As someone who wants to make the most of social media for your business, you may find yourself pondering the effectiveness of organic social media or paid social media. Being a social media marketing agency, we have worked with both of these approaches extensively and believe that each has its merits. But understanding the differences and weighing their benefits can help you determine the best strategy for your business. Let's discuss this further so you can make an informed decision.
Organic social media
Organic social media refers to the use of free and unpaid methods to engage with your audience on social media platforms. It involves creating and sharing content, interacting with followers, and building relationships without spending advertising dollars.
This means that when you are trying to sell something or promote a specific event, you don't have to pay someone to promote your brand. Similarly, when someone shares your content organically on their own timeline, they are building goodwill with their audience because they trust that you are providing value for them through quality content.
In essence, organic social media is just your regular, everyday posts, comments and shares. And although it is usually more cost-effective, it is not a quick fix for your social media presence. It allows you to build brand recognition and loyalty over time.
Here are some key advantages of organic social media:
- Authentic connection: Organic social media allows you to establish a genuine connection with your audience. By posting regular updates, responding to comments, and engaging in conversations, you can build a loyal community that values your brand. So, let's say you run a small bakery. Posting behind-the-scenes photos of your delicious treats and responding to customer enquiries in a friendly manner can create a personal and authentic connection with your followers and this can pay you back in more sales over time.
- Cost-effective: This type of social media doesn't require a financial investment, making it mostly free for businesses with limited marketing budgets. Instead, you need to focus on consistently producing high-quality content and leveraging social media algorithms so that you can expand your reach and generate brand awareness without spending money on ads. For instance, if you run a local clothing boutique, you can share styling tips, outfit inspirations, and customer success stories on social media, attracting followers and driving traffic to your website without paid promotions.
- Long-term relationship building: Organic social media fosters long-term relationship building with your audience. The goal is to provide valuable and relevant content consistently to establish yourself as a trusted source of information and expertise in your industry. Through this, you increase brand loyalty, repeat business, and word-of-mouth referrals. For example, if you are a fitness coach, sharing workout routines, nutrition tips, and success stories can build trust and encourage your followers to seek your services or recommend you to others.
Paid social media
Paid social media involves investing money in advertising on social media platforms to reach a wider audience and achieve specific marketing goals. Unlike organic social media, it allows brands to target audiences with specific interests or demographics in mind.
For example, if you want people who are interested in coffee shops in your area to see your ad on Facebook, then paid social media is the way to go. The ads only appear when a relevant audience clicks on them so there's no wasted time spent trying to reach people who aren't interested in what you have to offer.
Here are some advantages of paid social media:
- Increased reach and targeting: Paid social media allows you to reach a larger and more targeted audience compared to organic methods. Social media platforms provide advanced targeting options, enabling you to define specific demographics, interests, and behaviours to ensure your ads reach the right people. So, if you sell eco-friendly home products, you can use paid social media to target environmentally conscious individuals who are more likely to be interested in your offerings and thus, convert easily.
- Enhanced visibility and awareness: This type of social media amplifies your brand's visibility and increases awareness among a broader audience. By promoting your content or products through ads, you can gain exposure to users who may not be following your organic social media accounts. This can help you generate brand recognition, attract new customers, and increase website traffic. For instance, a software company can run targeted ads to showcase a new product launch, driving awareness and generating leads.
- Quick results and scalability: Paid campaigns can deliver faster results compared to organic efforts. With paid advertising, you can set specific goals, monitor performance metrics, and optimise your campaigns to achieve desired outcomes. Moreover, paid social media allows for scalability, as you can adjust your budget, targeting, and ad formats based on your business needs. For example, if you are an ecommerce store can, you can run paid social media ads during holiday seasons to drive sales and capitalise on increased consumer spending.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the most effective approach is often a combination of organic and paid social media strategies. But it all depends on your goals. Sometimes, you don't need quick results. You need brand loyalty. In such a case, you can't run ads to increase your customer loyalty. That can only come through organic connections built over time.
Other times, all you need to do is get the word out about a new product launch. And that's when you need the paid social media approach. To conclude, both organic and paid social media are effective approaches if you use them for their intended purposes.
Copyright 2023. Featured post made possible by Tom Welbourne of The Good Marketer, a marketing agency in London which drives more traffic, generates conversions and increases sales for small to medium-sized businesses.