So you started a business and now you need to advertise on social media. The question that I always get is how much does it cost. Let’s dive in…..

Social media continues to gain popularity, and promoting your business on social media is very effective for marketing. Social media keeps you current and up to date potential customers. It allows you to develop relationships that encourage them to purchase your products and services.

It is almost impossible for a new business to operate without a social media presence these days. The biggest problem is that many businesses /brands either don’t know how to use social media, or they are too busy or don’t have the time to do it. This is the reason, businesses are hiring social media management freelancers or consultants to handle it for them.

When starting a business there are many decisions that you will have to make, and your budget for marketing and advertising is one of them. The cost to hire a social media manager varies…a lot! One factor is the experience level of the social media management agency you hire, the size of your business, and a lot of other factors. Professional social media marketing can cost you anywhere from $1,000 per month to $20,000 per month.

If you hire someone only part-time, It varies from $50 to $200 per hour.
0-3 years experience/ $15-$50 an hour
3-5 years experience/ $50-$100 an hour
5-10 years experience/ $120+ an hour

If hire an agency, this can be very expensive. Websites such as ContentFac.com says it’s common for agencies to charge $1,000-$2,500 per month just to manage a Twitter account. Keep in mind that doesn’t even include the set up cost! If you want to hire a PR agency to manage your Facebook page, this cost around $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Believe it are not, some PR agencies charge around $9,000 a month! If you need a social media strategy planned out and then implemented, you will be out of about $3,000 to $20,000 per month for just two social media channels. Average cost would be $4,000–7,000 per month.

Social media charging options

1. Hourly Rate: The economy is based on hourly wages, so this is a common way for social media freelancers and consultants to base their business on. The hourly rate is simple and convenient.
2. Monthly (Fixed-Fee): Social media marketing managers prefer to charge a fixed monthly fee for their services. This gives a consistent and predictable income, which is beneficial for both the client and freelancer.
3. Retainer: Social media consultants will charge a retainer fee. A retainer is a payment made in advance for future services performed by the social media manager/consultant.
4. Per-Project Basis: You can also charge on a per-project basis that you set ahead of time. The per-project basis offers a lot of flexibility in outsourcing some of the work if you wanted to scale. However, social media managers/consultants aren’t fund of this because they are taking a risk of undercharging if a project takes longer than expected.

One thing you may want to take into consideration when deciding how much to pay for social media management is how many social media platforms you want managed and how many accounts you want managed. It’s obvious, the more they have, the more you’ll have to pay. Also, the cost depends on whether or not the accounts have already been started. Will they be creating a brand new account for that company from scratch with no followers? Or are you hiring them to take over an account that is already active?

Another thing to consider is whether the social media manager will be creating the content or will you provide the content and have it ready to post. Social media managers and consultants also offer a variety of services like blogging, copy-writing, or graphic design. If you need them to create the blog posts, or the memes and post them, you’ll be charged more. They may be required to do research to find good content for your business’s social media platforms, which adds more time to their job.

What about when a customer has a complaint about your product or service, he or she are likely to go to social media before they call or email you about the issue. Who will be in charge of responding to those complaints and following up with them, or will they simply direct them to you? Customer complaints and inquiries can be very time-consuming, especially as your business grows, so keep in mind a larger fee will be charged.

The variations in cost can make things difficult for business owners who need to outsource their social media marketing. The difficulty of trying to figure out which social media agency or social media manager to hire, which services you need, and how much money you should spend can cause a lot of anxiety, which can be hard when you’re trying to grow your brand.

Many social media marketing consultants and agencies will offer a package that fits in your budget. Before you hire a social media manager research social media marketing costs so you can find the best professional for your budget and brand.

If you’re a small business and only need assistance with simple social media maintenance (i.e. posting regularly on Instagram, maintaining a basic brand presence on social, responding to comments and messages), an individual freelancer or social media consultant will be a better fit than a large agency.

If a social media manager isn’t in your budget (even though this should be factored in your advertising budget before launching your business) you can always pay for social media classes to learn how to manage and build your brand yourself, but more than likely you won’t have the time 🙂