Leadership wants to cut costs. How do I defend our social media budget and ad spend?

Dear Social Strategist,

I lead social and paid media for a small digital marketing team, and while nothing’s been cut yet, there’s growing pressure from above to “do more with less.” I’ve seen this play out before — when budgets tighten, marketing is often the first place leadership looks to scale back. I want to protect our social ad spend and visibility strategy before we’re forced to make cuts that could hurt us long-term. I know staying present during a downturn is one of the smartest things we can do — but I need help making that case in a way executives will actually hear. I want to get ahead of this and frame social as a strategic investment, not a line item to eliminate when things get tight.

— Not Panicking, Just Planning

Dear Not Panicking,

You’re smart to get ahead of this — because by the time the budget meeting happens, it’s often too late to change the narrative.

When leadership starts sharpening the scissors, social media is almost always on the shortlist. It’s seen as “nice to have,” not revenue-driving. And let’s be honest: if you can’t connect your spend to short-term wins or long-term growth, it’s an easy line item to cut.

But that doesn’t mean it should be cut — and that’s where your strategy (and storytelling) comes in.

Here’s how to inoculate your social budget against the next round of cuts — and reframe it as a smart, strategic investment.

1. Speak in outcomes, not channels.

Leadership doesn’t care that your CTR is up or that a recent Reel got 5,000 views.

They care about:

• Pipeline momentum
• Brand credibility
• Demand signals
• Audience engagement in buying behaviors
• Talent attraction
• Trust, visibility, and positioning

So shift your language from platform metrics to business outcomes.

Instead of “this campaign got X impressions,” try: “We saw a spike in high-intent traffic after running this — including demo requests and repeat site visits from target accounts.”

Instead of “LinkedIn ads brought in 100 leads,” try: “The leads from LinkedIn converted 30% faster than any other source. This tells us the audience we’re reaching there is primed to buy.”

You’re not just reporting activity — you’re connecting dots.

2. Don’t frame this as defense — frame it as momentum.

The minute you sound like you’re trying to “save” your spend, you’re already on your heels.

Instead, position it as momentum worth protecting.

Use language like:

• “We’re starting to see traction here”
• “We’ve found a pocket of performance worth scaling”
• “This channel is outperforming others on qualified traffic — especially among X audience”

This turns your spend from an expense into a lever — and makes cutting it feel more like a step backward than a smart move.

3. Use the historical playbook — brands that win downturns stay visible.

This isn’t just a feeling. There’s real data behind it.

Studies going back to the 1920s (yes, really) show that companies who maintain or increase their ad spend during downturns end up significantly ahead of competitors who go dark.

Why?

• Lower CPMs mean more reach for less spend
• There’s less noise, so your message travels further
• You stay top of mind during critical buying decisions
• And when the rebound comes? You’re already there — with trust built and momentum in motion

Make sure leadership sees this as the opportunity cost: slowing down now doesn’t just stall progress — it gives someone else your spot.

4. Focus your dollars — and show you’re being ruthless.

You don’t need to spend everywhere to stay visible.

Audit your paid strategy and show exactly where you’re cutting waste, doubling down on what works, and aligning spend with business priorities.

If you're allocating to upper-funnel content that leads nowhere? Cut it. If a channel's been flat for months? Pause it.

Then lead with: “We’ve already reallocated spend toward the top-performing segments — so every dollar is working harder.”

Leadership doesn’t want to kill all spending. They want to kill unjustified spending. Show them that’s not what this is.

This isn’t just about defending social — it’s about redefining what it means to lead through uncertainty.

Your job isn’t just to spend wisely. It’s to show how social creates leverage — even when the market gets tight.

And if you need to build your case right now, here's where to start.

This is the time to be strategic and specific. Here’s a quick step-by-step to help you prepare:

1. Pull your performance highlights. Start with what’s working — especially if it's driving results beyond the platform (site traffic, demo requests, retention signals, etc.).

2. Reframe the ROI. Translate engagement metrics into business outcomes. (Think: reach = awareness, saves/shares = buyer interest, DMs = lead signals.)

3. Quantify the opportunity cost. Less competition + cheaper CPMs = more efficient brand building. Highlight that now is the best time to buy attention — while others pull back.

4. Showcase visibility as a trust-building play. People buy from brands they see and recognize. Going dark makes you forgettable.

5. Map your content to the funnel. Show that you're not just posting for fun — you're supporting awareness, consideration, and conversion.

6. Demonstrate efficiency. Show where you’ve already trimmed fat, streamlined spend, and doubled down on high-performing campaigns.

7. Create a "pause-proof" plan. Build a one-pager for leadership showing what stays, what scales, and what pauses only if necessary — so you're seen as proactive, not reactive.

This isn’t about panic-proofing. It’s about being the person in the room with the clearest plan.

Have you had to defend your budget or make the case for staying visible during a downturn? What worked — and what didn’t? Let’s compare notes in the comments.

— Megan Van Groll

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