You’ve decided that you want to work with a social media agency – great!
One of the first questions on your mind is no doubt – how much is it going to cost me.
Great question, we’re glad you asked.
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to social media management. (Hint – be wary of agencies with standard packages!)
A great agency will jump on a call (or ask you to share a detailed brief) to understand your goals and objectives, target audience, current pain points, preferred ways of working and approximate budget. From there, the agency will go away and put together a custom quote that balances what you’re wanting to achieve with what you have available to spend.
The best agencies will share flexible retainer options, that can be scaled up and down as budget and business activity require.
But that’s not helpful right? You want to know the figures.
Here’s a quick breakdown.
- Smaller agencies or freelancers may cost from $1,000 – $3,000 per month.
- Fees to work with a medium sized experienced social media agency typically start from $3,000 per month and scale from there, dependant on your requirements.
- To work with large well-known agency, fees will typically begin at $20,000 per month and head upwards from there.
So what can you expect for your spend?
When you work with a low-cost small social media agency or freelancer, you’ll typically get lots of hours dedicated to your account. Great! Lots of hours means lots of output.
On the flipside, you’ll often (but not always!) be working with a relatively inexperienced team, who only have a few clients on their books. Expect lots of attention but a little hand holding will be required. The old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ generally applies here.
When you work with a large agency (you know the ones, these are the guys with a top floor of a St Kilda Rd office building, or a warehouse in Cremorne, BIG brands on their books, hundreds of staff) you get the benefits that come with working with an industry heavy weight. They’ll often have a direct line into Meta, thought leaders in the creative department and a seriously impressive folio.
There are plenty of perks with working with the ‘names’. However, alongside the perks often come the red flags. Hundreds / thousands of clients mean your business will be one amongst MANY. Expect to have regular account manager turn over and a low amount of hours dedicated to your campaign.
Reactiveness is not a strong suit of these agencies. Because of their size, there are more layers and processes involved. So if you’re after a campaign that plays to trends and latest platform changes, this is not the place for you.
And of course, $20,000+ per month is not realistic for every business.
That brings us to the happy middle ground.
Now – please keep in mind we’re biased because this is the space we play in.
When you work with a medium sized social media agency, you’re typically working with a team of 15-30. These agencies are generally experienced businesses with a big mix of clients, from start ups, through to global businesses. In the great medium sized agencies (of which there are a few REALLY great agencies in Melbourne – and if MSC isn’t the right fit for you, we can give you a few names of other agencies we love) there is typically really low staff turnover, meaning a consistent, dedicated Account Manager on your account.
Because these agencies have around 50-100 clients on their books at any given time, your business is not a number but a very important piece of the agency’s puzzle.
The cost is always going to be higher than a small agency or freelancers – expect an hourly rate of somewhere between $100-$200. But with that fee, you gain access to the skills of the entire team, which includes the senior team closely overseeing your campaign. So while the dedicated hours to your campaign might be slightly lower than what you’ll gain access to with a freelancer or small agency, the quality of work, attention to detail and expertise is much greater.
The medium sized agency is still small enough to be able to work really dynamically and reactively, as they’re not bogged down with procedures and red tape. (Typically, content can be produced within 24 hours, so that trends are still relevant by the time your work goes out.) But they’re large enough to be well versed in strategy, and know what works for different business types and industries.
The team working on your account generally only works with around 5-10 clients, they’re not overloaded and they REALLY care about your business.
Perhaps the biggest perk? If you think about it – at an investment of $5,000 per month, you’re looking at paying $60,000 per year for your experienced agency team, which is equal to (but generally less than) what you would be spending on a single employee. So really – you’re saving money.
Have we convinced you?
If you’d like to chat further or request a bespoke proposal from our team, please reach out.
Or, check out what we’re up to on LinkedIn.
