $2,000/mo typically don't include original video production or full paid campaign management.

Field notes · retainers

what should be in a social media retainer: the complete checklist for Australian businesses

Most social media retainers in Australia don't include what businesses actually need to generate leads. Here's what the full-service version looks like — and the five things most retainers quietly leave out.

A social media retainer should generate leads. That sounds obvious — but most Australian social media retainers are scoped around content management and posting, not around lead generation. The gap between those two objectives is what explains the "we tried social media and it didn't work" experience that most Melbourne business owners have had at least once.

This is the checklist for what a full-service social media retainer should include. Use it to evaluate a quote before you sign, or to identify what's missing from a retainer that isn't producing results.

1. original video production — a shoot day, not stock

The first thing to confirm is whether the retainer includes original video production or whether the agency expects you to supply the content.

A retainer that includes original production should specify: a shoot day (the date the crew comes to your premises), the number of deliverables (Reels, photography, hero content), the format (vertical for Reels/Stories, horizontal for YouTube/web), and the turnaround from shoot to delivery.

A retainer that doesn't include a shoot day is a content management service. The distinction matters: for a Melbourne hospitality venue, real estate agent, or car dealership, the content that converts is filmed footage of the actual business. A retainer that manages posting of your own content is different from one that produces the content.

2. paid advertising management — in your accounts

Paid advertising (Meta Ads and Google Ads) should be included or explicitly quoted separately. If it's included, confirm:

Account ownership. The ad accounts should live in your own Meta Business Manager, not the agency's. If the agency runs your spend through their accounts, you don't own the data, the pixel, or the audience when you leave. Ask to see where the account will be before signing.

Ad spend handling. Transparent agencies pass ad spend at cost — the billing goes to your credit card or is invoiced at cost as a separate line. Opaque agencies invoice ad spend at a markup. Ask explicitly: "Is the ad spend billed at cost or with a markup?"

Campaign structure. A properly structured paid campaign separates cold audience awareness from warm audience retargeting. Ask whether the campaign will include both, or only one.

3. CRM and follow-up automation

A social media campaign generates enquiries. The retainer should include the system that converts those enquiries into bookings before they go cold.

At a minimum, this means: a missed-call text-back (a text message fires within seconds of a missed call, with a booking link or a direct reply); an automated DM response (for Instagram and Facebook messages that arrive outside business hours); and a CRM that consolidates messages from Meta, Google, phone, and the website contact form into a single queue.

Without these systems, leads generated at 9pm don't get answered until the next morning — and a competitor who has automated follow-up has already responded, booked the appointment, and moved on.

If the retainer doesn't include follow-up automation, ask specifically: what happens to the leads the campaign generates?

4. account ownership — not the agency's

This applies to every channel: the Instagram account, the Facebook Page, the Google Business Profile, the Meta Business Manager, the ad accounts, the pixel, the domain, the website.

The test: if you cancel the retainer tomorrow, do you retain full access to everything? If the answer is no — if the agency has admin access that you depend on, or if any account is under the agency's ownership — that's a leverage point that should be addressed before signing.

The correct model is: you own everything; the agency is an admin on your accounts. You grant access; you can revoke it. The agency's access is a permission, not an ownership.

5. performance reporting tied to outcomes

Monthly reporting should connect campaign spend to business outcomes — not just reach and follower count. The metrics that matter for a Melbourne service business:

Cost-per-lead. Total campaign spend divided by the number of qualified leads generated. For a Melbourne hospitality venue, a qualified lead is a booking request. For a trades business, it's a quote request. For a finance broker, it's a pre-approval enquiry.

Lead-to-booking conversion rate. Of the leads generated, what percentage became confirmed bookings? This metric identifies whether the campaign is delivering leads of the right quality, or whether the follow-up system has a conversion problem.

Attributed revenue. At the scale tier, reporting should connect campaign spend to revenue — vehicles sold, loans settled, covers booked, listings taken. This requires CRM integration, but it's the number that justifies the retainer.

what a full-service retainer scope actually looks like

By tier, what a properly scoped Australian social media retainer includes:

$2,500/mo (Launch): One shoot day per month generating 8–12 pieces of content (Reels, photography), organic posting on Instagram and Facebook, $500 bundled ad spend at cost (runs a $15/day awareness campaign), and a basic CRM setup for lead capture.

$5,000/mo (Growth): Two shoot days per month, Meta Ads + Google Ads management, $1,500 bundled ad spend (full-funnel cold + retargeting + branded search), CRM automation including missed-call text-back and automated DM response, and monthly reporting with cost-per-lead tracking.

$10,000/mo (Scale): Multiple shoot days, A/B creative testing (2+ creative variations tested per campaign), $3,000 bundled ad spend (scales to $7,500), deeper CRM automation (lead scoring, follow-up sequences), and performance reporting tied to revenue outcomes.

Konquer Media publishes these rates at konquermediaagency.com/pricing — with ad spend bundled at cost and no setup fee at any tier.

For the comparison of agency types in Melbourne, see how to choose a social media agency in Melbourne. For what the retainer pricing covers in detail, see social media content packages in Australia. To discuss what scope fits your business, use the brief form.

Book a brief → See our packages