It’s time to come to terms to something here when it comes to social media cost:
Social media isn’t cheap if you want it done right.
Yes, of course, all the social media platforms are free. It is free to make a twitter account, Facebook pages, LinkedIn accounts – making the account is free. But, what a lot of people forget is that social media takes time. Lots. Of. Time. And time is money.
Back in one of my previous articles, “Do I Really Need Social Media” I said that the basics that you really must have is a website and a Facebook page. You need to make sure that website is up to date. If you’re using WordPress, that involves logging in a few times a week. You want to make sure your plugins and WordPress installation is up to date. If running a physical store, you want your prices and services to be accurate. However, if you’re running an online store, your website is even more important. You need to keep stock up to date, and always be watching your traffic.
On top of your website, you’ll need to keep your Facebook page updated. That involves coming up with content to keep your audience interested. It might be as simple as promoting a weekly sale. However, you can also be creative and make content that keeps your audience engaged. Pro Tip: You want to be making that creative content. You have a lot of competition out there – make yourself stand out.
Then, on top of that, having a Twitter account is a really good idea. I didn’t talk too much about Twitter on my previous post because it’s one of those platforms that people either love or hate. However, as a business, it’s a smart idea. Personally, I use Twitter to network with people (Check me out at @RebeccaBredin!) and have a few rules that I like to follow.
- Try to post around 3-5 times a day. This can include retweets, sharing articles you like, or just posts engaging your followers
- Respond to everything. If someone tweets you, tweet them back.
- Engage with your audience
Twitter is going to be your biggest time drain, because you might have a lot of customers using twitter as their immediate way to reach you. I don’t blame them – twitter is fast, and if you can respond as quickly as they tweet you, you’ll look good in your customer’s eyes.
I Don’t Have the Time – How Much Will Social Media Cost Me?
If you need to outsource your social media, call me! you have a few different options. Depending on the size of your company, you might need to turn to a marketing agency that can take on your social media and marketing needs. If you’re not big enough for that, you could either hire someone in house to do all your social media, or take on someone to do the work freelance.
According to Buffer and The Content Factory, the industry average settles between $200 to $350 per day. Both those links go well into the details of pricing for various companies, but you need to talk to your freelancer or company and find out their individual rates. Be open about what it is you need, but also be willing to listen to their suggestions for what might make your company flourish.