How Much Does Social Media Advertising Cost in 2023?

There’s certainly no denying that social media has become a pivotal part of marketing. If a business doesn’t have a social media presence, it might experience more difficulty reaching certain audiences than its counterparts that have added social media to their marketing strategy. Not to mention that in comparison to other, more traditional marketing channels, such as television or radio, social media advertising is a lot more affordable and usually provides better ROIs. 

But how much exactly do social media ads cost? The truth is that there isn’t one answer to this question due to the fact that there are several different platforms that you can advertise on. The overall cost of your social media advertising campaign will depend on several factors, which, aside from the platforms you want to focus on, also include how many ads you purchase, how many people you want to reach, or even the time of the year during which you want to display your ads. 

In this article, we will take a look at some of the most popular social media platforms and the costs associated with advertising on them. While it might not give you an exact number you will have to dedicate to your social media ads, it will at least give you a general idea of how much it actually costs. 

Facebook Ads 

The first social media platform we will focus on is Facebook. Contrary to what some people might think, getting an ad spot on Facebook is not as simple as purchasing a spot and being guaranteed it. There are actually limited advertising spots available. 

So, how do they determine which business will be able to post their ad? It all comes down to an ad auction where advertisers compete for ad placement in front of their target audience. For example, if there are two clothing brands that want to target individuals aged 18 to 25, then they would be competing against each other. 

There are several things that impact who will be the action winner, with the price being just one of them. Aside from it, Facebook also takes into account the ad’s value, or, in simpler terms, how much the audience will like the ads submitted by the competing businesses and whether they will engage with them. Another thing is ad quality and estimated action rates - which is basically a prediction of how many people will like, comment or share the ad. 

Now, for the cost. The social media advertising costs are not the same throughout the year when it comes to Facebook. You will more than likely pay more for your ads if you decide to publish them around the busier times of the year, which include the Christmas season, and depending on the industry you’re working in, also holidays such as Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or if you’re working in the tourism and/or hospitality industry around popular tourist seasons. 

Another thing that determines your social media advertising costs is your target audience. While it might be surprising to hear who you are planning on reaching can either increase or decrease your costs. For example, if you’re targeting women in their 50s and 60s, you might have to pay more than someone targeting women in their 20s and 30s. 

Some other factors that influence your campaign cost in regard to Facebook Ads include: 

• Your Ads budget - the more you are willing to spend, the higher the chances of you winning in an ad auction, as your bids will be more competitive. That doesn’t mean small budgets have no chance of succeeding on Facebook - they can, it might just be harder to do. 
• Your Ad’s intention - when creating an ad on Facebook, you will be required to choose one of the three objectives - awareness, consideration, and conversions - and a specific goal based on the objective you chose. Goals that have immediate value for your business, such as a store visit or a purchase, might require you to pay more for the ads. 

Still, we can provide you with average numbers for the Facebook Ads campaigns that were rolled out in 2022. Here is a short breakdown of the costs: 

Facebook Ads - Available Options 

Facebook offers a wide range of advertising options that businesses can choose from: 

• Photo Ads: These are simple but effective ads that use a single image to tell a story. They're a great way to showcase a product or brand.
  
  
• Video Ads: Video ads can run in News Feed and Stories, or they can appear as in-stream ads in longer Facebook videos. They can show your team or your product in action or simply inspire viewers.
  
  
• Stories Ads: These are full-screen vertical ads that appear between Stories. They're a great way to engage mobile users with immersive content.
  
  
• Carousel Ads: Carousel ads allow you to showcase up to 10 images or videos in a single ad, each with its own link. They're great for highlighting different products, showcasing specific details about one product, service or promotion, or telling a story or sequence of events that unfolds across each carousel card.
  
  
• Slideshow Ads: Slideshow ads are video-like ads made up of a series of still photos, text, or existing video clips. They're an easy, low-impact way to draw attention.
  
  
• Collection Ads: These ads allow you to showcase a collection of products that customers can browse and purchase directly from the ad. They're a great way to create a more immersive shopping experience.
  
  
• Instant Experience Ads: Formerly known as Canvas, these are full-screen ads that load 15 times faster than a website outside of Facebook. They can include photos, videos, carousels, and even tilt-to-pan images.
  
  
• Lead Ads: Lead ads are mobile-only ads that include a contact form people can fill out to learn more about your business. They're great for collecting sign-ups for newsletters, price estimates, follow-up calls, and more.
  
  
• Dynamic Ads: Dynamic ads automatically promote products to people who have expressed interest on your website, in your app, or elsewhere on the Internet. They're great for retargeting campaigns.
  
  
• Messenger Ads: Messenger ads are a way to start conversations with users. They can appear in the Home tab of the Messenger app, and when people tap on an ad, they're brought to a detailed page within Messenger with options like viewing a product or starting a conversation.
  
  
• Augmented Reality Ads: Augmented Reality (AR) ads are a novel approach that allows companies to leverage features like filters and animations, providing a unique and engaging way for consumers to connect with the brand. Designed with a focus on shareability, AR ads encourage users to spread the word about your brand. As customers use and share your bespoke filters, they inadvertently amplify your ad's reach, creating a modern, digital version of word-of-mouth marketing.

Instagram Ads 

It’s no surprise that Instagram, with over a billion of its active users, is the second social media platform we will be taking a closer look at in terms of social media advertising costs. 

Just like with Facebook Ads, the cost of advertising on Instagram is not a fixed number. It's determined by your chosen bidding model, which could be either cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM). On average, businesses spend between $0.50 and $1 for each click on their ad. However, in highly competitive sectors like fashion, the cost can escalate to as much as $3 per click.

You might be thinking about what determines just how much you’ll pay for using Instagram for advertising. Well, Instagram follows the guidelines of its parent company, Facebook, in establishing the social media advertising costs. This means that there are four main factors that affect the price of ads: 

• Bid Amount: This is the maximum amount you're willing to pay for a lead. The higher your bid, the more you're likely to pay for clicks and impressions.
  
  
• Relevance Score: Instagram prioritizes ads that are relevant to its users. The more your ad resonates with the audience, the higher your relevance score, which can potentially lower your ad costs.
  
  
• Estimated Action Rates: This is Instagram's prediction of how likely users are to interact with your ad. If Instagram's algorithms predict that your ad will generate a lot of engagement, you might end up paying less.
  
  
• Competition: The more businesses targeting the same audience, the higher the competition. This can lead to a bidding war, driving up the cost of your ads.

Also, just like in the case of Facebook, additional elements like the time of year, day of the week, gender of the target audience, and the specific market you're targeting can also impact your ad costs. For instance, ads targeting women or running during peak shopping seasons like Christmas can cost more due to higher engagement and competition, respectively.

Instagram Ads - Available Options

Instagram offers quite a few ad formats so you can pick the one that you think will work best for your audience, or, even better, combine a few different types to ensure you reach as many members of your target audience as possible. 

The available Instagram ad options include: 

• Photo Ads: These are the simplest form of Instagram ads. They use a single image and caption to convey your message. You can use them to showcase a product, share a stunning image related to your brand, or inspire users with a visual story.
  
  
• Video Ads: Video ads allow you to share more complex stories and engage users with motion and sound. These can be up to 60 seconds long and can be displayed in landscape or square format.
  
  
• Carousel Ads: Carousel ads allow users to swipe through a series of images or videos, each with its own link. This format is useful for showcasing multiple products or sharing a multi-part story.
  
  
• Slideshow Ads: Slideshow ads are similar to video ads but use a series of still images that play as a video. They're great for advertisers who want the motion of a video ad but don't have the resources to create a video.
  
  
• Collection Ads: Collection ads allow users to discover, browse, and purchase products directly from their Instagram feed. When users tap on a collection ad, they're taken to an Instant Experience—a fullscreen landing page—where they can learn more about the product or make a purchase.
  
  
• Stories Ads: Stories ads are fullscreen ads that appear between users' Stories. They can be a photo or a video up to 15 seconds long. Since Stories are fullscreen and immersive, this format gives you a lot of space to get creative.
  
  

TikTok Ads

The third social media platform that we couldn’t forget about in this article, considering just how fast it’s growing and how many users there are, is TikTok. Out of all the social media platforms we mentioned, this is the youngest one, as it’s been released internationally in 2017. 

So, how does TikTok look in terms of social media advertising costs? 

First of all, we need to mention that TikTok has a minimum budget you need to spend on an advertising campaign. 

The average cost for TikTok ads is $10 per CPM (cost per mille or 1000 views). CPC (Cost per Click) typically averages around $1, dependent on bidding. A brand takeover reportedly costs around $50,000 per day. TikTok also has some more expensive options that, for example, get you a branded hashtag challenge or put you in the Discovery banner - this can cost you up to $150,000. 

TikTok Ads - Available Options 

There are three main types of paid ads that you can take advantage of on TikTok: 

• In-Feed Ads - These ads appear on users' For You Page as they scroll through. In-feed ads can include Calls to Action, directing users to your website or to platforms like the App Store or Google Play for app downloads.
  
  
• Brand Takeover Ads - These ads are the first thing users see when they open the app, appearing before any other content. TikTok permits only one advertiser per day for this ad type, which results in limited availability and higher cost. High-quality content that entices users to your page is critical when considering a brand takeover ad.
  
  
• Hashtag Challenge - TikTok challenges can be highly beneficial to brands, generating vast amounts of user-created content. The initial investment can be significant, but any subsequent content made by users participating in the challenge constitutes free exposure.

LinkedIn Ads

The final social media platform we will be talking about is LinkedIn - while it serves a slightly different purpose than the ones we already mentioned, as it is more focused on networking and building business connections, it is still a very popular choice among advertisers. 

As for the average costs, here is how it looks: 

One thing to keep in mind is that although the expenses associated with LinkedIn advertising can differ from one advertiser to another, LinkedIn does mandate that businesses place a minimum bid of $2 for both cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) campaigns.

So, what determines how much you’ll pay for your advertising campaign? LinkedIn specifies three elements that significantly affect your advertising expenditure on the platform:

• Targeted Demographics: Advertising on LinkedIn entails vying with other advertisers for your ad's visibility. If your target audience is highly sought after, you're likely to incur increased costs due to the elevated value of this demographic and the intensified competition for their attention.
  
  
• Bid: The bid you place is another determinant of your LinkedIn ad costs. While you'll never surpass your bid, a portion of it will be used. This is attributed to LinkedIn's ad auction system, where the winning bidder pays one cent more than the second-highest bid.
  
  
• Ad Relevance Score: Ad relevance scores have a substantial impact on LinkedIn advertising costs. A higher ad relevance score can help reduce your costs, as LinkedIn prioritizes displaying ads to users that are both relevant and engaging.

LinkedIn Ads - Available Options

Just like all the other social media we talked about before, LinkedIn also has a few different ad types available to those who want to advertise on their platform. The most common ones are: 

• Sponsored Content: These are native ads that appear directly in the LinkedIn feeds of professionals you want to reach. They are designed to fit seamlessly with the platform's professional content.
  
  
• Sponsored Messaging (In-Mail): These are personalized messages delivered directly to the LinkedIn inboxes of the people you’re trying to reach.
  
  
• Text Ads: These are simple and small ads that appear on the right side or top of the LinkedIn feed.
  
  
• Dynamic Ads: These are personalized ads that use LinkedIn profile data to ensure each ad is individually customized to each person who sees it.

Quick Summary 

Which Social Media Platform Is the Best for Advertising 

There’s no one answer to this, as it’s specific to your business. There are a few things you need to consider when choosing which platform you want to focus on, including: 

• Your budget - If you’re limited in terms of funds you can dedicate to an advertising campaign, you need to consider which platforms will have the best ROI for your specific business. 
  
  
• Your target audience - Which social media platforms does your target audience use the most? For example, if you’re targeting younger generations, TikTok might turn out to be a better option than Facebook. 
  
  
• Your marketing goals - What do you want to achieve with your marketing campaign? 

Why Use Social Media Advertising 

In our increasingly connected digital landscape, social media advertising has emerged as a vital component of any successful marketing strategy. Here are a few reasons why.

Firstly, the ubiquity of social media cannot be overstated. As of 2023, the number of social media users worldwide has exploded to almost 5 billion, providing an enormous pool of potential customers for businesses of all sizes. Moreover, the average user spends more than two hours on social media platforms daily, offering extensive opportunities for brand visibility and engagement.

Secondly, social media advertising offers unmatched targeting capabilities. Unlike traditional advertising, where messages are broadcasted to a wide audience, social media platforms leverage rich user data to deliver your advertisements to specific demographics based on age, interests, location, and behavior. This ensures that your marketing budget is spent efficiently on reaching the people most likely to be interested in your product or service.

Thirdly, social media advertising facilitates two-way communication between businesses and customers. It's not just about broadcasting your message but about engaging your audience, fostering relationships, and creating a community around your brand. This unique feature allows businesses to receive immediate feedback, manage their online reputation, and maintain customer loyalty.

Lastly, the flexible cost structure of social media advertising makes it accessible to businesses of all sizes. Whether your budget is large or small, social media platforms allow you to set your budget and cost per action, offering a level of control that is difficult to achieve in other forms of advertising.

The Bottom Line 

With that being said, we have reached the end of our guide on social media advertising cost - as you can see, it all depends on the platform that you decide to use, and even then, it’s an average cost rather than a precise calculation. That’s because there’s no exact answer - your social media advertising costs will depend on your specific campaign. 

Setting up an online advertising campaign can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re doing. With Taradel, the process is a breeze - we’ll be there to help you out every step of the way. Get in touch with us today and get your digital marketing campaign going.