Set up and Allocate Budget for Social Media Optimization in 2019

M. Naeem Akhtar

CEO of DMT Lahore & Trainer

Budget for Social Media Optimization in 2019

A study published in 2011 shocked us with the data that every person is exposed to the equivalent of 174 daily newspapers with data per day.

Today, with IoT and even wider use of mobile phones, this number could be even greater. Why should this be important to you? Well, it means that the user’s attention is at the very last low point, which can affect their response and involvement when it comes to your ads.

Setting up and allocating Social Media Optimization Services in Lahore budgets in these circumstances is a challenge for both startups and established companies.

Breaking the marketing mess is not easy at all. It requires thorough research, competent planning, insight into costs and calculating the Return on Investment (ROI). None of that is possible without investments and good budgeting.

social networks

Assess Past Performance

To plan for the future, you must review past successes and failures. That is why you have to go through the previous media reports and analysis. This will help you understand how your investments affected performance.

If the results match or even exceed expectations, you can repeat a similar strategy this year (with some adjustments to new digital trends).

If your previous strategy does not meet your expectations, do more research to find out why.

Was the targeting not precise enough? Was the content not sufficient for the public? Have you invested too little? When you discover the reasons, you adjust your strategy and adjust your budget accordingly.

How Much do The Others Spend?

The latest CMO survey shows that companies currently spend 12% of their total marketing budget on social media.

This is a growth of 3.5% compared to 2009, when this study was first conducted. The increase is expected to continue and reach 20.5% of the marketing budgets of companies within five years.

The way in which these funds are allocated depends on your target group and your online strategy.

Part of it can go for content marketing, part for visual equipment (photos, videos, GIFs, etc.), part for paid advertisements, etc.

Of course, your position in the market makes an important factor in the budget. If you are just starting out, you need to think more about budgeting. Startups find it difficult to set aside a significant amount for marketing, but it is necessary.

Some of the sources of financing that you can think of are investors, bank loans, commercial mortgages, short-term loans and business credit cards.

Where can You Divide Your Budget?

The main results of the aforementioned survey show that companies allocate their social media funds for the following purposes:

  • Brand development and brand awareness
  • Acquire new customers
  • Introduction of new products and new services
  • Keep current customers

Of these, the four who have the most impact on the company’s performance are brand building, acquiring new customers, and retaining current customers.

Introducing new products and services can always be useful to achieve the three stated goals.

Other secondary objects that companies can reach through social media marketing are brand promotions (for example discount coupons and competitions), marketing research, identifying new target groups, identifying new product opportunities and improving the current offer.

How to Budget for a Social Media program: 

Which Platforms to Use?

The two most important marketers who are listed in order of their positive impact on performance and ROI are Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facebook with its 2.2 billion users offers access to a diverse and huge audience and enables sharing and promoting different types of content, from images to videos.

LinkedIn, on the other hand, doesn’t even reach a billion when it comes to the number of users, but because it’s a network for professionals, it’s ideal for B2B marketing.

Instagram and Snapchat speak to a younger audience and rely primarily on the visual aspect of digital marketing.

The amount of money invested in each of them (or some) depends on the product you are selling and the target audience. 

Categories For Social Media Spending

There are five essential categories where a company can allocate social media marketing funds:

  1. Content Creation: this section covers the time of outsourced or internal employees needed to write, create and design content, plus fixed costs such as video production or stock photos.

Own employees are usually paid by the hour, while freelancers are paid by the project.

  1. Paid Social Ads: Paid native or enhanced ads can be estimated with a content calendar. By setting ‘per day’ limits, you get a clearer picture of the expenses.
  1. Social Involvement: this covers the costs of employees who respond to and respond to customer feedback.
  1. Tools / Software: monitoring, automation and software services for social media are not free. Divide this category into monitoring, planning, planning, research and automation to get a clearer picture.
  1. Promotion / Contests: these are the costs for rewards, discounts and special offers that are often offered through social media and advertising platforms.

Setting up and allocating Digital Marketing Services in Lahore budgets in these circumstances is a challenge for both startups and established companies.

The problem is that there is no clear pattern to pass because everyone has different goals and conditions. However, this article can serve as an overview that you can adjust to your needs and objectives.

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