Agency Hub

There are several pricing models that digital marketing agencies commonly use. Most often you’ll find that they use a combination of a few. For example, for long-term projects, they’ll use a monthly retainer, while additional requests can be charged at an hourly rate. The most common pricing models used include:

• Project-based pricing
• Tiered packages
• A monthly retainer
• An hourly rate
• Menu pricing
• Performance-based pricing

The most common factors that have an effect on the cost of digital marketing services include:

• The project’s scope
• The industry of the business
• The marketing agency’s location and level of experience
• The client’s marketing goals
• The campaign’s timeline

Agency directories like this one are a good place to start. You should also refer to references and case studies shared on the agency’s own website to get an idea of their expertise. While the agency’s level of skill carries a lot of weight, they’ll only be a good fit if they share your brand’s values and have experience working with similarly sized businesses in your industry. Then, at some stage you’ll need to organize an interview and invite them to pitch.

A branding package is a collection of elements that communicates the identity, values, and mission of a company. It typically includes a long list of assets (mostly visual) that the company can include on its website, social media pages, stationery, and packaging like:

• A logo with variations
• Color palette
• Typography
• Photos
• Iconography
• Illustrations
• Letterhead
• Email signature
• Messaging

It should also include a brand style guide (aka brand guidelines) that explain how these elements must be used to create a unified look and feel.

The words web designer and web developer are often used interchangeably, but there are key differences. Simply put, website design involves working on a website’s appearance and user experience. Web development concentrates on the site’s functionality. Web developers will be responsible for building a website’s frontend and backend, while web designers will focus on the interface. Ultimately, the scope of your project will determine if you need to invest in a web designer or web developer.

Based on a survey of over 100 of the top UI/UX agencies in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, you can expect to pay anything between $79 and $103 per hour. The average minimum campaign size differs more significantly and is anything between $3,200 and $16,500.

Based on the insights from 500 digital marketers, social media delivers the highest return on investment (ROI). One of the reasons for this is because it requires less upfront investment compared to other marketing channels. All you basically need are time, some creativity, and maybe free products if you want to partner with social media influencers too. That said, in terms of cost-effectiveness, SEO, email marketing, and content marketing perform slightly better.

Influencer Marketing Hub’s Digital Benchmark Report 2024 found that social media marketing gets the biggest percentage of the marketing budget, which also happens to be the most effective marketing channel. It’s followed by search engine optimization (SEO), with affiliate marketing in a close third spot. Other marketing strategies that marketers also like to spend more money on include content marketing, email marketing, and PPC advertising.

Depending on the industry, the average cost per click for Facebook ads can range anywhere between $0.43 and $1.27. Across all industries, the average cost per click for Facebook ads is just over $0.80. For lead generation campaigns, you can expect to pay more than double that.

As for agency costs, Facebook ads agencies typically charge between $80 and $108 per hour or require a minimum campaign size of anything from $2,700 to $12,800.

Depending on the industry, the average cost per click for Google ads can range anything between $1.16 and $6.75 for search and $0.44 and $1.49 for display. Across all industries, the average cost per click for search is $2.69 and $0.63 for display.

As for agency costs, Google ads agencies typically charge between $80 and $111 per hour or require a minimum campaign size of anything from $3,500 to $4,600.

From website builders to social media listening tools to influencer marketing platforms, there are various tools that you’ll want to add to your MarTech stack. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems, content management systems, marketing automation tools, and analytics tools in particular are essential. More than 40% of marketers feel that a CRM system is the most important marketing technology. Just over half of marketers plan on implementing AI and machine learning tools in the next two to three years.

Marketing agencies and businesses with tight budgets can check out free email marketing tools like Omnisend, EmailOctopus, and Mailchimp. Enterprise clients with bigger spending power can use tools like HubSpot, Brevo (formerly called Sendinblue), and ActiveCampaign, for example.

AI can be used in various ways to help with marketing. Some of the most popular use cases currently include:

• Streamlining and automating repetitive tasks like lead scoring, data analysis, and social media posting
• Improving ad targeting and personalizing messaging and campaigns
• Adjusting bids
• Identifying new ideas and trends
• Generating first drafts for product descriptions, blog articles, and social media posts
• Optimizing content for voice search