Social media costs for trades and construction firms

Key takeaways

Social media management cost for tradespeople in the UK is indicatively £500–£1,500 a month for Facebook, Instagram and a Google Business Profile. The fee is modest because the best content is phone photos of real jobs. One extra job a month usually covers it.

• £500–£1,500 a month is the indicative fee for a trades business.
• If jobs average £2,400 and you win 1 in 4 quotes, an enquiry is worth about £600.
• Job photos from your team are the cheapest and best content.
• Add £300–£500 a month of local ads once the page is active.

What does a trades business need from social media?

A trades business needs proof and speed: before and after photos, short clips of work in progress, prices explained, reviews answered and messages replied to the same day. Buyers use social media to check you are real, local and good before they ring.

• Social media agency pricing in the UK
• Social media for trades and construction businesses

How much do trades firms pay?

As an indication, a managed Facebook and Instagram presence with a Google Business Profile costs £500–£1,500 a month. The lower end is posting from your photos. The upper end adds short video, replies in working hours and monthly reporting on enquiries. These are market indications, not a GBL price list.

• Posting from your job photos: indicative £500–£800.
• Posts, video clips and replies: indicative £800–£1,500.
• Local ad budget: £300–£500 a month, paid to the platform.
• Google Business Profile upkeep: often included or a small add-on.

• Facebook page management costs in the UK
• Google Business Profile management costs

How many jobs does it take to pay for itself?

Work it out from job value. If jobs average £2,400 and you win one in four quotes, each enquiry is worth about £600 in revenue. A £1,000 monthly fee then needs fewer than two extra enquiries a month to be covered in revenue terms. Use your own margin for the true figure.

• When does a social media agency pay for itself?

What must you supply for it to work?

You must supply the raw material. Nobody else can photograph jobs they are not on. A WhatsApp group where the team drops photos, a line about the job and the area is enough. Without it the page fills with generic tips and stock images.

• Before, during and after photos of each job.
• A sentence on the problem and the fix.
• The town or area, with the customer's permission.
• Typical price ranges you are happy to share.

• Social media photography on a budget

Is paid advertising worth adding?

Usually, once the page shows recent work. A campaign aimed at your service radius, with £300–£500 a month, puts your best job posts in front of homeowners nearby. Keep the ad account in your own name and judge it on cost per enquiry.

• Facebook and Instagram ads management costs in the UK

When should a trades firm not pay for social media?

Do not pay for it when you are booked for months and cannot take more work, or when all your work comes from a few contractors. In those cases keep the Google profile accurate, post a job a week yourself and save the fee.

How should you budget across the year?

Trades work is seasonal, and the budget can follow it. Keep the monthly fee steady so the page never goes quiet, and move the ad budget: more before your busy season to fill the diary, less when you are booked. Posting through the quiet months is what brings the first calls of the next season.

• Steady fee all year for content and replies.
• Higher ad spend six to eight weeks before peak season.
• Lower ad spend when the diary is full.
• Quiet months: reviews, case posts and maintenance tips.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with UK trades firms: posts that explain what a job costs in the local area, and why, draw better enquiries than polished adverts. Across Global Bridge Labs (GBL) social media clients the average reach lift in the first 90 days is +184%, but for trades the quality of the conversation matters more.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Trades cost checklist

Work through these before paying anyone.

• Work out your average job value and win rate.
• Set up a photo routine with the team.
• Complete your Google Business Profile.
• Ask for the fee, the ad budget and the report in writing.
• Review enquiries after 90 days.

Next step

Tell us your trade, your area and your average job value. We will tell you what is worth paying for and what is not.