How much should you spend on social media?
How much should you spend on social media?
Money doesn’t grow on trees and social media isn’t free. Here’s some handy tips on getting the most out of your social media advertising budget.
In a world saturated by suggested posts and sponsored tweets, it’s almost impossible for a business to be noticed organically on Social Media.
Almost, that is, without the added strength of advertising budget.
According to the Yellow Social Media Report
2014, 10% of small businesses and 30% of large businesses, pay to advertise on social. If you’re in this statistic – well done – you’re reaching a bigger audience than the majority of Australian businesses.
But if you’re going for broke to scrape up enough $$$ for social media ad spend, how can you make sure your business is getting the most bang for your social buck? Here are a few pointers.
Find your magic number
An alarming 18% of small businesses, 24% medium, and 46% large, don’t know how much they are spending annually on social media! Reflect on your EOFY growth and ask how much you can afford to invest? As an indicator, small businesses on average allocate under 14% of their marketing budget to social, 9.5% medium, and 5% large.
According to the Yellow Social Media Report 2014, 10% of small businesses and 30% of large businesses, pay to advertise on social.
The majority of Australian businesses spend $1,000-$5,000 annually on social media advertising. Tip: It’s possible your magic number isn’t definitive – one month may differ greatly to the next depending on other marketing activities.
Outline clear objectives
Setting one monthly goal is a great way to utilise your advertising spend and achieve results. Think about where you want your business to be in 6 months, then break that down into monthly goals. Each monthly goal can be used as the sole driver of your ad spend. Tip: If you’re a start-up, focus on fan acquisition. If you’re more established, focus on engagement.
Channel your target audience
You know your customers like no other. Where are they from? How tech savvy are they? Do they travel frequently? Use this information in your targeting to ensure your ads are being seen by people more likely to have a need for your products. Tip: Cut down your audience size as much as possible to achieve higher conversion rates.
Live and learn
If your CPC was lower in April than May, compare the two ads and see what worked and what didn’t. Maybe you used different copy, or a completely different image? Tip: Use a number of images in one ad, then reflect on what image achieved better CPM or clicks.
It’s not impossible to make your dollar go further, and in social that extra ad spend can mean the difference between reaching 83 people or 830.
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