Social media can reach a wide range of people all over the world; hence, it has become a useful tool to connect to potential clients and customers. It also provides a convenient venue for purchasing products and availing services. But, how much does social media marketing cost?
To be able to reach target customers through social media is not that simple. There are several factors to consider before you apply this marketing tool.
How much does it cost? Which equipment or software does it require? How many social networks do you have to use for your business?
Social media marketing is being done for quite some time now. It became popular because it doesn’t require a huge advertising budget, and businesses of any size and kind can compete with the larger companies. However, it still comes with a price. As such, we will show you how much it costs this year, the factors that affect the pricing, and more.
How Much Does Social Media Marketing Cost?
The cost of social media marketing depends on the social media platform and other factors such as the experience of the social media expert you hire, the size of your business, and the bundle of services you need. In general, the approximate cost can vary from $1,000 to $20,000 per month.
To give you thorough analysis on how much does social media marketing cost, here are the marketing prices on each social media platform.
1. Facebook
Facebook reaches more than one billion daily active users. No wonder it is the most popular social media platform and an effective marketing tool. It doesn’t cost anything to set up a Facebook account for a business, but it offers some paid services for advertising.
Among the paid services are Facebook ads, likes, and boosted posts.
- Facebook Ads
Facebook ads can enhance your business’ page visibility in various ways: page likes, app installs, site conversions, clicks to websites, and more. Plus, you can manage how much budget you can spend on ads or you can ask Facebook for good deals for conversions at reasonable prices.
There are also two advertising models to choose from: the CPM and the CPC model. The CPM model requires you to spend a particular amount for every 1000 views of your ad regardless of whether the people click on your ads or not.
On the other hand, the CPC model is more expensive, but you only pay for the clicks of interested users or when the user clicks on the ad. The price of each model varies. In history, the average CPC cost in 2015 was $0.27.
- Facebook Likes
Another effective paid method to improve the social visibility of a business is increasing Facebook likes. Generally, the more likes a post has, the more chance it will be seen and the more traffic the business website will have.
On average, businesses spend $0.57 for every Facebook like. This was determined by a social application company that manages companies’ social accounts.
- Boosted Posts
Facebook can also “boost” or improve the prevailing posts to make them more visible to more users depending on your target audience. The cost of this option depends on the target audience and the number of people who will see the posts.
Facebook uses the CPM model for this option. It relatively costs an average of $6.35 per 1000 views.
2. Twitter
Setting up a Twitter account is free too, and just like Facebook, it also offers paid options for advertising also known as Twitter ads. Twitter can promote businesses in various ways such as promoted tweets, promoted accounts, and promoted trends.
- Promoted Tweets
You can choose tweets that Twitter can show up in a user’s timeline. This marketing model works on a bidding system, and the price depends on the kind and number of engagements they earn such as replies, likes, clicks, and favorites. It costs an average of $1.35 per promoted tweet.
- Promoted Account
Aside from tweets, businesses can also promote their accounts. This enables them to be more visible and gain more followers.
Unlike promoted tweets, promoted account works by setting a bid on how much you are willing to pay for each new follower. The costs vary, but on average, the price can range from $2.50 to $4 per follower.
- Promoted Trends
Promoted trends cost more than the abovementioned methods. The promoted trends appear on the “trending topics” that alert the users on the most prominent topics and hashtags.
It works by putting a bid for a particular keyword or keywords to get in the promoted trend. This bid can cost around $200,000 per day.
3. Instagram
Similar to Facebook and Twitter, it is completely free to set up an Instagram account. Instagram allows businesses to create Instagram ads that are seen by the users as the Sponsored posts. This option was initially offered to popular brands, but it now became available to a wider range of businesses through the Facebook ad manager.
The average price for an Instagram photo ad for every 1,000 views is $6.70, while the Instagram video ad cost an average of $3 per a thousand views.
4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is used to create and boost professional connections. It costs nothing to set up a LinkedIn account, but you can also opt for paid methods to enhance brand awareness and relationships. The two paid options are LinkedIn ads and Sponsored updates.
- LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn ads are placed in the sidebars beside the pages and users’ feeds. They are short and come with a small image that encourages the user to click and get redirected to the promoted website or page. An individual or business can create up to 15 various LinkedIn ads, with up to 25 character headlines and 75 characters description each.
It is offered in two ways: CPM and CPC model. In both models, you can bid at a minimum of $2, but LinkedIn suggests that the bid should range from $2.85 to $4.62 for the CPM model and from $5.55 to $9.33 for the CPC model.
Conclusion
While social media marketing comes with a price, you don’t have to spend thousands or millions to advertise your products or services. With appropriate research and effective techniques, you can create ads and reach a more extensive range of audience or target a specific market.
Some businesses also opt to hire freelance social media marketers at an average rate, while some businesses hire an agency that can manage their business’ social media platforms. The choices you make should always match the needs and suitability of your business.