Social Media Calculator
How to Use this Social Media Calculator
Sometimes we’re not aware of what we’re spending on social media because we never added it up. This calculator helps you create a thorough inventory of how much your business spends on your social media marketing efforts. Fill out the fields in the calculator as follows:
Cost of Tools
This is where you list your monthly business costs for the software, apps and tools you pay to use for social media. Include subscription costs for things like Zoho Social or Hootsuite, any video and image editing tools, livestreaming subscriptions like Streamyard or Zoom, and curation tools such as IFTTT, Feedly, etc. Don’t forget your costs for managing and hosting a blog.
Content Creation Costs
This calculator field represents your business costs for creating videos, blog posts, professional photography and other content to share on social media. (Do not include costs for in-house staff here. Only out-of-pocket costs.)
Social Media Updating
This calculator field is where you place your monthly cost for creating and scheduling social media updates, monitoring replies and engagement, reporting, etc. If you pay an agency, freelancers, or influencers, then include them here.
In-House Staff Costs
Most companies employ full or part-time staff to oversee their social media accounts. This is where you enter their hours and rate of pay.
Paid Advertising Costs
List your total monthly social media ad spend for things like Facebook ads, boosting Facebook posts, and promoting tweets or Pinterest pins. Add up all your small business advertising costs for social media. (If you’re not sure what you spend, check the Ads Manager dashboards in your social media accounts or add up the total cost per post over a 30 day period.)
Getting Value From a Social Media Budget Calculator
Work through your social media marketing budget to calculate the value your business is receiving from your efforts. While our social media calculator is a budget calculator, not a social media ROI calculator, understanding your costs is the first step. Then, to under return on investment, ask yourself these questions:
Does Your Content Hit the Mark?
Does your content resonate with your audience? Does it tell them something they want to know? Does it brighten their day, or help them solve a problem? Create shareable social media content such as a blog post that has something to offer.
Are Social Updates Building a Following?
Determining what your audience wants and then delivering it on a consistent basis builds followers. If your social media content accomplishes that, then it’s worth creating more of it. If it doesn’t, then you may need to refocus.
What is Your Engagement Rate?
Do your social media updates receive a number of reactions, shares and comments? If your engagement rate is high, then it’s time to create more of what’s working. If it’s low, then it may be time to switch things up to extend your reach. Increasing your engagement rate results in the platform displaying more of your content to your followers which increases your reach.
Do You Have the Right Team?
Boldness, creativity, and even a sense of humor are keys to social media success. Give your team content they can work with and free reign within good judgment.
Are You Measuring Campaign Conversions?
Campaigns that convert leads and generate sales (not just create brand awareness) help justify the costs of social media marketing. Measure your social media campaigns including conversion rate. Then generate more of what’s working.
Are You Considering Public Relations Value and Word of Mouth Value?
Social media marketing works hand in hand with public relations. Make sure the content you’re creating spurs people to share, thus increasing word of mouth value and public relations value.
