Most mobile app developers spend between £2,000 and £15,000 per month on social media marketing—but here's what nobody tells you: the majority of them are doing it completely wrong. They're throwing money at Facebook ads, Instagram campaigns, and TikTok content without any real strategy or understanding of what actually works for mobile apps.
I've worked with countless app developers over the years, and the conversation always starts the same way. "How much should I spend on marketing?" they ask. It's like asking how long a piece of string is! The answer depends on your app, your audience, your goals, and frankly, how much money you can afford to lose whilst you figure things out.
Social media marketing for mobile apps isn't just about advertising spend—it's about understanding where your users actually spend their time and how much it costs to reach them there
The truth is, marketing costs for mobile apps have exploded over the past few years. What used to cost pennies now costs pounds, and what worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. But don't let that scare you off—with the right approach and realistic expectations, you can still build a profitable marketing strategy that won't break the bank. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about budgeting for social media marketing, from understanding the real costs to avoiding the expensive mistakes that catch most developers off guard.
Understanding Social Media Marketing Costs for Mobile Apps
After helping hundreds of app developers launch their products over the years, I can tell you that social media marketing costs are one of the most misunderstood aspects of app promotion. People often think it's just about posting a few tweets and Facebook updates—but that's only scratching the surface.
The reality is that effective social media marketing for apps involves multiple cost components that many developers don't see coming. You've got your content creation costs, which include graphic design, video production, and copywriting. Then there's the paid advertising spend across different platforms, plus the tools and software you'll need to manage everything properly.
Main Cost Categories
Let me break down the typical expenses you'll encounter:
- Content creation (graphics, videos, copy)
- Paid advertising spend
- Social media management tools
- Staff time or agency fees
- Influencer partnerships
- Analytics and tracking software
What catches most people off guard is how these costs can vary wildly depending on your app's target audience and the platforms you choose. A gaming app targeting teenagers will have completely different requirements—and costs—compared to a productivity app aimed at business professionals. The key is understanding that social media marketing for mobile apps isn't a one-size-fits-all solution; it needs to be tailored to your specific app and audience.
Setting Your Social Media Marketing Budget
Right, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of setting your budget. After building mobile apps for countless clients over the years, I've seen businesses make the same mistake time and time again—they pull a number out of thin air and hope for the best. That's not going to work, trust me.
The smart approach starts with understanding your app's current position. Are you launching something brand new or trying to boost downloads for an existing app? New apps typically need bigger budgets because you're starting from zero—no followers, no brand recognition, nothing. If you're planning a successful mobile app launch, you'll need to allocate more resources upfront compared to existing apps that already have some momentum.
Start with 20-30% of your total marketing budget for social media, then adjust based on performance after the first month.
Budget Allocation Framework
Here's how I recommend breaking down your social media marketing costs:
- Paid advertising spend: 60-70% of your budget
- Content creation and design: 20-25%
- Management tools and software: 5-10%
- Testing and experimentation: 5-10%
Your advertising spend should dominate because that's what drives downloads. Content creation matters too—nobody engages with rubbish visuals. The key is finding the sweet spot between spending enough to see results but not burning through cash unnecessarily.
Organic vs Paid Social Media Marketing
I've worked with hundreds of app developers over the years, and the organic versus paid debate always comes up. The truth is, you need both—but understanding when to use each one makes all the difference to your budget.
Organic social media marketing costs you time rather than money. You're posting content, engaging with users, and building a community around your app without paying for promotion. It's brilliant for building authentic relationships with your audience, but it takes months to see real results. The algorithms on most platforms make it tough for organic content to reach large audiences these days.
When to Focus on Organic Content
Paid social media marketing gives you immediate reach and precise targeting. You can show your app to exactly the right people at the right time. The downside? It stops working the moment you stop paying. Think of it as renting an audience rather than owning one.
The Smart Budget Split
Most successful apps I've worked on follow this approach:
- Start with 70% organic content to build your foundation
- Use 30% paid promotion to amplify your best organic posts
- Gradually shift to 50/50 as your audience grows
- Scale paid advertising when you've proven your organic content works
The key is treating organic and paid as partners, not competitors. Your organic content tells you what resonates with your audience; your paid budget amplifies those winning messages to reach more people.
Platform-Specific Budget Considerations
Different social media platforms have wildly different advertising costs for mobile apps—and I mean wildly different. Facebook and Instagram typically cost more per click but offer better targeting options; TikTok can be cheaper but requires constant content creation to stay relevant. LinkedIn will cost you an arm and a leg but might be perfect if you're promoting a business productivity app.
Each platform has its own advertising spend requirements too. Facebook Ads can start from a few pounds per day, whilst TikTok often needs higher minimum budgets to get decent reach. Instagram Stories ads work differently from feed ads, and Twitter's promoted tweets follow completely different pricing models.
Understanding Platform Demographics
Your mobile app's target audience should drive your platform choices—not the other way around. If you're building a gaming app for teenagers, spending big on LinkedIn makes no sense. A fitness app might work brilliantly on Instagram but struggle on Twitter.
Marketing costs vary dramatically between platforms, so test small amounts on each before committing your full budget to any single channel
I always tell clients to start with two platforms maximum when they're beginning their social media marketing journey. Master those first, understand their advertising spend patterns, then expand. With so many new social platforms emerging, trying to be everywhere at once is a recipe for wasted marketing costs and poor results.
Measuring Return on Investment
After years of helping clients track their social media marketing performance, I can tell you that measuring ROI isn't just about counting downloads—though that's where most people start. The real challenge is connecting your social media spend to actual app usage and revenue generation.
Start by tracking your key performance indicators across different stages of the user journey. Download attribution tools like Adjust or AppsFlyer will show you which social platforms are driving the most installs, but you need to dig deeper. Look at user retention rates, in-app purchases, and lifetime value of users from each platform.
Setting Up Your Tracking System
Your measurement strategy should include both short-term and long-term metrics. I always recommend tracking these core elements:
- Cost per install (CPI) by platform
- 30-day user retention rates
- Average revenue per user (ARPU)
- Lifetime value (LTV) calculations
- Conversion rates from social traffic
Calculating Your True ROI
Don't just look at immediate returns—users acquired through social media often have different behaviour patterns. Some platforms might deliver cheaper installs but lower-quality users, while others cost more upfront but generate higher-value customers. Calculate your ROI by comparing the lifetime value of users against your acquisition costs, not just the initial conversion rates.
Common Budgeting Mistakes to Avoid
After years of working with mobile app developers and watching their marketing campaigns, I've seen the same budgeting mistakes happen over and over again. The biggest one? Setting your entire advertising spend based on what you think you can afford rather than what your app actually needs to succeed.
Many developers make the mistake of spreading their marketing costs too thin across every social media platform. You'll get better results focusing your budget on two platforms where your audience actually hangs out than trying to be everywhere at once. I've watched countless apps burn through their budget posting content that nobody sees because they didn't research where their users are.
The 50/50 Split Trap
Another common error is splitting your budget equally between organic and paid content from day one. New apps need paid promotion to gain traction—organic reach takes time to build. Start with 70% paid, 30% organic, then adjust as your following grows.
Ignoring Testing Budgets
Don't forget to allocate 20% of your budget for testing different ad formats and audiences. Without testing, you're just guessing what works. For developers working with limited resources, consider exploring budget-friendly marketing channels that can deliver better ROI from smaller investments.
Set aside a separate "emergency budget" of 10-15% for unexpected opportunities or to boost content that's performing exceptionally well organically.
The most expensive mistake? Not tracking your spending properly. Use budgeting tools to monitor your marketing costs daily, not monthly. Small overspends add up quickly when you're not paying attention.
Budget Scaling Strategies
Starting with a modest budget and scaling up is often the smartest approach I recommend to clients. You don't need to throw thousands at social media marketing from day one—that's a recipe for burning through cash with little to show for it. Begin with a conservative budget that covers basic paid advertising on one or two platforms, then gradually increase spending as you identify what works.
The key is to scale based on performance data, not gut feelings. If your cost per install is £2 on Facebook but £8 on Instagram, you know where to focus your additional budget. I've seen too many app developers double their spending across all platforms when they should have tripled it on the winner and reduced it on the losers.
Smart Scaling Approaches
When your app starts gaining traction, consider these scaling strategies:
- Increase budget by 20-30% weekly on high-performing campaigns
- Expand to new platforms only after mastering your current ones
- Allocate more budget to retargeting campaigns for better conversion rates
- Test higher-budget creative formats like video ads
- Scale during peak user activity periods for maximum impact
Remember that scaling isn't just about spending more money—it's about spending smarter. Monitor your metrics closely; if your cost per acquisition starts climbing too high, it might be time to pause and optimise before continuing to scale. If you're struggling to increase app downloads, scaling your budget might not be the solution—you might need to refine your targeting or messaging first.
Conclusion
After eight years of helping clients launch successful mobile apps, I've watched countless app developers make the same budgeting mistakes over and over again. They either go in guns blazing with massive advertising spend or try to get by on practically nothing—both approaches rarely work out well.
The truth is, there's no magic number when it comes to marketing costs for your mobile app. What works for a gaming app won't work for a productivity tool, and what makes sense for a startup won't suit an established business. Your budget needs to reflect your specific situation, goals, and audience.
But here's what I do know works: starting with a clear understanding of your numbers, testing different approaches on a small scale, and being prepared to adjust as you learn what resonates with your users. Whether you're spending £500 or £50,000 a month, the principles remain the same—track everything, test constantly, and don't be afraid to pivot when something isn't working.
The mobile app market isn't getting any less competitive, but with the right approach to social media marketing and a realistic budget that matches your ambitions, you can still build something that stands out and finds its audience.
