You see unique headlines, images, and informative videos when you visit a website. Do you know that these are all part of the brand’s content marketing strategies?
Now that most businesses have found their spot in the online world, it’s no secret that each brand owner wants to stay on top. And what’s the best way to do that? It’s creating valuable yet unique content to grab your audience’s attention and make them stay.
Content marketing strategies are key to successful promotions and brand visibility. But at what cost?
Your budget speaks loudly of how much you should be spending on content marketing services. In this guide, let’s talk about setting your content marketing budget. Plus, we’ll also provide essential factors to consider.
So, let’s begin.
Content Marketing Budget Explained
A content marketing budget isn’t only about the money. More than the money, you should also prioritize your execution plans to prevent unneeded frustration and spending without thinking.
Keep this in mind: Don’t budget money you don’t have, and don’t spend on plans you won’t be able to execute effectively.
The truth is, there’s no special formula for computing your content marketing budget. And there’s no perfect way to spend it on your strategies. You just have to be smart enough to know how to spend what you have and earn your way to success.
Look at your budget by knowing the answers to the following questions:
- What are the essential items included in your budget?
- What’s your plan of execution?
- Is there a timeline you should follow?
- What are your other resources?
- Who among your team members is responsible for content marketing?
Essential Factors to Consider
To get started with computing the budget for content marketing services, don’t forget these essential factors:
The Industry You’re In
Your industry is the most important factor in budgeting. If your business belongs in competitive industries like food, you should spend more. You need to stand out from all your competition.
But if you belong in an industry where competitors are scarce, you can get away with spending less.
Your Business Goals
The money you spend on content marketing also depends on your business goals.
If brand awareness is your goal, you should prepare more money to spend. Raising brand awareness means creating unique content that captivates readers and turns them into potential clients.
Your Brand’s Target Audience
Your audience size and demographics also matter. And the budget for content marketing differs for small niche and larger markets. Aside from that, you might also need to consider your target audiences’ social status and age.
Here’s a simple ideology. If millennials and younger generations are your target audience, social media marketing is a must. This means you should set a part of your budget for promoting on various social media platforms.
But if your target are the baby boomers or older generations, you might need to prioritize printing brochures and other materials, so it’s easy for them to read.
So, How Much is Enough?
After considering all essential factors, how much is enough for content marketing services?
As mentioned, there’s no perfect price for everyone. But if you want numbers, we recommend setting at least 10% of your entire marketing budget to content marketing.
Don’t forget that you should also scale how big your business is. If you’re a start-up business, it’s totally understandable if your content marketing budget is limited. You can start with a small percentage and scale up when your business starts to improve.
After knowing a suitable budget percentage, you should also remember that the budget does not stay the same forever. It varies yearly, depending on your future execution plans.
For instance, launching new products or services means you might need to increase your budget. This will help you generate strategies for raising awareness and landing leads.
How to Budget: Essential Content Types
When it’s time to start budgeting for your content marketing, you should also consider the types of content to include. And, of course, you can only set up a proper budget when you know how each type of content costs.
To help you, here are some of the most shared content types and their estimated costs:
Blogging
Creating blogs is an easy yet effective way to succeed with digital marketing. It’s a great strategy to educate and inform your target audience about the importance of what your brand offers.
Don’t forget that blogging also allows your employees to share their areas of expertise. And with the right keywords and topic, you can rank higher on search engines. The result? More internet users see your brand.
Also, blogs are long-form pieces of content. Even new visitors who land on your page can read through all your recent and old blog posts.
Depending on the number of words or format, blogs would cost roughly $2,000. Choosing one that offers professional editing is the best if you plan to hire a third-party blogging provider. That way, you can just provide them with the topic, and everything will turn out well.
Slide Shows
Slideshows are easy content marketing strategies too. And you can create your presentations for free when you use Google Slides.
Slide presentations are cost-effective solutions to create valuable and relatable content. They are also easy to make, and you don’t need to be a pro to create one. Also, slide shows are easy to share. They are also great tools to use on social media to reach more audiences.
Another reason brands love slide shows is the incredible visuals you can include. Visuals help keep your viewers engaged. They can make your audience come back and look for more of your content.
While slide shows are easy to make, you can also hire slideshow specialists. They can charge from $100 to $500. And these specialists can guarantee you get sleek and professional presentations.
Videos
If you can keep your audience engaged with visuals from your slideshows, imagine what videos can do.
Brand owners love creating videos because they are easy to share and consume. Videos are also versatile content pieces because they can do anything. You can use videos to teach, guide, and even promote your brand.
But here’s the thing, setting a budget for video-making can be tricky. There’s no fixed budget similar to blogging. You can start making free videos, but expensive services with more advanced features are also available.
But hiring freelancers to create your videos has its benefits. For starters, you don’t need to experience all the fuss. Remember that video-making can be a hassle, especially when you don’t have the essential skills.
If you desire to hire freelancers, you should have a prepared budget because it can get expensive. Depending on how long the video is, plus all the editing needed, you’re looking for a possible 5-digit budget just for making a video.
Aside from video-making freelancers, you might also consider getting animators.
Animators are helpful, especially when you want educational videos to promote the importance of your product. Animators can cost anywhere between $500 and $1000.
Brand Promotion
And finally, what’s content marketing without promotion?
Brand promotion and advertising are essential to anyone’s brand success. And if you don’t allocate enough budget for it, your content will fall flat. That’s regardless of how great or valuable it is.
So, how do you budget for brand promotion? The first thing you should do is choose a specific network for your content. And then start allocating at least $500 for advertising.
The average CPM or cost-per-thousand impressions on social networks can start from $7 and reach $30.
But you should also consider your target audience. You will know the best network to promote when you understand how your audiences behave online.
You can also pay for placement or sponsorship spots on various niche websites. This can allow you to reach more potential customers across the web.
The Essentials for Budgeting Your Content Marketing
You now know the essential factors and different types of content for content marketing. Now, it’s time to talk about the must-haves when planning your content marketing budget.
The Right Team
Effective content should have an exceptional team of creators. You should get the best people to accomplish the job for your brand’s success.
Content creators are responsible for creating content because they have the right skills. The following are the people you should always consider when making a team:
- SEO writers for creating optimized articles and blogs
- SEO specialists to help your website rank well on SERPs
- Copywriters to create high-performing content for advertising
- Graphic designers to improve your digital content and make it more visually appealing
- Web designers to ensure your site runs smoothly
Content marketing agencies like CJ Content Co are also available to help create compelling and engaging content. While they are investments, they can make content creation hassle-free.
Technology Tools
Technology tools involve data that can help you measure your content’s performance. These can include social media, data analytics, and automation.
Common tools to help provide helpful data insights include:
- Email marketing software for storing and tracking content subscriber lists
- Social media software you can use to create content calendars and post automation
- Google Analytics to gain insights on web traffic
- CRM platforms
- Website CMS platforms
Your Content
The price for your content depends on what type you’ll create. But if hiring agencies is part of your plan, then content writing might require additional costs.
Take Content Marketing Budget Seriously
Content marketing budget is more than just the money you pay. It includes proper planning and execution for your brand’s success.
When setting a budget, don’t forget the essential factors mentioned in this guide. Plus, remember that different content types will have different costs.
For your content writing services, contact CJ Content Co today.