On this page
Key takeaways
A £5,000 a month social media budget suits a business turning over a few million pounds, or a consumer brand that wins most customers on social. As a GBL rule of thumb, put about £2,300 into people and production, £400 into tools and assets, and £2,300 into ads across one or two platforms and several campaign types.
- About £2,300 people and production.
- About £400 tools, shoots and assets.
- About £2,300 ads across 1–2 platforms.
- Board-level reporting on cost per customer quarterly.
Want your £5,000 plan costed? Message us on WhatsApp.
Chat on WhatsApp →What does the people line pay for?
Usually a specialist agency, or an in-house marketer working with specialist freelancers for design, video and paid social. At this level, strategy, regular short video, community management and testing should all be covered. Compare the full cost of a hire, including employer costs, with a scoped service.
How should £2,300 of ads be used?
Illustrative split: £1,400 prospecting for one or two main offers, £300 retargeting, £400 seasonal and test budget, £200 recruitment or employer brand if hiring matters. Fewer, well-funded campaigns still beat many small ones at this level.
- £1,400: prospecting for main offers.
- £300: retargeting.
- £400: seasonal and tests.
- £200: recruitment, if needed.
Send us your offers and growth goals on WhatsApp and we will discuss your requirements.
Chat on WhatsApp →What should the business expect?
A predictable flow of enquiries or sales with known cost per customer, a steady rhythm of fresh creative, and clear evidence of which offers to scale. At this level, the question shifts from whether social works to how far it can scale before costs rise.
When is £5,000 a month premature?
When cost per customer is not yet known at a smaller budget, when sales cannot handle more leads, or when the website converts poorly. Prove the numbers at £1,000–£2,500 first, then scale in steps.
What does this look like in practice?
A pattern we see: spend rises to this level over a few years without anyone resetting the plan, so old campaigns run alongside new ones. A clean restructure around current offers and a single quarterly report usually recovers wasted spend quickly.
£5,000 budget checklist
- Decide what is in-house and what is bought in.
- Fund fewer campaigns properly.
- Give recruitment ads their own line if hiring.
- Refresh creative every four to six weeks.
- Report cost per customer to the board quarterly.
Next step
List every active campaign with last month's spend and enquiries. Anything without a clear owner or result is the first candidate to cut or merge.
Message us on WhatsApp with your list, or book a 30-minute consultation.
Chat on WhatsApp →Sources and further reading
- Employee earnings in the UK (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings) · Office for National Statistics
- Get started with attribution · Google Analytics Help
Frequently asked questions
Who spends £5,000 a month on social media?
Typically businesses turning over a few million pounds, consumer brands that rely on social for most new customers, and firms with several locations or services to promote. Smaller firms usually reach this level only after proving cost per customer at lower budgets.
Agency or in-house at £5,000 a month?
Either can work. Many firms keep a marketing lead in-house and buy specialist production and paid social from an agency, which gives skills a single hire cannot cover. Compare the full cost of each, including employer costs and management time.
How do I know £5,000 a month is paying back?
Track cost per customer and payback period by campaign, and compare total sales against total social spend each quarter. A pause test on part of the spend can show what would have happened without it. Report both to the board, not reach figures alone.
Written by
Global Bridge Labs (GBL) is a UK–Sri Lanka partner for social media, websites and BPO. Everything here comes from client delivery, not theory.
