When pursuing any form of marketing, it is an absolute must that you create a marketing budget. Facebook is obviously a fairly new advertising medium, and at Simple Logic Studio we often hear the question from our current and potential clients, “Is there a recommended minimum Facebook Ads budget?”
While there is no minimum budget requirement from Facebook, you should initially set your budget based on two factors:
- How much your business can afford
- How quickly you want to build your initial audience
Let’s start with the first because that will help us determine how to proceed with the second part of this equation.
At this point you should have a number in mind, either monthly or annually, for how much you want to spend (or can afford) on internet advertising. There are many different advertising mediums online, so be sure to assign a percentage of your budget to each specific medium.
Now, say for instance you set aside $4,200/year specifically for Facebook Ads, you have a monthly budget of $350/mo (I normally tell my clients at least $200/mo minimum). At this point, there are two primary strategies you can implement with your budget.
The first is pretty straightforward, and that is to simply set your monthly budget at $350/mo. and be done with it. If you have an already established page with 250-500+ fans, this budget strategy will work perfectly fine. You’re fanbase will continue to grow at a steady rate.
The second strategy we like to use, especially with brand new Facebook pages, is something we call the “Staggered Budget.” What we’ll do in this scenario is to stagger your annual budget so that at least 50% of your annual budget is used in the first two months. Why?
To understand exactly why, you have to understand why you are promoting your business on Facebook in the first place.
Facebook is the perfect medium to create conversation with your current and potential customers. As you engage with your Fans, parts of that conversation will spill out into each fans own personal network, or your “Secondary Fanbase Network.” This is comprised of people who are not already connected with your page directly, but are friends with someone who is. This spillover could happen in the form of a comment, “Like,” or ideally the sharing of a piece of your content with Facebook users who don’t already know who you are.
As this happens, the size of your ‘conversation’ grows, your content will be shared more and more, and you will start to pick up new Fans ‘organically’ or naturally. This is the ultimate goal, and when you get to this point your Fanbase will grow exponentially (as long as you treat them right!)
To put it simply, you are building an army of marketers. This army loves you and your products because you entertain them and take care of them, and they are therefore more than happy to share your products and content with their friends. Word of Mouth advertising at its finest.
So, back to the “Staggered Budget.”
In order for the natural organic growth mentioned above to start, you must have that initial audience, and you want it as big possible. The more fans you have to start, the larger your “Secondary Fanbase Network” is.
This is why we spend so much more on Facebook Ads in the very beginning stages of growth. We also like to have a contest during these first few months where you give away some cool gadget, product, or discount to entice more likes.