Social media spend as a percentage of revenue

Key takeaways

Social media spend as a percentage of revenue usually lands between 0.5% and 5% for a UK small business. That follows from the common planning range of 5–10% of revenue on all marketing, with social media taking 10–50% of it depending on how much new business it brings in.

• 0.5%–5% of revenue is the usual range for total social media spend.
• 5–10% of revenue on all marketing is a common UK planning range.
• Social takes 30–50% of marketing when it is your main source of buyers.
• Social takes 10–15% when it mainly supports referrals and search.

How do you turn a percentage into a monthly figure?

Multiply annual revenue by your marketing percentage, then by social media's share, then divide by 12. A firm turning over £400,000 with 7% on marketing and 30% of that on social has £8,400 a year, or £700 a month, for time, tools and ads together. The figures are illustrative.

• Social media budget for a UK small business
• How to split a marketing budget between traditional and digital

Which percentage should you pick?

Pick the low end if most work arrives by referral and repeat orders, and the high end if you are entering a new area, launching a service or replacing lost revenue. A growing business with thin word of mouth needs more. A busy firm with a waiting list needs less.

• Word of mouth vs social media: can referrals be scaled?

What does the percentage have to cover?

It covers every social media cost, not just ads: the hours you or your staff spend, any freelancer or agency fee, tools and paid reach. Owner time counts. Six hours a week at an illustrative £40 an hour is about £1,040 a month, which can exceed the cash budget on its own.

• Production: your hours, staff hours, freelancer or agency fees.
• Tools: scheduling, design and analytics, typically £20–£80 a month.
• Paid reach: ads and boosts, usually £300–£500 a month minimum to learn anything.

• Is social media marketing free? The real cost of 'free'

When does a percentage of revenue mislead you?

A percentage ties spend to last year's sales, so it shrinks when you most need new customers and grows when you are already busy. New businesses have no revenue to base it on. Use the percentage as a sense check, then set the real figure from the customers you need.

• Work out a social media budget from your sales target

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an established firm spends almost nothing on social media because the figure was set years ago at a small share of a smaller turnover. Recalculating against current revenue and goals often shows the real gap is unpaid owner hours, not a shortage of ad money.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Revenue percentage checklist

• Use last year's revenue excluding VAT, or a forecast if you are new.
• Choose a marketing percentage between 5% and 10%.
• Give social media a share that matches its role in winning work.
• Count owner and staff hours in the total.
• Re-check the figure each quarter against enquiries.

• Social media spend for a self-storage business
• What share of your marketing budget should social get?

Next step

Write down last year's revenue, your marketing percentage and social media's share. Divide by 12 and compare the result with what you spent last month, including your own time.