Every Tool I Use to Run My CPG Social Media Agency

Maybe you’re a CPG founder who wants the best tools to manage your social media accounts. Or maybe you’re a fellow social media strategist. Regardless, welcome! I’m breaking down all the tools I use to run my CPG social media agency.

Apple Products

WHY: Like most marketing girlies, I’m an Apple girlie. I run my entire business on an iPhone 12 Pro and Macbook Air.

COST: New iPhones start at $1100. New Macbook Airs start at $1000.

NEED IT OR NOT: For social media, you need an iPhone. It’s the least buggy and has all the editing apps. The main reason I switched to a Macbook Air was to AirDrop files back and forth. It significantly speeds up the content creation process.

Google Workspace

WHY: I love Google products. They’re easy for everyone to use, no matter where they are. I use Google Drive to store everything. Google Sheets for content calendars and tracking KPIs. All of my client meetings happen via Google Hangouts. And my Google Calendar helps me keep track of meetings, both personal and professional.

COST: You can access most Google products for free, but Google Workspace starts at $15 per month.

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes.

Notion

WHY: I run my entire life and my entire CPG social media agency in Notion. I have three workspaces: one for my personal life, one for my business, and one to host some of my free downloads and all of my digital products.

COST: $0

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes. It’s the perfect system for anyone who wants to manage a lot of different things in a lot of different ways but in one single program.

Toggl

WHY: Before Toggl, I thought I effectively tracked my time in Google Calendar. I was wrong. Toggl’s revealed exactly what tasks take over my days. That’s helped me price more effectively and delegate in the most impactful way, because now I know what will free up the most amount of time.

COST: $0

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes.

Adobe Creative Suite

WHY: I use Adobe Creative Suite to create all of my client’s content. I find it significantly easier to use than Canva.

COST: Ranges from $23 – 70 per month.

NEED IT OR NOT: You need either Adobe Creative Suite or Canva. I use both.

Canva Pro

WHY: Most social media managers and content creators prefer Canva. I think the UX is horrible so the design process take 10x as long as Adobe. But I love it for client-facing documents like strategies, monthly analytics reports, and campaign launch proposals.

COST: $15 per month.

NEED IT OR NOT: You need either Canva or Adobe. I use both.

Canva Pro Design Templates

WHY: In 2025 I invested in Lauren Does Mktg’s Ready, Set, Post Custom Carousel Templates. It was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

Let me back up. One of my biggest flaws as a business owner is not consistently marketing my own business. After my rebrand, I was over my own excuses and knew I had to figure this shit out. So I reviewed my content creation process, figured out what I hated, what was taking the most time, and how I could fix it.

Now I have beautiful, on-brand Instagram carousel and reel cover templates that are so easy to use. They make content creation easier, faster, and more enjoyable, so now I’m actually sticking to it!

COST: £599

NEED: No, but it sure helps.

Instagram Edits App

WHY: I’ve tried all the apps, and even paid for a few like InShot and CapCut. Instagram Edits is better. It has more editing features, takes less time, and streamlines the creation process.

Instagram’s Head, Adam Mosseri, has confirmed that using Instagram Edits can improve your reach, signaling a preference for keeping content workflow within the Meta ecosystem.

COST: $0

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes.

Meta Verification

WHY: For the search benefits.

COST: Starts at $14.99 per month and goes all the way up to $499 per month.

NEED IT OR NOT: No. But it is a nice to have for SEO benefits and customer support, especially should anything happen to your account.

Later Media

WHY: A social media scheduling tool is necessary. You’ll never forget to post again, nor will you have to stop what you’re doing to post because Later will do it for you.

I’ve used Later since 2019 because it’s easy to use, you can schedule content across a variety of channels, and they have analytics to make reporting easier.

COST: Plans range from $18.75 – 82.50 per month. To get access to the client approval system, I’m paying $37.50 per month per client.

NEED IT OR NOT: You need some kind of social media scheduling tool. This is my recommendation.

Metricool

WHY: In 2026, I introduced Metricool to my systems because of it’s client approval process. While I haven’t used it for very long, I’ve been reassured by every social media manager I trust that the client approval system is better than any other tool. To be determined!

COST: Plans range from $0 – custom. To get access to the client approval system, I’m paying $54 per month for up to 15 clients.

NEED IT OR NOT: You need a social media scheduling tool.

Flodesk

WHY: Flodesk makes it so easy to create gorgeous, design-forward email newsletters without needing design or coding experience. I use them for my own newsletters (sign up here!). 

COST: Plans range from $0 – 49 per month. Click here to save 50% for your first year.

NEED IT OR NOT: For fellow social media agencies, yes. For CPG food and beverage brands, I recommend Klaviyo.

ShowIt

WHY: To host and design my website. ShowIt’s UX is pretty similar to photoshop so if you’re an Adobe girlie, you’ll get the hang of it immediately.

In my experience, the only website builders that are worth it for social media agencies are ShowIt and Squarespace.

Squarespace is great for beginner social media agencies who don’t want to spend a lot of time or money building your site. My original website was on Squarespace from 2014 – 2022.

ShowIt is better for social media agencies who either want complete creative control over every single design detail (me) or are happy to invest in a professional designer (also me). I’ve been on ShowIt since 2022.

For CPG food and beverage brands, the only website builder that’s worth it is Shopify. Please don’t use Wix or WooCommerce. They won’t integrate with email service providers, they require a ton of technical support and maintenance, and they don’t have the SEO or security features of Shopify.

COST: Plans range from $228 – 408 per year. To get all the blogging features, I have the $408 per year plan.

NEED IT OR NOT: For fellow social media agencies, yes.

ThriveCart

WHY: Until 2025, I used Flodesk Checkouts to host my digital products. It was so simple to set up, easy to maintain, and I don’t have any complaints. But I wanted more analytics, better integrations, and I wanted to offer order bumps and upsells. So I switched to ThriveCart!

COST: $495 one-time, lifetime payment, with additional costs for upgraded features.

NEED IT OR NOT: If you’re selling digital products, yes.

Stripe

WHY: To process payments.

COST: It’s free to use, but payment processing fees range from 2.9% for US cards and 4.4% for international cards.

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes. I prefer Square because they have lower fees for international clients (and I have two social media marketing clients in Canada) but Square doesn’t integrate with ThriveCart or Dubsado.

Dubsado

WHY: I use Dubsado to automate all of my my client onboarding, contracts, and invoicing so I can spend less time on admin and more time supporting my clients. It took a while to set up, and I highly recommend hiring someone to do it for you, but if you’re interested in automating your business, this is where I’d start. One of my big 2026 investments is hiring someone to perfect my automations and make them so much prettier.

COST: $525 per year. Use this link to save 20% off your first year of Dubsado.

NEED IT OR NOT: Yes.

Slack

WHY: I use Slack for social media marketing clients on the Visibility and Scale Plans, and to provide post-project support for my Instagram Account Audit clients. It’s easy to use at my desk or on-the-go and allows me to offer higher touch support for the clients who need it.

COST: $0

NEED IT OR NOT: It’s not necessary, but it is nice to have. It’s improved my client’s experience and reduced how long I’m stuck in my inbox.

---

Wait, Who Am I?

Hiiii! 👋🏻 I’m Sarah, a CPG social media strategist with over 10 years of experience. I went from starting a clean beauty blog right out of high school to managing social media for Canada’s largest wellness retailer. Now I live in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina, helping high-growth entrepreneurs get SEEN so they can build a crazy fun life their business supports, and not the other way around.

If you liked this blog post and want more of the latest & greatest marketing advice (and a couple bev recs), here are a few ways to do just that:

Subscribe to On the House! You’ll get one weekly newsletter serving up marketing lessons tailored to CPG food, beverage, and wellness brands. Click here to subscribe.

Scroll through the blog. If you liked this blog post, you’ll probably like the rest. Scroll through to snag my tried & true social media marketing advice. No gatekeeping here!

Get the marketing support your business deserves. I’ll manage your Instagram and TikTok accounts, audit your Instagram marketing, hop on a 1:1 Clarity Call, and more.

Explore the Shop. Each digital product is designed for CPG founders who want marketing to feel easy(er).

To get in touch with me personally, slide into my DMs or send an email to hi@seenandsharedmarketing.com.