Running your Facebook ads as a business owner might be quite time-consuming. So time-consuming in fact, that it might hinder more important things within your business. And this is where hiring an agency (hint: Rockstar Marketing) to manage your Facebook ads comes in.
You see, getting a Facebook ad agency won’t be cheap. Plus, freelancers and agencies charge very differently from one another – and that’s what this article is about. We’re going to go through the different pricing models that you can expect to see, how much they can charge on average, what services they usually offer, and more.
So, let’s get started…
Why outsource your Facebook ads management?
The reasons why you and other business owners might outsource their Facebook ads are many:
Expertise
Some business owners simply don’t have the right expertise in order to set up and run effective Facebook ads. Some have given running Facebook Ads a shot but have failed miserably. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Even experts like us had to start somewhere.
What usually ends up happening after said failure is that the owners will simply give up on Facebook Ads. Instead, they could outsource their ads management to someone with more expertise and skill – allowing them to reach results they didn’t even think were possible.
Free time
Who doesn’t like more free time? Especially when you’re busy running a business. There is a lot of research and preparation that goes into a typical Facebook campaign.
Then comes running and monitoring the actual campaign, which is equally as time-consuming – if not more. So, by getting someone to handle your Facebook Ads management, you’ll be freeing up your time.
Save money
You’re probably wondering, how will I be saving money if outsourcing my Facebook advertising efforts will cost me money? Well, if you get it wrong – you’ll be losing a lot.
And by hiring freelancers or an agency full of experts, you know you’ll be getting the biggest bang for your buck. Yes, you’ll spend money on their services but the money you’ll end up making from these ads will overshadow that.
In the long run, you’ll find yourself saving money and time – which also equates to money for many businesses.
Facebook ads management – Pricing models
When looking to outsource your Facebook Ads management, you’ll stumble upon many different pricing structures including but not limited to:
Fixed monthly retainer
This is one of the most common pricing models that a freelancer or agency can adopt, and it’s the one we use at Rockstar Marketing. As the name suggests, this is when they charge you a fixed monthly rate.
Monthly retainers vary in price – ranging anywhere from the low 100s to up to £10,000. Of course, this amount depends on who you go with, the amount of work you require from them, and more.
But, if we’re taking averages, a monthly retainer lies somewhere between £500 and £3000. And more than not, there’s usually a tie-in period (usually 3 months minimum) to give the campaign all the time it needs to deliver results.
Don’t worry, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t see results for as long as 3 months after you start your collaboration with them.
Fixed monthly retainer & percentage of ad spend
Another pricing model that’s common is a fixed monthly retainer plus a determined percentage of your ad spend.
Why? You might ask. Well, it basically helps the agency properly manage its workload. Say, for example, you want to scale up your ad spend all of the sudden, the agency will be fairly compensated for any extra work they’ll have to do.
Such a pricing model is common for agencies that take on larger contracts. It helps them devote the right amount of attention to the campaigns.
Performance-based charging
As the name suggests, this model of Facebook ads management pricing is one where the freelancer or agency gets paid as long as there are results. This is often sought after by clients since it limits the financial risk to just their ad spend.
With this structure, you probably won’t pay a dime until your campaign starts delivering results. The freelancer or agency will usually take a cut from your ROAS (return on ad spend).
The caveat to this model is that once the results come in, expect to pay significantly more per lead or sale than you would on a fixed retainer. Yes, the idea of only paying if there are results sounds good but it can cost you in the long run.
As you can tell, this model can be a bit risky for the freelancer or agency. As a result, they’ll usually only take the risk if they know the client has a good product as well as a proper funnel.
Hourly charging
It’s rare to find an agency that changes by the hour, and that’s somewhat fortunate. You see, if you decide to fully outsource your Facebook ads management to someone who charges by the hour, it’ll end up being very expensive.
However, if you decide to work with a freelancer, chances are they charge by the hour.
And if you somehow stumble upon an agency that charges by the hour, they probably offer more than just ad management. As for how much it’d cost per hour, it can cost anywhere from £50 to £150 per hour.
As per Credo’s research, only 9% of agencies (that charge an hourly rate) charge under £50 an hour. The majority of agencies, though, charge anywhere between £100 and £150 per hour.
Of course, you can end up paying as high as £500/hour if your needs are too big and you go with a well-renowned, expensive agency.
Facebook ads management pricing – How much?
So, how much do freelancers and agencies charge on average? Well, as we’ve mentioned earlier, it can range anywhere from £200 to well around £10,000 per month, but the average is between £500 and £3000 per month.
Why though? It’s because different parameters go into determining the price of Facebook management, including:
- The amount of experience the agency has
- The complexity of the project
- Your ad budget
- How much you end up generating from the ads
- Etc
Facebook ads management differs from other creative marketing services simply because the outcomes tend to be quite black and white – rather quickly. Unlike a Google Ads campaign for instance, which takes months to mature, you can tell whether a Facebook ad is working or not mere weeks after it’s up.
Facebook ads management – Set up fee
When you first approach an agency or a freelancer to handle your Facebook ads, they’ll probably charge a set-up fee. This determined amount will cover tasks such as:
- Gaining access to assets (such as your Facebook Business Manager account)
- Exploring existing or past ad attempts done by you
- Exploring existing funnels
- Configuring your Business Manager
- Researching your competition
- Researching your audience
- Developing a strategy for your campaign
- Creating landing pages – if needed
- Implementing the Facebook Pixel (on platforms like Wix, GTM, etc)
- Integrating your ads with your CRM or setting up one for you
- Creating content (design, copywriting, etc)
- Keeping track of different metrics (conversion rate, ROI, etc)
- And more
Regarding those
All of these tasks need to be done rigorously and usually require a lot of time. And more often than not, the agency will charge you upfront. There isn’t really an average number when it comes to set-up fees. It depends on the agency, the amount of work that goes into the setting up, and more. But expect something slightly more than their monthly retainer fee.
Facebook ads management pricing – The services offered
Now that the agency is done with the onboarding process, it’s time for them to start working on the actual campaign.
They’ll start creating creatives and copy – with your blessings of course – to use in the campaign. Once, all the ads are up and running, they’ll monitor and optimise accordingly.
Monitoring
Some agencies will just run your Facebook ads, others are ready to take complete control of your ads – handling the funnel from start to beginning. This covers anything from proper audience research, to the creation of landing pages and more.
Either way, for your ads to perform well, they need to be continuously monitored. This includes analysing metrics found in the Facebook Business Manager, preferably on a daily basis.
Optimising
If your agency monitors your campaign outcomes on daily basis, they should have a clear idea of what’s effective and what’s not.
What comes next is them optimising the ads accordingly. Anything from reallocating budgets to making minor changes to ad creatives and more is expected.
And if there is no hope for an ad, the agency could either turn it off or test it against alternatives to improve.
Ongoing research
Besides taking care of your ads, an agency could try to understand the market that you operate within. In other words, they should research how their competition is doing things right and be analytical about it all.
Moreover, they need to systematically determine who your target audience is. Not only will this help them (and you) to properly target your ads but will also help you better understand your audience in the future.
Reporting
A good Facebook ads management agency will update you on a regular basis. Of course, not everyone – including you – wants daily updates. Whatever your preferences are, make them clear from the get-go.
Do you want weekly updates? Sure, just let them know and they’ll provide them in time. Expect anything from emails, reports, and calls from an agency.
Speaking of reports, you need to make it clear that they report results in a format that makes sense to you. Not everyone is an expert at reading ad performance graphs so let that be known if it’s the case for you.
Let us manage Facebook ads for you
Managing Facebook Ads is no small feat, but it’s manageable (pun intended) if it’s done by the right team. And you’re in luck, because we’re the right team!
Book a discovery call with us today, and we’ll explain why you should delegate your Facebook Ads tasks to us!
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