How Much Should I Budget for Social Media Ads?

December and January are two crucial months in developing a successful first quarter and, more importantly, a full fiscal year in 2016. Why, you ask? Well, beyond closing out your year strong and sticking to your 2015 plan, the winter months are perfect for budgeting. Resources, labor, and supplies – all your expenses should be properly tracked and forecasted to get your year started right.

Any business looking for growth or to continue to clamp down on their market share should absolutely prioritize an effective marketing budget and strategy. And as your customer’s eyes shift from traditional forms of advertising (print and TV) to online, mobile and social media — so to should your budget.

SteerPoint has provided strategic Internet Marketing campaigns for our clients around the country, specializing in SEO, Internet Marketing, Social Media, and Strategic Consulting. One major push we are encouraging our clients to make in the new year is to increase their advertising budgeting for social media ads.

Revenue Growing
Companies are spending more money each year on reaching people through social media ads. In 2013, an estimated $6.1B was spent. That number jumped $2.3B in 2015, and projections 20%indicate that number will be at least $11B by 2017. Like any form of advertising, the pie gets larger because there are so many more viewers on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And as the pie grows, so does the price of an ad. Securing a piece of the ever-evolving pie is essential, but because of the advanced targeting and tracking internet marketing allows for companies, it’s much more than simply keeping up with the Joneses.

Making a Connection
Rather than casting a huge net through TV or radio (which may work for certain industries), social networks accumulate a large amount of concentrated user data. This information is generated from social media sites through self-reported interests, purchasing histories, or congruent users like you. Through modern technologies, you’re able to track advanced statistics — conversions, click-throughs, etc. — to see what works. This type of marketing is the wave of the future (and, honestly, the now) and will not be going away anytime soon.

So How Much?
Basing your budget on percentages, you need to gear your strategy to spending more on targeted social media ads. You can find differing opinions, but the only answer to “how much?” is “more.” Last year, if you had a $50,000 budget and spent $5,000 on targeted social media ads, that number should increase roughly 5%. By the end of the decade, trends will indicate that 20% of your total budget will be strictly for social media ads.

The bottom line is that targeted ads need to be a major part of your plans in 2016. Don’t be bashful for making alterations to your marketing budgets as the year drags on. If you find targeted marketing is working, adjust.

Call us at SteerPoint for your entire Internet marketing needs. We’ve recently added a content marketing division to our team, so call us today to discuss re-writing your web pages and starting blogs.