Social Media Marketing has been around for a few years now and there is still a lot of confusion and a lack of clarity regarding what prices companies should expect to pay for social media services. So this blog post will attempt to shed some light on the subject. These figures come from rates shared with me by fellow consultants and agencies that specialize in social media marketing, in addition to my own research, as well as what we charge for similar services.
This article focuses on many social media services including Blogging, Twiiter Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Social Media Strategies, Social Media Consulting (hourly rates), Training Workshops, and even Ghostwriting (yes, companies pay for this)...
When you are trying to set your social media budget for a project, there are several questions you need to ask yourself, such as:
What are your goals for using social media? - Are you wanting to focus on Brand Awareness or are you more interested in Generating Sales or Leads? This greatly determines the tools necessary to achieve those goals
What are your resources? Can you handle everything in-house, or will you need to outsource some of the work? All of the work?
What is the length of the project? Obviously, a 6-month project will cost more than a 3-month project.
When you contact a consultant or agency, they should be asking you questions as well. They should want to know why you want to use social media, what are you trying to accomplish. If they try to give you prices without asking you questions, that is a red flag. They really can’t give you prices until they know more about your company, your resources, and what you are wanting to accomplish.
Now on to the elephant in the room...what you've all been waiting for...another cliche...the Prices.
Blogging
Launch a blog from the ground-up, outsource all content (including customer interaction, responding to comments, etc)
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$12,000 a month
$3,000 – $5,000 a month
Launch a blog from the ground-up, outsource some content creation
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$8,000 a month
$2,000-$3,500 a month
Restructure an existing blog to improve your efforts
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$5,000 a month for 3-6 months
$2,000-$4,000 a month for 3-6 months
Ghostwriting Blog Articles
Full Range
Most Charge
$50-$500 per article
$100-$250 per article
Twitter
Launch a new presence on Twitter and outsource all content creation and customer interaction
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$7,500 a month
$2,000 – $4,000 a month
Launch a new presence on Twitter and then provide ongoing training for company
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$6,000 a month
$1,000-$3,000 a month
Restructure an existing Twitter presence to improve your efforts
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$4,000 a month for 3-6 months
$1,000-$2,500 a month for 3-6 months
Limited coaching to improve your existing efforts on Twitter
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,000-$4,000 a month
$1,000-$2,500 a month
Facebook
Launch a Facebook Page from the ground-up, outsourcing all content creation and customer interactions
Full Range
Most Charge
$2,000-$9,000 a month
$2,500-$5,000 a month
Launch a Facebook Page from the ground-up, with limited ongoing training
Full Range
Most Charge
$1,500-$7,500 a month for 3-6 months
$2,000-$4,000 a month for 3-6 months
Social Media Strategy
Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Creation, assuming outsourcing of all content creation through all channels (minimum 2)
Full Range
Most Charge
$3,000-$20,000 a month
$4,000-$7,000 a month
Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Creation, assuming limited outsourcing of content creation and/or ongoing training
Full Range
Most Charge
$3,000-$15,000 a month for 4-12 months
$3,000-$6,000 a month for 4-12 months
Audit of existing Social Media Strategy Including Recommendations for Improvement
Full Range
Most Charge
$2,000-$10,000
$2,000-$5,000
Social Media Consulting
Hourly Rates
Full Range
Most Charge
$50-$500 per hour
$75-$200 per hour
Note - These prices are based on buying just one hour of a consultant’s time. Many consultants also offer their consulting time in blocks of time. These hours are usually offered at a discounted rate. For example, a consultant might charge $100 for one hour of her time, but if you buy 5 hours of her time, she’ll give you a 25% discount to $375 for 5 hours. Progressive discounts are sometimes offered as the volume of hours bought increases, with final discounts being as high as 33-50% off hourly rates.
Note - Keep in mind that consultants (at least the ones worth hiring) will invest several hours of prep time in assembling and customizing their training materials for you. So while you might buy a full-day workshop, the total time investment for the consultant (including the workshop) could easily be 20-40 hours. Plus they will likely lose at least a full day in travel to and from your company.
As with volume discounts on hourly consulting rates, many consultants will charge more at an hourly rate for workshops shorter than a full day. For example, one consultant might charge $2,000 for a 2-hour workshop, and $5,000 for an 8-hour workshop.
A final word about prices: Don’t be afraid to negotiate. If the quoted price is past your budget, ask for a break, especially if the project will be longer than 3 months. A consultant might not be willing to give you a 15% discount on a 2-month project, but they might for a 6-month project. I hope this post has been of some value to you as your company finalizes its Social Media Marketing budget.
if you need help fleshing out your own social media strategy, or if you need social media training, please Contact Us for a Free Evaluation.
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