How to Create a Social Media Budget for Your Brand

Every business, regardless of size, should have a social media strategy in place, and every strategy should be backed by a budget. 

Having a budget for your advertising efforts ensures that you have the appropriate funds to achieve your goals, whether that’s driving sales or just creating brand awareness. Additionally, you won’t be able to know the true ROI of your work without an accurate budget. According to Sprout Social, 55% of social marketers list measuring ROI as their top challenge. This inaccuracy leads to a difficult time justifying your investments. 

Every brand has different resources and priorities, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to budgeting. Whether you have a lot or a limited amount of money to spend, there are key components that should be accounted for in your calculations. 

Goals 

Before doing anything else, it’s critical to set goals for what you want to get out of your paid efforts. For example, if you’re looking to drive brand awareness, you’ll invest more into ads that drive that vs. promoting a singular product. 

Training

Investing in both paid and free training for your employees is a worthwhile endeavor for your company. If you’re not learning or adjusting to new features, you’re falling behind your competitors. LinkedIn Learning is one of the great resources out there to learn new skills! 

Content Creation 

As we all know, content is king. Content requires a lot of time, planning, and resources to produce. Some items you may need to include in your budget are photography/videography, talent, production, post-production, copywriting, etc. This section tends to be the largest of most companies’ budgets, so we encourage you to utilize UGC where possible to minimize costs! 

Software and Tools 

These costs are reoccurring on a subscription basis, either monthly or annually. These tools can include social media management, SEO, analytics,  project management, stock imagery, etc. If you’re looking to change up your software subscriptions or add additional tools, you may want to pad this section of the budget.

Advertising

Depending on how many channels your brand is on, and what channels are priority, you will want to distribute your funds in a way that aligns with your goals. For example, if you’re looking to grow your audience on Instagram specifically, you’ll want to spend more money there than on Facebook or Twitter. However, if you’re just starting out, it’s a smart idea to advertise on all channels you’re on. 

Partnerships 

Lastly, be sure to save room in your budget for an influencer or co-branded partnerships, if that is part of your brand strategy! During the planning process, reach out to potential collaborators to determine how much money will be needed for this section. 

You’re a social media budging rockstar now! Keep in mind that this isn’t a set it and forget it approach – you need to monitor and adjust accordingly. Once you’re up and running, you’ll be able to clearly see your ROI and know what next steps to take.

Sources: Hootsuite, Sprout Social

Social media have you feeling a little “less than social?” Give a call us at 929-262-0821, or visit us online at www.bbrookstone.com for a FREE consultation. Helping you get social is what we do best.