Marketing is an essential part of any business, so determining the right percentage of your overall budget to allot to it needs to be carefully considered. Many business leaders wonder, “What should my marketing budget be?” Start by examining your company’s overall goals, then create marketing goals that align with those targets.
Why Media and Marketing Budgets are Essential for Business Growth
A strategic media and marketing budget is key to driving growth for your business. Allocating your budget to align with specific business goals—like boosting sales, increasing brand awareness, or entering new markets—ensures that your marketing efforts are focused. Without a clear budget, you risk spending money on fragmented activities that don’t deliver the results you need. Investing wisely in marketing and media allows you to track your progress, adjust quickly to changes, and get the most out of every dollar spent, supporting your company’s growth objectives.
Media and Marketing Budgets are Based on Business Goals
Be specific about what you are trying to achieve. Do you need to increase sales? You may want a digital advertising campaign. Do you want to increase website traffic and leads? You may need to redesign your website or launch an email newsletter. Other goals might include boosting brand awareness or expanding into new markets. Your marketing budget must balance cost with growth; every dollar should contribute to your overall goals.
Typically a marketing or media budget covers a set time period—perhaps a year. Strategize your marketing objectives over that time, and keep them specific and measurable. This will give you a clear path forward and ensure that your marketing serves your company’s objectives. For example, a goal might be to generate five new leads through your website in a week or double your social media followers in six months.
Assess Your Current Marketing Budget
An overall marketing budget might be 5-15% of revenue for established businesses, and up to 30% of revenue for businesses in a growth phase. You may adjust those percentages based on your goals, in response to competitors’ spending levels, or to target the best ROI. Always evaluate current expenditures across all channels to reduce ineffective spending and put those dollars to better use.
Include Content Creation in Your Marketing Budget
Whatever your goals, include content creation in your budget: photography and images, video production, graphic design, and copywriting and editing. Strong, branded content is crucial for your social media posts, website and all communications with your customers.
Budget for the Right Marketing Tools and Software
You will need some investment in social media management platforms, design and editing software, and analytics tools to manage and analyze your media and marketing efforts.
Budgeting for a Marketing Agency vs. an In-House Team
Consider whether you will use an outsourced marketing team or handle the planning and managing of your marketing with in-house personnel. Each position has its own set of benefits and expenses. Read our blog How to Find an Outsourced Marketing Director for more guidance in making this decision.
Media and Marketing Budget Allocation
Allocating percentages across categories might look like this:
- Content marketing: 30-40%
- Paid advertising: 20-30%
- Creative/branding: 5-10%
- Marketing technology/tools
- Staff/agency costs
Of course, your allocation will be tailored to your own needs as you define your target audience and the strategies you will use to reach them: advertising, email marketing, promotional events, website development, and social media. You can also budget for ways to build partnerships and networking opportunities that could provide access to new customer segments.
Establish Benchmarks to Gauge Your Budget’s Success
Benchmarks will let you know how your efforts are effective and how they need adjusting. Use analytics to assess your social media interaction, lead generation, email open rate, or sales levels. Taking a close look at this progress will let you modify your strategy and spending to focus on high-performing areas. Your budget will most likely evolve as your business grows and market conditions change—and you discover what works well for your customers/clients.
Media and Marketing Budgets Can Have Several Timelines
Your budget may cover a year, but you should also create short-term budget plans, setting quarterly or monthly goals for your spending. Adjusting your allocations over these shorter terms will keep your marketing efforts responsive and relevant.
Trillion Helps Companies Maximize Their Marketing Budgets
Trillion works with campaigns of varying sizes, and we understand how to create and work within budgets to get the kind of results your business needs. Our talented team of marketers, creators and designers would love to help you, too. Call us or reach out to see how we can maximize the marketing reach of your budget.
