"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

2012 Social Media Expert Costs

A few months ago a web design company contacted me. They noticed more and more of their clients were wanting someone to manage their social media (blogs, twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc.) as well as their web pages. This company wanted to hire me to manage the various social media and wanted quotes from me on what I would charge.

I had no idea what to charge. I had never charged someone for social media aid. So, I began researching, and I found out that many companies as well as individuals are hiring "Social Media Experts". I also noticed fees varied based on the amount of detail the company or individual wanted. (Number of times a day you posted, length of post, graphics provided, design or research involved, etc.)

I did not take the job, but I thought you might be interested in what others were charging. If you have ever thought about hiring someone else to manage your social media or if you think you might want to provide those services for others, I have provided a list of estimates below.

I would strongly recommend clients sign a three month contract if they are new to social media. It usually takes this long to notice if the social advertising is making an impact.

Blog  - Custom design and template creation.            $1,000 - to match web and other media accounts including graphics, photos, etc.
- Writing/Editing content for the blog, managing comments and posting 1-2 articles a week written by client, plus ongoing help.                         $1,000 a month
- Ghostwriting blog posts                                  .25 cents a word

Twitter – Account Setup                          $500 - designed to match other accounts
- Ongoing account management + 30 Tweets a month      $250 (add $250 for every 30 tweets added)

Facebook – Initial Page Setup                 $500 - designed to match other accounts
- Monthly content management + 30 posts   $250 (add $250 for every 30 posts added)

Pinterest – Account Setup                                         $500  
- Monthly management +30 pins        $250 (add $250 for every 30 pins added)

 -          The design and setup would include the company logos, colors etc. and match the overall feel of the web page you design for them.
 -          Account/content management includes the time it takes to add/delete followers, reply to comments/photos posted to the account etc.
-          If a client wants to buy a bundle plan, offer a discount.
Account setup of 3 social media (like twitter, facebook)                     $1,250
90 posts, tweets, pins to be divided between the three accounts per month.        $600
Account setup of 5 social media (adding LinkedIn and Google+)               $2,200
180 posts, tweets, pins to be divided between the five accounts per month.        $1,200


Social Media Training/Consulting – This is for clients who want to take over the responsibility of their own social media or who already have the media in place and want help to overhaul/revamp their approach.                           $100 (an hour and excludes travel costs).

Social Media Workshop – Strictly teaching them how to do EVERY step of setup, maintenance etc. This would be an on-site workshop and fee excludes travel costs.
HALF-DAY (Up to 4 Hours)                                     $2,000
FULL-DAY (6 to 8 Hours)                                        $4,000

NOTE: These rates include the time the teacher takes to prepare/tailor the workshop for the client’s individual needs as well as materials needed to provide them (which may be 20 to 30 hours of work leading up to the workshop day). This is why the cost is higher than the hourly rate listed in SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING/CONSULTING.      

What are your thoughts about these charges and "Social Media Experts"?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting that this is in demand, but I can see for bigger companies wanting to be active in the social media, this is a worthwhile investment of their money.

D.G. Hudson said...

Very interesting article, Sylvia.

I think there will be more of this type of support business who help (at a cost) the creatives manage the media portion of their books.

These prices certainly aren't cheap, however, for the struggling new writer or midlist author.

There might be a niche market for some media types who want to offer a lower level media package for writers rather than one for businesses.

Judith Fertig said...

Great article, Sylvia. It's great to know that blogging, tweeting, and FB ing has a value beyond what we do to promote our own work.

Mary Horner said...

Thanks for sharing the valuable information!

Unknown said...

The figures, I must say, make me want to become a social media expert. If you compare it to the job of an SEO specialist, wherein the job is more complex, then it would be more practical to offer social media optimization services. I know a Phoenix web design company that offers both and I think it is a wise move on their part to offer both because they can provide those services hand-in-hand.