Every company, big or small, has a keen eye on its budget. You need to check on investments periodically, whether you’re part of a team or working solo on a budget. With the world of digital marketing changing rapidly each year, your marketing budget must align with your corporate goals and priorities. When it comes to expanding a new business, digital marketing is one of the most essential ways.
But just like any growth strategy, it’s not free — and no two companies will spend the same amount on digital marketing.
What Is the Impact of Your Digital Marketing Costs?
Your digital marketing expenses are as unique as your business. Your costs may vary depending on the following:
- Industry
- Business size
- Target audience
- Marketing goals
- Campaign’s complexity
- Existing creative assets
- You can choose to handle the work yourself or outsource it.
- The competitive landscape
- Budget for the entire company
Digital marketing budget may also need to change from the time you launched your campaign to take advantage of new data insights, market strategies, and technologies.
What Budget Should You Set for Digital Marketing
According to a standard guideline, you should allocate between 2 and 10% of your revenue to marketing. According to a survey of chief marketers, the average marketing budget represents 7.7% of revenue. Digital marketing accounts for 50% of this spend.
The 70-20-10 budgeting framework is employed by companies such as Coca-Cola and Google.
- First spend 70% of your budget on tactics that work today
- Second spend 20% of your budget on newer, less-tested strategies
- Third spend 10% of your budget on innovative concepts
Digital Marketing Costs Typical by Activity
The costs of each activity are highly diverse. We’ve listed some typical ranges for small and medium-sized businesses that hire digital marketing agencies to perform these tasks.
Pay-Per Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC allows you to bid to appear at the top of search results, above organic listings. You only pay if someone clicks your ad. PPC is a fast and results-driven marketing technique, implemented by numerous businesses. PPC advertising can cost hundreds of thousands, but small and medium enterprises typically can see good results for around $2,000 a month.
Monthly campaign management fees: $750-$3,000
$500 – $10,000 per month. Get a quote designed specifically for your use case.
Cost Varies: PPC costs depend on bidding, the geography you’re targeting, your ad location, the targeting criteria, and how often you change your creative.
It also depends on industry averages in terms of the cost per click and the management fees.
Organic Social Media Marketing
Organic social: Your organic social content keeps your audience engaged and helps to nurture trust without needing paid promotion. According to the study, 79 percent of marketers have invested more in organic social media over the past three years. Half of these marketers (39 percent) have also targeted younger generations with this tactic, while 38 percent have successfully grown their network through an organic social media presence.
Monthly cost: $1,500 to $3,500
Variables. You can maximize your investment in social media marketing by addressing the number of platforms where you have presence and utilizing content assets that are already done for social media.
Social Media Advertising
Some companies use social media applications to increase brand awareness.
Costs for running a campaign in a month: $750-$3000
Average monthly advertising budget: $1500 – $7,500+
Discrepancies – The cost of social media ads can vary depending on your social networks of choice (typically including LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook), the average content volume & frequency of your audience, competition in your niche industry, or even your geographic area where your business is located.
Blogging & Content Marketing
SEO Content is designed to increase organic traffic for your company. Content marketing can be very effective when done correctly. Although content marketing initiatives generate three times as many leads, they are less expensive to initiate and maintain than other digital campaigns.
Monthly expense ranges from $1,500 to $6,000.
Variables include the number of assets required, the frequency of publication, and whether in-house talent or freelancers are utilized; costs may vary from month to month.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools for any business, particularly small to mid-sized companies. It is highly targeted; thus, one can reach the right kind of people directly in their inbox.
Monthly costs: $500 to $3,500
Variables: Several things will contribute to the overall cost to operate an email campaign, such as the complexity of the campaign, how often it will be sent, if new copy (or designs and images) must be created, and if the audience in the email list will be segmented.
Marketing Automation Software
The majority of marketing automation platforms are subscription-based. You can be billed monthly or annually. These are tools that enable tasks such as sending email campaigns and posting to social media automatically. These resources automatically post to social media and help with chores, including distributing email campaigns. With the opportunity for automation in tedious tasks, marketers can focus on Strategic aspects and innovation. Subsequently, you can automate workflows that personalize communications to your audience based on their own actions (e.g., someone clicks a hyperlink or submits a form).
Installation fees range from $ 2,000 to $ 6,000.
Daily and monthly subscriptions range from $250 to $2,500.
The bells and whistles that come with marketing automation software can be very tempting. When evaluating platforms, ensure that you only consider those with the features you will actually use. This way, you can be assured you are paying for the platform you want. Be sure also to understand integration costs if your platform must work with other software within your organization. The number and complexity of our automated workflows are also important variables.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If you want your company to start appearing in the search results for relevant terms, then SEO becomes an imperative discipline for you. Optimize your website and other online properties to improve their search rankings.
Monthly charges: $ 750-$ 3,500.
Factors: SEO services are priced based on the services you receive, which include one-and-done services such as website audits and keyword research. Costs are also influenced by current SEO performance, the number of pages, and the urgency of the task.
Website Support and Maintenance
A domain name must be purchased in conjunction with web hosting to enable a fully functioning website. Maintenance is also essential to ensure your site functions safely and optimally. This includes installing updates for plug-ins, installing software, repairing broken links and errors, and backing up critical data, while optimizing performance.
Monthly costs: $100 to $2000.
The amount you will pay for support and maintenance will depend on the size of your website, its features (e.g., an online store), and whether you will need to redesign and/or integrate your site.
Digital Marketing Spending is The Price of Growth
Digital marketing may be less valuable, but it can be worthwhile in comparison. One can prevent his/her brand from fading out of the minds of consumers and prospects. It is equally important to build and nurture relationships, create a positive impact in untapped markets, and sell. Many will package their services into digital packages at a reduced rate compared to purchasing them individually.
If you’re not sure where to get started or how to make the most of your digital marketing dollar, GenTech Marketing’s team can help. Contact our GenTech Marketing experts to schedule a meeting.
FAQS
What percentage of a small business should be spent on digital marketing?
Many small businesses spend between $2,000 and $10,000 per month, depending on their goals, the size of their target audience, and the channels they use.
How much of the revenue should you spend on marketing?
Opinions vary, but a general guideline is to spend 2% to 10% of your revenues on marketing, and up to 50% on digital and online options such as SEO, PPC ,and social media.
Is digital marketing costly for a startup?
Online marketing is affordable and startup-friendly. If planned carefully, small investments in content, SEO, and social media can create significant growth.
What are the aspects that determine the price of digital marketing?
Costs vary according to industry competition, campaign size, ad spend, content quality, and whether handling is in-house or external.
