Social Media Management Pricing: What Are the Costs in 2022?

The help of a social media management company will cost between $300 and $5,000 per month, depending on the nature of your campaign. Or, for a freelancer to manage your social media, you'll pay from $25 to $120+ per hour, depending on their experience.

As businesses recover from the covid-19 pandemic, sticking to your budget is as important as ever. In this article, we'll explain how much social media management costs, helping you understand what kind of services you can benefit from at the price tag you're looking for.

We've been helping businesses find the right services, at the right prices for them, for over ten years. Our free quote-finding tool can get you tailored, no-obligation quotes from the best social media management companies for your business, so you can easily compare prices and save.

How Much Does Social Media Marketing Cost?

You have two options here. You can either work with a social media management company, which typically charge monthly, or you can hire a freelancer, who usually charge by the hour. Below, we outline the average cost of both options.

Social Media Management Company Costs

Most social media management companies charge bespoke pricing, but you can expect to pay anywhere between $300 and $5,000+ per month for your social media marketing campaign. This is obviously a big range, and how much you'll pay will depend on a few factors – including the company you choose, the number of channels you want to advertise on, and the type of content you’d like the experts to create and share for you.

Social Media Freelancer Costs

When you hire a freelancer to manage your social media campaigns, you'll likely pay them by the hour. The amount they charge will usually depend more heavily on how much experience they bring to the table:

• Basic (0–3 years’ experience): $25 – $35 per hour
• Intermediate (3–5 years’ experience): $50 – $100 per hour
• Advanced (5–10+ years’ experience): $120+ per hour

Still feeling a little bewildered? With such wide-ranging prices on offer, understanding social media management costs – and crucially, how much you're going to pay – can be tricky. The easiest way to get a clear figure for your business is by comparing quotes from social media marketing companies, which is something our free quote-comparison tool can help you with.

Simply answer a few questions about your social media needs, and we’ll match you up with trusted social media experts that can best help you grow your business. They'll then be in touch with no-obligation quotes for you to compare. It's quick and easy.

How Much Does Social Media Marketing Cost Per Month?

As we mentioned earlier, the pricing charged by a social media management company usually falls between $300 and $5,000+ per month, depending on what you need. For example, you’ll pay more if you want your social media management company to advertise on more social channels, or if you want access to more features, such as customer review responses.

One of the easiest ways to get a feel for social media management costs is to take a look at real-life pricing plans. To give you a clearer picture, let's explore the price plans, add-ons, and additional costs charged by two of the best social media management companies in the US: Lyfe Marketing and Social High Rise.

Lyfe Marketing Pricing

Core Social Media Management Plans

Each plan comes with a one-off setup fee of $150.

Add-Ons

Social High Rise Pricing

Core Social Media Marketing Plans

Each plan comes with a one-off setup fee of $199.

Add-Ons

How Much Do Businesses Spend on Social Media Marketing?

According to research by the Content Factory, the average company in the US spends between $200 and $350 per day on social media marketing. This means total costs can end up somewhere between $6,000 and $10,500 per month, equating to anywhere between $72,000 and $126,000 annually. 

The reason these figures are much higher than those we've cited is because they include all potential overheads, such as hiring in-house social media staff and training them up. These are things you don't need to worry about when you work with a social media management company or freelancer – so you can see how you might save money by working with a third party instead of managing your social campaigns in-house.

There's no denying that social media marketing can be expensive, but the results of an effective campaign will pay dividends; helping your business find new customers and boost sales. So, in the end, the rewards you’ll gain make it a worthwhile investment.

How Much is Social Media Marketing Worth?

The majority of businesses and marketers agree that social media marketing is a worthwhile investment. According to 2022 stats, 73% of marketers report that their social media marketing efforts have been effective, and 90% say it has increased their business's exposure.

We also know the popularity of social media marketing is trending upwards. It's predicted that $173 million will be spent on social media advertising in 2022. In fact, social media advertising is currently the second-biggest market in digital ads.

But how does that translate into meaningful figures for your business? One way to calculate the ROI (return on investment) of your own social media marketing campaign is to measure your quantifiable goals, such as the number of online form submissions or product purchases you gain, compared to the amount of money you spend on your social media marketing.

For example, let’s say you pay $0.97 – the average cost for Facebook PPC (pay-per-click) ads – for each time a customer clicks on your advert link. Now let's say you get 1,000 clicks. You’ve spent $970 in total. You’ll then need to divide that total spend figure by your average cost of acquiring a new customer in order to get your ROI percentage for Facebook PPC advertising.