Social media can be a really powerful way to connect with and build deeper relationships with your audience – but it can be extremely time consuming. So, we asked some folks we admire to share how they manage their social profiles and whether they’ve hired professionals to help.

Korina Mercado

Managing social media effectively is all about strategy, credibility, and consistency. I’ve been building my presence online since 2011, starting as a student in the Philippines who knew that standing out was essential for creating opportunities. That’s when I discovered LinkedIn—a platform filled with professionals—and realized it was the best place to showcase my credibility. Over the years, by consistently sharing my experiences and insights, I grew my LinkedIn following to 35,000. My Instagram has 12,000 followers and a community I built on Facebook has almost 70,000 members, the credibility I built on LinkedIn has led to brand partnerships, consulting opportunities, and leadership roles. Read more>>

Aly Cross

Right now, I manage my own social media, but I have a Virtual Assistant who helps me stay on top of it. We’ve gone through a few different setups, but what’s working best for us now is that I handle the content calendar and strategy, and my VA writes the captions and designs carousels. So far, this has been the best approach for growth and engagement—especially with my current followers. Read more>>

Kristian Harloff

I do manage my own social media and I do have some people who help me who I trust. I have been doing my own social media for a very long time and one of the main reasons is because I feel it is important to learn each new trend and to stay up-to-date with the best things that can help my business. The main thing I would say to other people who want to do what I do is to keep up and be consistent on posting and being aware of what is trending with the content you are providing. Read more>>

Julia Livingston

We run all of our Clovis social media in-house, quite literally. It’s just me and my beyond-incredible photographer Haley doing everything from content creation to trend-wrangling to handling the never-ending platform changes. And honestly? Social media has become more of an obstacle course than a creative outlet. Read more>>

Maddie Kirby

I manage my own social media accounts, they include Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest. I decided to manage my own social medias for two reasons, the first being to save costs. Paying for someone else or another company to run your social media channels is very expensive especially if they are covering several platforms and it can be difficult to find someone/ a company that has good knowledge of all social platforms that I am on. The second reason I chose to run my own social media was that since I am in the artistic and creative space I believe how you portray your work online is very important. Working in photography and getting to know people very well especially through weddings is something very personal and you want to come across as authentic. Read more>>

George Khalife

At this point in my career, I probably should have someone running my socials. Honestly, I have tried to hire companies, but I am so selective and have a certain image that I like to portray. So, I choose to do it my self. This may be the right or wrong answer because sometimes I get overwhelmed and have to take a social break, (which I think can be healthy from time to time) but I do feel like my social media truly represents my brand, myself and the experience of working directly with me. Read more>>

James Park

As a full-time content creator, I manage all my social media on my own. I’d love to have a team to brainstorm ideas and help me develop bigger-picture concepts and series, but handling everything myself can be challenging. While I love having full creative control, I sometimes wish I had someone to provide constructive criticism and help me grow as a creator. Read more>>

Natalis Savanh

I manage my own social media and haven’t considered hiring anyone to manage it. My growth has been slow and steady due to juggling responsibilities outside of my business.

One piece of advice I’d give to future business owners in photography and modeling is to be your authentic self. Social media, despite being a valuable tool, can become saturated with trends and the pursuit of the next “big thing.” Sometimes, it’s okay to pause and allow your audience to find you. Read more>>