Social media management packages in the UAE: what's in them

A package that says '20 posts a month' hasn't told you what you're buying, because a template with a caption and a scripted, shot, edited and subtitled Arabic video both count as one post. Post counts are easy to compare, which is why they get sold, and they're the wrong thing to compare.

What does a post count really measure?

Almost nothing about effort. Four formats sit behind the word 'post', and each needs a different amount of work from different people.

A package with 24 template posts and one with 10 posts, six of them original video, can sit at the same monthly fee and hold very different amounts of work. The count doesn't say which one you're getting.

Five things a package can leave out of the fee

Each of five things can sit outside the fee, and each can cost more than the posts.

• Shoots. Crew, location, talent and editing days are separate unless the package says otherwise. Ask how many shoot days a month are included, and who obtains any location permits.
• Paid ads. The media is paid to the platforms, and managing the campaigns is a second job with its own fee. A package that says 'boosts included' should say what budget, who sets it up and where results are reported.
• Community management. Replies to comments and direct messages take hours every week, so ask which hours are covered, how fast a message gets an answer and whether WhatsApp enquiries count. DataReportal's GWI figures for Q2 2026 put WhatsApp use among UAE internet users aged 16 and over at 84.1%, higher than YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, so a customer who sees a post often carries on there.
• Arabic. Native Arabic written for Arabic readers is a different job from captions translated out of English. Ask who writes it and who approves it.
• Creators and influencers. Fees, usage rights and permits are separate from a management fee unless the package says otherwise.

Creators bring a rule of their own. The National reported in January 2026 that the UAE's Advertiser Permit, now issued by the National Media Authority, is required for anyone posting promotional content on social media, whether paid or unpaid, and Gulf News reported it mandatory from 1 February 2026.

People promoting their own products or services through personal accounts, or those of a company they own, are reported as exempt, and that exemption shouldn't be stretched to brand deals or gifted items. Details rest on press and law-firm reports, so check with the authority. This isn't legal advice, and the guide to the permit and the influencer licence post go further.

Compare production schedules, not post counts

1. 01Rewrite each package as a monthly production schedule: originals counted by format and by language, with videos, carousels and templates in separate rows.
2. 02Add the shoot days, and write down who is on each one.
3. 03Write down the reply hours for comments, direct messages and WhatsApp. The federal working week has a Saturday and Sunday weekend with a half day on Friday, and private firms choose their own, so measure coverage against your customers' hours and not the agency's.
4. 04List what's excluded and get a price for each exclusion: ad management, creator fees, extra languages and extra platforms.
5. 05Ask for a sample report from an existing account with the names removed. If it ends at followers and reach, you're buying a posting service.

Here is the exercise run on two made-up packages that cost the same each month.

On posts alone Package A looks more than twice as generous. In production terms Package B holds more, and it's the only one with a shoot and native Arabic. Neither is right for every business, and the fair question is which one produces what your customers respond to.

Our own package, for comparison

Magnetic Keys' social media management begins at AED 12,000 a month plus VAT, and a monthly studio day is part of it. Arabic copy is written by native writers and never machine-translated, the number of posts is agreed in a monthly plan, and you pay the platforms for the ad budget yourself.

For UAE real estate, social also comes with every tier of the plug-in marketing department, from AED 18,000 a month. The social media management guide lists what a good monthly scope contains.

Ask each agency for its plan for Ramadan, which is expected from 8 February 2027 depending on the moon sighting. A good answer names the shoot dates before the month starts, the Arabic-first scripts and the changed posting hours. A package with no answer is unfinished for a market where Ramadan changes both posting hours and tone.