Social Media Marketing Pricing: How Much does Social Media Marketing Cost?

Social media marketing pricing is what determines your spending on campaigns performed on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other similar channels. Prices are still on the rise, which makes money for social media marketers and agencies, as well as for Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk. Just to mention that – as Statista reports – Meta’s (and its predecessors) total revenue in the 2009-2023 period amounted to nearly $117 billion! Yeah, the SM marketing concept is still vital, and nothing suggests that this will change in the near future…

If you’re here, you’re probably curious about how much social media marketing services cost, what the averages look like, and where the limits are. Pricing depends not only on ad budgets but also on the scope of services – organic content efforts, optimization, and even landing page creation can all influence the final cost. In this post, we’ll answer these questions with data from industry reports, job postings, and real market examples.

Ready to go? Let’s start!

What Factors Determine Social Media Marketing Cost?

The cost of social media management services depends on several key elements: your chosen platform, business goals, audience specificity, content format, campaign duration, target locations, and the expertise of your team or agency. Optional services like content optimization can also raise the price. Let’s expand on these factors, as they are of great value for social media services prices.

Advertising Platform

Platform choice directly impacts cost due to differences in audience, ad format, and engagement. Here are the current ranges for the most popular social media advertising services:

• Facebook and Instagram

Broad reach, strong visuals, and affordable CPCs ($0.50-$2).

• LinkedIn

High-value B2B targeting with CPCs ranging from $5 to $10.

• TikTok and Snapchat

Youth-focused platforms with low entry costs (typically <$1), but demand highly engaging short-form content.

Each platform suits different goals, so aligning with your audience is key to avoiding wasted spend.

Campaign Objective

Objectives affect pricing. Awareness or engagement campaigns are cheaper, with CPMs around $5–$10. Lead generation or direct conversions require more targeting and tracking, pushing CPCs to $3–$5 or more.

For instance, a real estate campaign focused on form submissions will cost more than one promoting a blog article.

Target Audience

A highly specific target audience improves relevance but can increase costs due to competition. High-demand groups – like young professionals – are more competitive and expensive to reach.

Broad targeting lowers CPCs but reduces precision. Combining filters like location, interests, and behaviors (narrow targeting) helps strike a balance between cost and conversion.

Ad Format and Creative Requirements

The format and quality of your ads influence costs and engagement rates. Let’s take a look at a few popular ones:

• Image ads – simple, low-cost, minimal design required.
• Video ads – highly engaging but costlier to produce (a professionally crafted video could cost several thousand dollars, while user-generated videos are more budget-friendly).
• Carousel ads – showcase multiple items with higher engagement, but require more creative assets.

Investing in high-quality creative assets ensures better performance, but costs must align with campaign goals to avoid overspending.

Bidding Strategy and Competition

Social media platforms use auction-based systems where advertisers bid for ad placements. Your costs depend on industry competition and bidding strategy:

• Manual bidding gives control but needs close monitoring to avoid overspending.
• Automated bidding adjusts in real-time to meet campaign goals, but may raise costs in competitive sectors like finance or e-commerce.

For example, holiday-season retail campaigns often face surging demand, with CPMs doubling or tripling compared to off-peak periods.

Campaign Duration and Scale

Longer or broader campaigns naturally require larger budgets. A month-long seasonal campaign might need $1,000 to $5,000, depending on reach and intensity. Expanding into multiple regions or global markets increases cost due to additional placements and creative variations.

Organic Content Efforts

Organic content is free to publish but not to produce. Creating a consistent social media presence involves:

• Photography and image design,
• Custom graphics,
• Copywriting.

Together, these can cost from several hundred to thousands monthly. Building an internal team may require hiring a social media manager, designer, and content writer/editor. For advanced production, roles like video creator or UX designer add further value.

Apart from creating content, there is also a need for community engagement, which is typically the domain of community management by a dedicated expert. This entails additional labor costs. Add to this funds for a selected social media management tool.

Furthermore, to evaluate the effects, analytical tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social are crucial. They cost anywhere from $50 to $500 per month.

Geographic Targeting

The geographic location of your target audience significantly affects ad costs – they vary by region. Competitive markets like North America or Western Europe often exceed $10 CPM, while emerging regions like Southeast Asia offer lower rates.

Align your targeting with business goals to focus on regions offering the best return.

Agency or Freelancer Fees

Outsourcing social media work raises costs but adds expertise. Freelancers typically charge between $15 and $100 per hour, depending on expertise and scope. Agencies offer implementing a comprehensive social media strategy but charge higher fees, often starting at $1,000 to $5,000 per month.

While more expensive, outsourcing social media management can saves time and provides access to specialized tools, knowledge, and consistent results.

Testing and Optimization

Ongoing optimization is critical for improving ad performance but requires extra investment, for instance:

• A/B testing (running multiple ad versions to identify the best-performing one in terms of creatives used or most profitable audience segment),
• optimization tools (using platforms like AdEspresso or Optmyzr to perform data analysis – such software may cost $50 to $500 monthly).

Testing ensures campaigns remain effective, helping businesses adapt to audience preferences and market trends for sustained success.

What is the Average Social Media Marketing Cost?

According to data from Sprout Social and SocialPilot, the average annual cost of social media marketing is around $150,000. However, a WebFX survey found that 48% of companies spend between $1,000 and $25,000 per year. What explains this wide gap?

• Outliers skew the average. Large corporations like Apple or McDonald’s invest millions annually, raising the overall mean.
• Regional disparities affect cost. U.S.-based companies generally spend more than those in Southeast Asia or parts of Europe.
• Survey sample variation. Some respondents in the WebFX survey may spend little or nothing on social media, relying on other digital marketing channels.

Ultimately, social media marketing costs vary based on factors like business size, location, number of accounts managed, platforms used, and the experience level of the hired team or agency.

What is the Average Social Media Marketing Cost for Small Business?

For small businesses, social media marketing typically costs between $100 and $5,000 per month. The upper range applies to well-funded businesses seeking fast growth, often subsidiaries of larger brands.

According to Lyfe Marketing, most small businesses spend $750–$2,500 monthly. This usually covers basic content creation (5–15 posts, reels, etc.) and entry-level social media management tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Sprinklr, SocialPilot)

Due to limited marketing budgets, many small businesses manage social media in-house, delegating it to marketers or general staff instead of hiring agencies or freelancers. Some small businesses skip social entirely, opting for lower-cost, long-term strategies like acquiring website traffic with SEO, which is more budget-friendly but slower to deliver results.

What is the Average Social Media Marketing Cost per Month?

The overall average monthly cost for social media marketing is around $12,500, but most companies spend between $100 and $2,000. The average is skewed by large brands, while the median spend is estimated at around $1,500.

Monthly social media marketing costs vary by provider type and services offered:

Agencies generally charge between $1,000 and $20,000 per month for social media marketing, with pricing shaped by the scope of services, campaign complexity, and the agency’s level of expertise. For one-off campaigns or special projects, they may also apply a flat fee model, which can range from a few thousand dollars to well into the tens of thousands, depending on the specific requirements.

Freelancers, on the other hand, tend to bill hourly rates between $14 and $35, although more experienced professionals can charge significantly more. Their monthly fees typically fall between $500 and $10,000, influenced by the type of services offered and the freelancer’s specialization.

In-house management costs vary widely as well. Software tools alone can cost anywhere from $0 to $3,500 per month, depending on features and user count. However, this figure doesn’t account for personnel costs, such as hiring dedicated social media specialists or assigning tasks to existing employees. While delegating internally may seem cost-effective, it still requires resources—either in the form of time for training and execution or money for upskilling and support.

Additionally, companies often budget $1,000-$25,000 annually for paid social ads, depending on campaign goals, platforms used, and target audience size.

What are the Social Media Marketing Packages Prices?

Social media marketing packages typically range in price based on the depth of services provided. Basic packages are priced between $850 and $1,100 per month, standard options fall between $1,400 and $2,000, and comprehensive, full-service plans often start at $2,500 per month and go higher. These estimates are based on rates commonly listed by agencies and freelancers, including pricing insights gathered from industry forums and professional discussions.

Basic packages usually cover the essentials: management of a single social media account, posting one to three times per week, sourcing basic graphics (often through stock libraries, AI generation, or simple in-house design), and providing monthly performance reports.

Standard packages offer expanded support. These often include a tailored social media strategy with audience targeting, management of two to three related accounts, and regular posting across each platform. Designs are customized and may include branded graphics, infographics, and calls to action. Audience engagement is more active, with responses to comments and follower interactions, along with ad campaign setup on one social channel. Reporting is typically delivered weekly or biweekly.

Comprehensive packages go even further. They include a detailed social media strategy with elements like audience segmentation and hashtag research, as well as active management of three to five accounts across multiple platforms – often for more than one product or brand. Posting frequency increases to three or four unique posts per account weekly, often featuring high-quality, human-created visuals and video content, such as reels. Community management becomes more proactive, including direct message engagement and tailored campaigns. These packages also provide full ad management, especially for Facebook and Instagram, along with continuous performance reporting.

How much do Social Media Marketing Agencies Charge?

An average social media management agency charges small businesses $850 to $1,500 per month, mid-level or semi-large companies $1,500-4,000 monthly, and enterprise-level global brands $4,000-15,000 a month. This social media management pricing pertains to handling various platforms including:

• development of a comprehensive social media strategy,
• scheduling and managing publication calendar,
• content creation (copy and visuals),
• running paid advertising campaigns on various social media platforms,
• increasing social engagement,
• turning social media users into leads,
• analyzing outcomes and reporting results,
• enhancing social presence with influencer marketing.

It’s important to note that most agency pricing does not include the advertising budget itself, which can significantly increase total campaign spending. Advertising spend is typically billed separately and varies widely depending on campaign goals, target audience, and platform choice.

How Much to Charge for Social Media Marketing Services?

Rates for social media marketing services typically range from $20 to $300 per hour, depending on several variables. These include the complexity of the work, your level of expertise, client expectations, the turnaround timeframe, the specific industry, and the geographic region.

For individual services, current market data reveals the following pricing patterns:

• content creation: $20-130/hour;
• community engagement: $20-130/hour;
• social media management: $30 – $170/hour;
• paid ads management: $50 – $300/hour;
• strategy development: $50 – $300/hour.

Let’s dive deeper into factors determining the precise value within these ranges.

Scope of Work

The more services you include (e.g., content creation, paid ads, influencer management), the higher the cost will be. Larger businesses may also require more detailed reports and constant communication, which are also additionally paid.

Number of Platforms

If you’re managing multiple platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), it will take more time and resources, hence increasing the price.

Industry and Client Size

Different industries have varying demands. For example, e-commerce companies or tech startups may require more targeted social media ads and professional content, which can be more expensive.

Experience and Expertise

The more experience and expertise you have in social media marketing, the higher the rate you can charge. Clients expect a return on investment (ROI) when they hire a seasoned professional.

Target Audience

If you’re targeting small businesses, the rates will be lower than if you’re working with larger corporations or brands. Customization and complexity can increase pricing as well.

Geographic Location

Location can affect pricing. Rates may be higher in cities or regions where the cost of living is higher (the USA and Western Europe offer the best earings for social media specialists or managers).

Ad Spend Management

If you’re managing paid ad campaigns, you’ll need to factor in the ad spend. Typically, agencies charge a percentage (10-20%) of the ad budget as part of their management fee. For example, if a client spends $5,000 on ads, you might charge an additional $500 to $1,000 for managing the campaign.

Time Commitment

The more time it takes to manage the accounts, develop content, or engage with the audience, the higher the charge. You’ll need to calculate your hourly rate and estimate how many hours each task will take.

Is Paying for Social Media Marketing Worth it?

Investing in social media marketing is, in most cases, not only worthwhile but essential in today’s digital marketing environment. With more than 90% of internet users active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, the likelihood that your ideal customer is among them is extremely high. When executed strategically, paid social media can deliver measurable results faster than organic SEO, content marketing, or traditional web strategies.

Let’s create a quick rundown of benefits proving that paying for social media is worth it.

Precise Audience Targeting

Paid social media campaigns allow businesses to define and reach highly specific audience segments based on key demographic criteria such as age, gender, and income level. Beyond these basics, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer advanced targeting options that include user interests, online behavior patterns, and even major life events – such as recent relocations, job changes, or engagements.

This level of targeting precision ensures your content is delivered to individuals most likely to interact with your brand or take meaningful action. As a result, ad spend becomes more efficient, and campaigns are better positioned to drive conversions.

Increased Visibility

Organic posts are often limited by platform algorithms, making it hard to reach users beyond your current followers. Paid social media overcomes this by placing your content directly in front of targeted audiences. It’s especially effective for time-sensitive campaigns, product launches, or brand promotions that need immediate exposure – reaching not just your followers, but potential customers who may not know you yet.

Cost-Effectiveness

Paid social is far more affordable than traditional advertising. You can start with small daily budgets and scale based on results, making it ideal for businesses of any size. Real-time performance data lets you track ROI with precision, ensuring every dollar contributes to measurable outcomes – an advantage especially valuable for small businesses and startups.

Measurable Results

One of the greatest advantages of paid social media marketing is the ability to track detailed performance metrics. Platforms like Facebook Ads Manager and Instagram Insights provide real-time data on:

• impressions,
• clicks,
• conversions,
• and ROI.

These and other similar metrics allow you to assess what’s working and what needs adjustment, ensuring your campaigns remain effective.

Enhanced Brand Awareness

Well-designed paid campaigns boost brand recognition by consistently exposing your message to the right audience. Repeated visibility reinforces identity and builds familiarity, helping position your business as a trusted option, even among users who don’t engage immediately. A series of creative, visually striking ads can leave a lasting impression and elevate your brand within its industry.

Scalability

Whether you’re a local business or a global enterprise, paid social media campaigns are highly scalable. You might begin with a small, localized effort to test performance and then expand to larger audiences or wider regions as results improve. For example, a retailer could start by targeting customers within a 10-mile radius before scaling nationwide once campaigns show strong returns.

Retargeting Opportunities

Retargeting enables businesses to reconnect with users who have already shown interest but haven’t converted. Platforms allow you to build custom audiences from website visitors, past customers, or people who engaged with your ads. For instance, a fashion retailer might display tailored ads featuring abandoned cart items, increasing the chances of recovering lost sales.

Faster Results

While organic strategies take time to gain traction, paid campaigns generate immediate visibility and engagement. They can quickly drive traffic, leads, or sales, making them especially valuable for time-sensitive promotions like holiday sales or limited-time offers. Paid social ensures your message reaches the right audience exactly when it matters most.

Boosted Engagement

Paid campaigns often spark more interaction – likes, shares, comments – that amplify your brand’s visibility. Each engagement adds social proof, encouraging others to explore your business. A strong ad launch for a new product, for instance, can trigger conversations and organic sharing, extending your visibility well beyond the paid campaign itself.

Customizable Campaigns

Social platforms allow marketers to design campaigns in formats ranging from videos and carousels to interactive polls. This makes it easy to test different headlines, visuals, or calls to action and refine your approach. A restaurant, for example, might compare ads highlighting delivery versus dine-in options, then scale the better-performing message to maximize results.

Optimize Social Media Marketing Costs for Maximum Campaign ROI

At first glance, social media management costs may seem high, but over time, they can become a game-changer, generating far more revenue than you invest. The key is to maximize conversion opportunities by directing traffic from your social media channels to well-designed landing pages.

Landing pages act as powerful conversion tools. When tailored to your audience, they serve as the final step in the customer journey, turning clicks into form submissions, sign-ups, or purchases. By pairing paid or organic campaigns with personalized landing pages, you create a focused user path that drives measurable results.

All you need to start is a solid landing page builder and this is where Landingi comes to play. It’s a versatile digital marketing platform for building landing pages (including social media pages) and other digital assets like pop-ups, microsites, lightboxes, forms and much more. It’s also equipped with tons of useful features for matching your pages to your SM profiles. I mean, among others:

• hundreds of industry-specific and goal-specific templates (fully customizable),
• AI-driven content creation tools to adjust messaging to input preferences,
• optimization toolset with A/B testing and event tracking (an alternative to Google Analytics for landing pages),
• scalability pack with automated translations to many languages, programmatic pages and Smart Sections (updating many pages at once),
• lots of integrations with social media management software, CRMs, e-commerce apps and more.

Sign up for free and take your marketing social media efforts to the next level.