Social media is indeed a powerful tool to achieve your marketing objectives, such as reaching a wider audience, increasing brand awareness, fostering customer engagement, and generating leads.
Businesses turn to social media management services to leverage the expertise of professionals to help create effective social media strategies and navigate the complexities.
While this prospect excites social media managers and agency owners, the question to determine how much should the services of your social media management cost lingers in the minds of many.
But fear not; this guide has the answers you seek.
We will help you navigate the murky waters of social media management pricing models. Whether your clients are small businesses or large enterprises, this guide will unveil the best approaches to deciding the prices of your services.
Overview of Social Media Management Cost
Before we discuss the overall cost of social media management, it is important to understand that pricing can vary from business to business and is highly dependent on the services you choose.
On average, social media management services cost roughly $13,000 monthly. This estimation may include services like advertisement campaign costs, content creation costs, and social media management costs.
- Content creation costs: $6,900 per month (Estimation).
- Social platform management: $5,200 per month (Estimation).
- Social media advertising campaigns: $5,200 per month (Estimation).
- Social media management tools: $30 per month.
- Total estimation: $17,300 per month.
Another factor to consider here is whether you’re sourcing the team in-house or going with freelancers or agencies.
However, determining the budget for your social media depends on your business goals. If your aim is to maintain a positive brand image and gradually expand your audience, a monthly allocation of $500 to $1,200 is recommended.
We have further broken down this cost for you into freelancer, agency, and software costs.
Freelance Social Media Management Cost
Hiring a freelancer for social media management services can be a cost-effective solution for businesses that need professional assistance but are not ready to commit to an in-house resource or agency fees.
Freelancers’ pricing plans vary depending on factors such as experience, the complexity of tasks, and geographical location. According to Upwork, freelance social media managers cost between $14 – $35/hr.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with US-Intermediate social media expert freelancers for different services:
Small Business Charges | Average Project Price (Per Month of Campaign) |
Account Management (2 channels/all services) | $400-$2000 |
Account Mgmt. (Each Extra Channel) | $200-$1,500 |
Influencer Targeting | $200-$1000 |
Campaign Creation | $300-$1000 |
Graphic Design | $200-$950 |
Blogging w/ Social Shares | $400-$1,200 |
Customer Outreach | $200-$1,000 |
Data from Upwork
Agency Social Media Management Cost
Hiring an agency for social media marketing can be a significant investment as it results in a comprehensive, strategic approach that benefits businesses looking to enhance their social media presence. Here’s an overview of the costs associated with onboarding a social media management agency:
- Monthly Retainer: Agencies usually offer different pricing models depending on the services provided, but the most common is a monthly retainer. This involves a fixed monthly fee for a bundle of services. Prices can range from $1,000 to $20,000 per month based on the reputation, the scope of work, and the client’s needs.
- Project-Based Pricing: For specific campaigns or projects, such as product launches or brand awareness, agencies might charge you a flat fee. This can vary from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the complexity of the work.
- Performance-Based Pricing: Some agencies offer a model where fees depend on certain performance metrics, such as generating an “X” number of leads or achieving “Y“% of engagement rates.
Social Media Management Tools Cost
Social media managers, also known as community managers, are responsible for creating a brand’s social media strategy to increase brand awareness, drive sales, and increase overall marketing efforts.
Businesses often require social media managers to work on multiple campaigns simultaneously, which sometimes results in compromised efficiency and effectiveness of the overall tasks.
Social media management tools play a significant role in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and strategic impact of the overall campaign. These tools help you manage multiple social media accounts, create marketing strategies, curate content, schedule and publish content across networks, engage with your audience, track analytics, and more.
Here is a tool that will come in handy for you in every situation:
SocialPilot
SocialPilot is one of the best social media management tools for helping you streamline your workflow and get more tasks done in less time. This tool offers a centralized hub to schedule and publish content across multiple social media networks.
You can engage with your audience by replying to comments and messages and tracking the performance of your posts. Its built-in AI assistant feature lets you generate engaging captions and hashtags.