When you’re growing a business, the pressure to manage your digital presence and daily operations can get overwhelming. You may find yourself asking: should I hire one person to do it all, or split the tasks between two specialists—one for social media management and another as a virtual assistant?

The truth is, both approaches have their benefits and drawbacks. Understanding what each role entails and how they contribute to your business can help you make the right decision.

Social media management goes far beyond just posting content. It includes strategy development, digital content planning, engagement, data analytics, and keeping up with the latest trends and platform updates. A specialist in social media marketing knows how to build your brand’s online voice and attract your ideal audience.

On the other hand, an administrative assistant typically handles a wide range of administrative or operational tasks—from email management and scheduling to customer support and data entry. While many VAs are skilled in content scheduling, they may not have the strategic expertise that a dedicated SMM professional brings.

Hiring two freelancers—one focused on social media management and another as a virtual assistant—allows you to benefit from specialized skills. Your SMM freelancer can dive deep into social media marketing services, develop campaigns, analyze performance metrics, and generate content that aligns with current trends. Meanwhile, your VA can keep your business running smoothly behind the scenes.

This separation can lead to higher-quality work, better time management, and more accountability from each freelancer. You avoid overwhelming one person with tasks outside their core strengths, ensuring each aspect of your business gets the attention it deserves.

If you’re in the early stages of your business and your workload is light, hiring one highly capable virtual assistant with cross-functional experience could be a smart short-term solution. Some VAs are skilled in both administrative and marketing tasks and can offer a well-rounded approach.

One person, too many tasks—when your virtual assistant is stretched thin, productivity suffers.

However, as your business grows, you may notice that your social media presence becomes stagnant or your VA becomes too stretched. That’s when it’s time to reconsider whether a split-role setup might better support your goals.

Budget plays a significant role in this decision. Hiring two freelancers may cost more initially, but the return on investment can be greater when each individual is laser-focused on their area of expertise. Delegating social media marketing to a skilled SMM expert while an administrative assistant handles operations can help streamline tasks and deliver better results, ultimately helping you grow your business.

A single person managing both areas might seem cost-effective, but it often leads to mediocre performance on one or both fronts. If your goal is long-term business growth, investing in quality talent matters.

If you do hire two freelancers, you’ll need to establish clear communication workflows between them. Your social media management freelancer may rely on your VA for image sourcing, data collection, or community management support. With the right systems and tools in place, these roles can complement each other seamlessly.

Apps like Trello, Slack, or Asana can help ensure everyone stays on the same page. You can also assign your VA the task of helping coordinate projects, meetings, and content deadlines, allowing your SMM freelancer to focus entirely on strategy and execution.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but if your business is expanding and your social media presence is a critical part of your brand, hiring two freelancers can be a powerful move. One focused on social media marketing, and the other dedicated to backend operations as your virtual assistant, creates a solid foundation for growth, efficiency, and scalability.