What Should Be Budget For Online Marketing | What Should Your Online Marketing Budget Be?

When thinking about starting a new business or taking on new marketing efforts, there are a lot of questions that might come up. One of the most critical questions to ask is, “How much should my online marketing budget be?” Depending on what stage you’re in, the answer to this question can vary. To better understand how much you should be spending on your online marketing budget, let’s take a look at the stages of digital marketing and how much money you should be budgeting for each stage.

Pre-Launch

The pre-launch stage of a digital marketing campaign is the period right before a product or service is launched. This is also the stage when marketing analytics are first taken into consideration. During this time, you’re figuring out what works and what doesn’t work in terms of marketing strategy and execution. In terms of budgeting, this is the stage when you establish the baseline for your marketing budget. You don’t want to go overboard during this stage, as you’ll want to keep your profits in-line with your expenditures. It’s also the stage when you consider doing some form of A/B testing to determine what content performs best and how you can make the most of your digital marketing dollars.

On-Ramp

The on-ramp stage of a digital marketing campaign is similar to the pre-launch stage, but it occurs during the period when the product or service is being marketed to the public. This is typically a shorter period of time than the pre-launch stage, as you don’t have as much time to figure out what works and what doesn’t work in terms of marketing strategy and execution. Marketing during this stage is called on-ramping, and it’s all about getting as much exposure as possible for the product or service being promoted. You want to hit as many people as possible with the content you’re producing, whether that’s through social media posts, email marketing, or even text-based ads. It’s also the stage when you consider doing some form of A/B testing to determine what parts of your marketing program are performing best.

Product Launch

The product launch stage of a digital marketing campaign is the point when a product or service is officially launched to the market. During this stage, the marketing program continues to expand its reach to as many people as possible. This is typically a longer stage than the on-ramp stage, as you have more time to see how effective your various marketing tactics and strategies are. Product launches can be a little bit tricky to plan, as you’ll want to take into consideration various holidays, seasons, and days of the week. You also want to make sure that you don’t overload your social media platforms with too much content. If you’ve done your homework during the on-ramp stage, this stage should be relatively painless.

Post-Launch

The post-launch stage of a digital marketing campaign is the period right after a product or service is launched. During this stage, you’ll want to continue expanding the reach of your marketing program. This is typically a shorter stage than the product launch stage, as you’ll want to take some time to see how well your product is performing in the marketplace. This is also the stage when you start considering doing some form of performance marketing, where you track performance (e.g., sales, leads, etc.) throughout the marketing life cycle.

To give you some idea of how much money you should be spending and what stages of a digital marketing campaign you’re in, here’s a quick cheat sheet. Keep in mind these are just estimates, as you’ll want to consider many different factors (e.g., your product, pricing, industry, etc.).

Establish A Base (Pre-Launch)

The first step to establishing a marketing budget is to consider what your budget should be for this year. To do this, you need to establish a base. Your base should be what you consider to be the minimum needed to get the ball rolling. This will vary based on what stage you’re in and what your product is, but for the most part, it will be somewhere around $500-$1,000.

Expand With Interactions (On-Ramp)

The next step is to expand your budget with interactions. This is where you get creative and decide how you’re going to interact with your market. You can use different methods, whether that’s SEO, social media, PPC (pay per click), or even an e-commerce storefront. Decide what’s most important to you and decide how you plan on implementing that strategy. Once you have a strategy, you can decide which channels you’ll use to promote your product. It’s important to note here that you don’t want to overdo it and use all those channels, as you’ll want to keep your costs in check. You can also implement different content types, such as video content or eBooks, so long as you make sure that you keep to your budget.

Ramp Up (Product Launch)

Once you have a solid base, you can start boosting your budget. This is the stage where you can start using more advanced strategies (e.g., content creation, native ads, etc.) but you have to be strategic about how you spend your money. You can use different methods to increase the distribution of your content, so long as you adhere to your budget. If you decide that SEO is most important to you, you can take a look at the current year’s rankings to get an idea of how much you need to budget for.

Once you have your content prepared, it’s time to promote it. This is where you’ll use your paid media (e.g., PPC, display ads, etc.) to get the word out. You can use different methods here too, as long as you keep to your budget. You can also take advantage of different pricing structures to fit your budget. For example, if you decide that PPC is most important to you and your budget allows for it, you can create a plan where you only pay for leads that convert. This can help you stay within your budget and still gain the benefits of paid media.

Post-Launch

The post-launch stage is similar to the ramp up stage, but it occurs after your product has been launched to the market. During this stage, you’ll want to continue expanding the reach of your marketing program. This is typically a shorter stage than the ramp up stage, as you’ll want to take some time to see how well your product is performing in the marketplace. The post-launch stage is when you start thinking about doing some form of performance marketing, where you track performance (e.g., sales, leads, etc.) throughout the marketing life cycle.