Event social media costs: promotion and on-the-day coverage

Key takeaways

Event social media cost splits into three parts: promotion before, coverage on the day and content after. As indicative UK figures, promotion takes 4 to 10 hours, about £300–£1,000. On-the-day coverage is a half-day at £300–£600 or a day at £500–£1,200, plus clips afterwards.

• £300–£1,000 is the indicative cost of pre-event promotion.
• On-the-day coverage costs £300–£600 for a half-day, or £500–£1,200 for a day.
• Follow-up clips cost about £110–£400 each to edit.
• Paid ads to sell tickets are a separate media budget.

What does event social media cover?

Event social media is the promotion, live coverage and follow-up content for a launch, open day, conference, exhibition stand or community event. It includes announcement posts, reminders, stories and clips on the day, replies to comments and a recap afterwards.

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How much does event promotion cost?

Pre-event promotion is mostly planning and content: an announcement, speaker or product posts, reminders and an event page. For a typical small event that is 4 to 10 hours of work, about £300–£1,000 at the £75–£100 an hour implied by typical UK retainers. These are indicative figures, not a GBL price list.

• Announcement, reminders and countdown posts.
• Event page or listing on each platform.
• Speaker, product or venue teaser content.
• Paid promotion: separate media budget.

What does on-the-day coverage cost?

On-the-day coverage means someone at the event posting stories, photos and short clips as it happens. A half-day typically costs £300–£600 and a full day £500–£1,200, in line with UK photography and filming day rates. Travel and late finishes are usually extra.

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What happens after the event?

The content made on the day keeps working for weeks. Highlight clips, speaker quotes, photo galleries and a short recap post can be cut from one day's material. Editing each clip costs an indicative £110–£400, and three or four clips is usually enough.

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How do you keep the total cost down?

Plan a shot list in advance, brief one person rather than several, and decide which moments matter most. Coverage of the first two hours of a conference usually gives enough material. Supplying speaker photos, agendas and logos early cuts design time too.

When is paid event coverage not worth it?

Paid coverage is not worth it for a very small event where a member of your team can post a few stories. It earns its cost when the event is a major moment for your business, when you need professional quality for later ads, or when your team will be too busy hosting.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with UK B2B and hospitality clients: the event gets heavy promotion but nothing is captured on the day. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) plans promotion, briefs the person covering the day with a shot list and turns the material into a month of follow-up posts.

• See client work
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Event social media checklist

Agree these at least three weeks before the event.

• Promotion start date and number of posts.
• Who covers the day and for how many hours.
• Shot list of the moments that matter.
• Photo consent for attendees and speakers.
• Follow-up clips and recap posts included.

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Next step

Tell us the event, the date and who you want to attend. We will tell you what promotion and coverage it needs.