3 Budgeting Tools to Help You Create the Ideal Social Media Marketing Budget

Every business owner needs to make sure that people know his
or her business exists, what it does, how to find it, and how to get in touch.
It’s called marketing. Social media marketing – the strategy of using social
media to drive traffic to your website and, therefore, your business – is the
newest and arguably the most powerful incarnation of this concept. 

It may seem counter-intuitive to pay for social media marketing since Twitter,
Facebook, and Pinterest are free, but a good marketing strategy that gets the
most out of these powerful tools in a way that matches your business plan is
not easy and may cost some money. Follow this guide to budgeting for social
media marketing. 

Software

Good software is at the heart of every budget – and the good news is, this
aspect of your social media marketing budget shouldn’t impact your budget at
all. Free, web-based programs such as Mint.com
not only don’t cost anything to join, but since they’re web based, there’s no
installation or maintenance.

Your goals, current funds, and strategy for your social media marketing budget
can all come together in a crisp, image-driven interface that was designed for
the novice. The software’s tagging function allows you plug each expenditure
into a different category automatically so you can see exactly what you’re
spending, saving, and where.

SBA

No matter what your politics, your government is there to serve you – and in
the case of the Small Business Association, or SBA, it actually does serve
small business owners. Among the SBA’s many sections of articles, expert
advice, forms, and tax help is the SBA’s
Social Media section. This is truly an excellent resource, replete with
information including how to get started with social media marketing. This
section will help you find the medium that matches your customer base, and make
the most out of your marketing dollars.

Facebook Ads

If you have a business and a Facebook account, you should have a page for Facebook for Business. Facebook’s
business platform is a powerful medium for business owners to create brand
awareness, engage in dialogue with their customers, and place targeted ads.
These ads are the backbone of Facebook’s business platform – and when they’re
done well, they work. Make sure to reconsider your current ad strategy and make
room in your budget for Facebook ads.

Social media marketing has the potential to reach more people – whether they’re
potential clients, customers, or partners – than any other medium in history.
The world is increasingly linked through these sites, and every business owner
needs to consider creating a budget to get the most out of their marketing
strategy. Budget well and spend wisely. 

Also See:

How to Start a Social Media Campaign

How to Measure Your Social Media Influence

Social Media Tracking Tools

List of Social Media Sites

Facebook Marketing Strategy

Twitter Marketing Strategy

Social Media Etiquette