What are the costs of marketing for social media?

‍What are the costs of marketing for social media?

Social media marketing speaks directly to your target group, invites interaction and, above all, must stand out. This makes it all the more important to focus on quality and creativity. If you want to use social networks as an advertising platform, it is important to plan a sufficient budget.

What are the costs of social media marketing? Social media marketing is a marketing measure in the process. This means that posts and ads have to be placed regularly. The costs are therefore usually included in the budget on a monthly basis. With two to three weekly posts and a budget for advertising, this results in an average monthly amount of EUR 1,000 for small companies.

There is no upper limit. It all depends on the reach you want for your company and which marketing manager services you use. Because social media marketing is in vogue, you will find a large number of providers. This makes it all the more important to obtain several offers and compare the price-performance ratio.

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You can expect these services in marketing for social media

To help you assess whether the costs charged for social media marketing are fair, here is an overview of the services and the time required.

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The table contains approximate times for the individual items that are important for marketing in social networks. They form a basis for calculating the costs of marketing for social media.

Factors influencing the costs of social media marketing

You have an initial overview of the general services you can expect from a social media marketing manager. However, there are factors that will also have a significant impact on your budget.

What kind of product is it?

Which product or service should be publicized? Does the product require extensive explanations or is it easy to understand? The complexity of your goods increases the time required for content creation. Hardly any marketing manager will tell you honestly, but the time required for posts about clothing is not that high. Cosmetics or pharmaceutical products, on the other hand, are a challenge.

What content and formats would you like to see?

You have probably already thought about what content should be shared on social networks. A distinction is made between photos, posts and videos. The production of the formats requires different time frames. This has an impact on the costs.

What is your goal?

What demands do you place on the success of social media marketing? Do you want your product to attract attention online? Do you want to strengthen your brand? Do you need reach or are you looking to increase sales figures? A strategy is developed depending on the objective. There may be differences in the type and quantity of posts and interactions.
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It is helpful to set milestones in the strategy and development. It is noted which intermediate goals are to be achieved and when. With regular checks at certain intervals, you can see whether these are being met. If this is not the case, strategy optimization is necessary.

Where and what should be posted?

The costs for social media marketing are also influenced by which social networks you want to appear on. Each network requires a different tone of voice and different image or video languages. A broad positioning across different networks results in higher costs.

Content also plays a role. News and updates about your company are not as time-consuming as comprehensive information posts with images, videos and graphics. In some cases, it only becomes clear over time which form of post is well received by users. It may be necessary to make further adjustments to the strategy here. This may have an impact on the budget.

How much time do you want to invest yourself?

You decide which tasks you want to assign to an external service provider if you want to use them. It's comparable to building a house. The more work you do yourself, the cheaper it will be. However, the quality can also vary.

Discuss what your company contributes in the consultation and as part of the strategy creation. Are you handing over all social media marketing? Will your employees perhaps take care of the interaction with users? Do you provide images or graphics? Are the texts written by your employees?
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Formulate the tasks for the social media marketing expert precisely so that no incorrect items appear on the invoice.
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Important: The costs of social media marketing are often high, especially in the early days. To increase the visibility of your products and your sales, you need to be seen. The faster your company becomes recognizable through posts and advertising on social networks, the better. However, you should not lose sight of quality.
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Agency or do it yourself - what reduces costs?

When it comes to the cost of marketing in the social media sector, there is one question that needs to be addressed: Will it be carried out internally or externally? The following quote is helpful in making a decision here:

"Why social media? Marketing is no longer about what you make, it's about the stories you tell." (Seth Godin, online marketing expert)

Do you have one or more social media experts in your company who can implement exactly what is in the quote? Then it is always an advantage to use this variant. The following points speak in favor of this:

• your employees know the company

• they identify with the company

• there are short communication channels

One mistake that many companies make is to underestimate social media marketing. It is a complex job and not a task that an employee can do on the side.

If you don't have an expert on hand, everything speaks in favor of an agency. This also has some advantages:

• Social media marketing agencies offer the complete program

• the agency's employees are, ideally, highly trained

• they are familiar with the techniques, psychology and sociology of social networks

As Brian Solis, digital analyst, has already said:

"Social media is more about sociology and psychology than technology."

Tip: This is where personal contribution comes into play again. An agency would probably like to give you the feeling that you will only benefit if everything is in professional hands. That doesn't have to be the case. There are a few points that speak in favor of taking on some of the social media marketing internally. 

Is success dependent on your budget?

Social media thrives on a community. Even if it is often said: building this community takes time. Of course, success also depends on your budget. How much advertising can you place? How much time is invested in interacting with interested parties? How comprehensive, eye-catching and high-quality are the posts for your company?

But that's not all. On average, it takes around 12 months for social media marketing to make itself felt in terms of visitors to your website, bookings and sales figures. So patience is also required.

Trust and credibility are the goals that make a good strategy. You need a higher budget for this, especially at the beginning. Once your social media accounts have been opened and regularly filled with content, the first step has been taken.

By the way: How can you recognize a good social media marketing agency? There is no guarantee that strategies and campaigns will be successful.

Social media marketing is a gradual process that requires constant adjustment. So it's all the better if you allow for a little flexibility in your budget.

Conclusion: The costs of social media marketing are difficult to generalize

"With us you get marketing in social networks cheaper than with the competition." If you read an offer like this, you should be careful. In fact, the costs of social media marketing are highly dependent on your wishes, goals and requirements. Generalizations are hardly possible.

For an initial overview, it is helpful to indicate the average monthly costs for two weekly posts and reporting. These start at around 1,000 euros. In addition, there are the costs for initial consultations, strategy development, advertising and post support. If you want a high reach quickly, €4,000 and more per month is not uncommon.

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