Quite often here at LYFE Marketing, we receive emails from our website visitors about the cost of our social media services.
About two weeks ago, we received this email from Carlos…
The email said:
“I want to know what packages you have for social media management and what services they include”
Needless to say, we were interested.
So, we proceeded with setting up a meeting.
Turns out Carlos (like many) had no idea what the average cost for social media marketing was…
He wanted to truly understand why the cost for services ranged anywhere from $299 – $15,000 per month. That’s a huge spectrum.
So for people like Carlos, who want to know how much the social media marketing cost is, we decided to write this blog for you.
And so, here’s the deal:
If you’re serious about hiring the right company for your business, there are 4 general services you need to know.
1. Content Creation
The first step for any brand is to post and be active on the best social media platforms. This is a service every social media company will provide.
2. Follower Growth
In order to get your post to be seen, you must have fans/followers on social media. It is important to check if this is included in your package.
3. Social Advertising
To truly tap into the power of social media, you must advertise. This allows you to pay to reach millions of people who use social media every day.
This is where you will find the discrepancy in the cost for services in most cases.
4. Strategy & Employees
The sheer number of employees that a social media company has working on your business can highly affect the price.
It can be the difference between paying $1,500/mo and paying $15,000/mo for social media management.
Corporate agencies often have:
- strategists,
- graphic designers,
- content writers,
- website developers,
- search specialists,
- account managers
…and more to all work together to create an effective social media marketing strategy and serve the client’s needs.
And that’s it!
As many of you know, these make-up social media marketing services are for most SMBs (small or midsize businesses).
But if you’d like a more in-depth understanding of these services, no worries.
We recorded a video that walks you through the entire scope.
Now that you understand how social media marketing services work, let’s dive into the meat of this blog.
When deciding to outsource your social media needs, there are several options available to you.
You can hire an intern, freelancer, employee, small marketing company, or corporate marketing agency.
Each partner has its own average price and set of pros/cons.
That’s why it is important to note that no company is exactly alike and will have minor differences.
We will take a look at each partner individually.
Let’s start with the classic…
1. Interns
The problem with hiring a social media intern is that they have no business experience.
Yes, it’s true, interns do know how to post tweets, and can update Facebook posts.
However, most interns do not have the knowledge to organize marketing and generate results for the business.
Keep in mind that people who take social media intern positions are people who are trying to learn.
So instead of you maximizing your time on other important business operations…
…you’ll most likely be answering intern questions, and constantly correcting or reviewing their work.
Interns cost you a lot of time, and time is money.
Pros of Hiring an Intern:
- Free or very low cost
Cons of Hiring an Intern:
- No experience – No true practicality to use social media to grow your business.
- Constant oversight – Spending a lot of necessary time to review work and answer basic questions.
- Temporary position – Once they gain the desired experience, they leave and seek good-paying positions.
2. Social Media Freelancers
A freelancer is often referred to as a consultant.
Typically, freelancers charge an hourly wage to render services on a project basis.
Social media freelancers with 3+ years of experience, on average, will cost $45/hr.
Alexis Grant also shares some great insight on this topic in her blog on What to Charge for Social Media Work as a Freelancer or Consultant.
Now, let’s do the math.
If you want real results to come from social media, you will need to be active and post daily.
Assuming it takes your freelancer one hour per day, your cost could be…
$45/hr per day x 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month = $900/mo x 12/mo = $10,800 per year for a freelancer.
Pros of Working With a Freelancer:
- More flexibility – Freelancers typically can move from project to project with ease.
- Lower cost – The employer does not have to pay employment taxes or include benefits.
Cons of Working With a Freelancer:
- No loyalty – Freelancers sell their services to the highest bidder.
- Reliant on one person – If he/she is sick or extremely busy, your social media is on hold.
- No oversight – There is little to no transparency on how the work is actually being performed.
One last thing to note about freelancers is that experience matters. Hiring an inexperienced social media manager can be like hiring an intern.
3. Full-Time Employee (In-house)
The great benefit of hiring an employee is that you control the employee’s quality, time, and activity.
You are able to build a position or team for your social media marketing department.
However, adding a new position is not always an easy task.
You have to develop training, day-to-day process, and oversight for the employee.
This means it could take months before you are ready to play on social media.
In addition, you will have a long-term commitment with your new employee, so be mindful of the possibility of failure.
Now, let’s do the math.
On the low end, you can expect to pay $35k per year in salary. This is about $3,500 per month when you include taxes and benefits.
$3,500 per month x 12 months = $42,000 per year for a full-time employee.
Pros of Hiring an In-house Employee:
- Committed to working for your organization
- 100% oversight to see what is happening on a day to day basis
- Experience is hired, built, and retained
- Flexibility to change work focus
Cons of Hiring an In-house Employee:
- High salary – The average salary for a social media manager is $35k – 50k per year.
- Additional costs – The employer will usually pay employment taxes and benefits (health insurance and 401k plan).
- Reliant on one person – If he/she is sick or leaves the company, your social media is on hold.
- Long-term commitment – You must establish training, process, and reporting for the position.
4. Small Marketing Company
A small marketing company is one that typically caters to small business owners.
Most of these companies try to provide as much value to the client at the best cost possible.
This gives you a hybrid of hiring a freelancer and a full-time employee.
So, Freelancer + Full-Time Employee = Small Marketing Company.
You get the best of both worlds.
Since most small marketing companies want to grow clientele, you will find that they will be committed to helping your company grow as well.
And perhaps that greatest benefit is that it’s not reliant on one person, compared to freelancers and full-time employees.
In addition, they have several packages to fit your social media budget and needs.
Now, let’s do the math.
The cost for a good small marketing company will range anywhere from $400 – $1,500 per month.
At the lowest package, you will spend $4,800 per year.
$400/mo x 12 months = $4,800 per year
At the best package, you will spend $18,000 per year.
$1500/mo x 12 months = $18,000 per year
Pros of Hiring a Small Marketing Company:
- Several pricing options – You can choose packages that fit your needs.
- Low-mid cost – Very cost-effective, as packages can be less costly than hiring a freelancer.
- Flexibility – Can move from package to package with ease.
- Not reliant on one person – Several social media managers on staff.
- Committed to your organization – Good companies are results-focused.
- Some oversight – You will be able to call and have access to a social media manager.
- Experience – Company usually has worked with a number of other SMBs.
- No employment taxes or benefits – In fact, you can write it off for tax purposes.
Cons of Hiring a Small Marketing Company:
- Not 100% oversight – You still won’t be able to know what happens on a day-to-day basis.
- Long-term contract – Most companies will require a 6-12 month contract.
Now beware, there are plenty of unreliable and inexperienced small marketing companies on the web.
That’s why it’s important to ask if the company has in-house social media managers.
You do not want to work with a company that is simply outsourcing their work to freelancers.
This way, you will know exactly what to expect from your provider.
5. Corporate Marketing Agency
These agencies typically work with other corporate companies like Fortune 1000 or Inc 5000 entities.
They are known for being full-service and providing a large range of marketing services for their clients.
So naturally, they have a lot of employees who work together on client campaigns.
And this is great, especially if you have a big complex business.
That is because every employee is able to thoroughly strategize and execute their portion of the client’s digital marketing campaign.
However, most corporate marketing agencies are known for being slow and unresponsive.
Now, let’s do the math.
For a good corporate marketing company, you will pay $15,000/mo.
$15,000/mo x 12 months = $180,000 per year for a corporate marketing company.
For most SMBs, you will not see a positive return on this type of social media investment.
Unless of course, your social media content goes viral.
Pros of Hiring a Corporate Marketing Agency:
- Several employees – More than one person handling your social media presence.
- Not reliant on one person – Several social media managers on staff.
- Long-term commitment to your business – Most agencies take the long-term approach.
- Full-service marketing – All your marketing needs are taken care of with one company.
- Experience – Company usually has worked with a number of other businesses.
- No employment taxes or benefits – In fact, you can write it off for tax purposes.
Cons of Hiring a Corporate Marketing Agency:
- Not very flexible – Because there are several people working on a team, it takes time to make changes to campaigns.
- Not 100% oversight – You still won’t be able to know what happens on a day-to-day basis.
- Long-term contract – Most companies will require a 1-2 year contract.
And, that’s it! We’ve covered every group.
Now, let’s do a side-by-side comparison and breakdown of key pros/cons.
How much does social media marketing cost?
| Intern | Freelancer | Full-time Employee | Small Marketing Company | Corporate Marketing Company | |
| $$$ | Free | $900 / mo | $3500 / mo | $400 – 1500 / mo | $15000 / mo |
| Pros | Free | Flexibility | Quality control | Experience | Employees |
| Cons | No Experience | One person | Cost | Oversight | Cost |
| Use | Anyone | Anyone | Based on experience | Small businesses | Fortune 1000 & Inc 5000 Companies |
Wrapping Up
Every partner is different and will yield different costs.
However, on average, you can expect to pay the prices above depending on who you are talking to.
Here are some tweetable takeaways.
- Be very wary of brands that are very cheap, as they may not offer a particular service or provide the quality your business needs.
- Interns are free but can suck up your time, and time is money.
- Freelancers are a great option for outsourcing projects, but can disappear and never return.
- In-house employees can give you quality control, but your business must be prepared to manage another position.
- Small social media marketing companies are a great pricing option, but you have little to no oversight of work.
- Corporate marketing companies offer the most comprehensive services, but can be slow and cost a lot.