In social media marketing, there is a never ending debate about which strategy is most effective: organic or paid? It’s about as easy as asking a restaurant whether the menu’s photo or the server’s suggestion determined your order.
The truth is that the answer is not that simple. For the social media goals of many businesses, it might very well be one over the other, or it just might be a combination of both.
I know that “it depends” isn’t exactly the helpful answer you were hoping to find, so let’s dive deeper into the pros and cons of each.
What is Organic Social Media Marketing?
An organic strategy presents businesses with an opportunity to get to know their audience and connect with them authentically. There is a huge emphasis on quality and consistency. While all of the content created stays on the Instagram grid indefinitely, this is a long game approach that spends time building trust and authority with the audience that follows them today…AND the audience that will follow them tomorrow.
Organic content spends time warming up a mostly cold audience to eventually lead them to an accepted offer.
But when it comes down to it, organic social media marketing is, in a word: free.
This means, businesses are able to set aside a SMM budget that is fully devoted to creating quality content that will remain evergreen, and not limited by the platform’s fees.
What is Paid Social Media Marketing?
Wouldn’t you know it? Paid social media marketing is exactly what it sounds like: a SMM strategy that requires you to spend money. There are a few key factors you’ll want to consider when it comes to this strategy.
Paid content is very transparent. There is no confusion about whether you are trying to make a sale and this builds trust with the targeted audience that is already ranging from pretty warm to piping hot. In other words, they’re ready to buy and they appreciate the direct approach.
While there is a very quick turnaround on seeing a payout, this content does not find a permanent home on your grid, so the efforts are short term and will have to be duplicated often. On Instagram, when the spend runs out, the content AND the engagement in the comments completely disappear.
What are the Purposes of Organic Content?
There are undeniable benefits to organic content where paid posts just can’t compete. I recommend using an Organic Social Media Marketing Strategy if your business is…
- Looking to Build Brand Awareness.
This is the time to limit the promotions and punctuate your personality.
…and do. not. hold. back.
Your social media presence is going to be the first impression a lot of your audience sees of your brand and you don’t want to disappoint. Organic content should be used to get the word out. Let the world know you are here, make a name for yourself and show them why they will love working with you – because you are uniquely you.
- Trying to Connect to the Audience.
Some of the best news is spread by the words of satisfied customers. If you want to start a buzz about your business and create a community with an authentic and relatable message, organic content is your best bet. This is a powerful opportunity to have important conversations, create engagement, and build bridges.
- Educating on the Industry.
When you aren’t paying to post content, there is this phenomenal opportunity to be generous with the value you offer your audience. Organic content provides the perfect forum to solve problems and establish yourself as an expert in your field.
What are the Purposes of Paid Content:
Now while I personally favor the community of organic content, it would be neglectful of me not to confirm that there are times a Paid Social Media Marketing Strategy is going to make the sale. Your business should incorporate paid content into the strategy if the main goals are…
- Further Reach.
Paid posts come with the benefits of all kinds of tools, one of which is the ability to target new customers based on very specific demographics. You can specify age, gender, location, interests, and so much more and Instagram will push that content out to your ideal customer.
- Promotion.
If it’s time to announce an amazing limited time offer, your marketing strategy should include a budget for sponsorships and promoted posts. This kind of direct marketing content has the ability to build value, excitement, and urgency for your products, services, or special events. With a clear call to action, these posts are sales-driven and extremely effective.
- Market Research
This one might surprise you a little bit. With a tool like Stories and an engaged community that tells you what they want through organic social media, why would you need to use a paid strategy to gather data about your market?
This goes back to those extra tools that paid posts are afforded and the much larger net of potential customers at your disposal. Every single paid post is an experiment that affords you the opportunity to peek into the minds and hearts of your target audience.
Don’t pass this up!
Learn about them from their own actions. Did they click, save, or share? Analyze the impact every promotion has on the return of investment and adjust the strategy accordingly.
At this point, you should be able to see pretty clearly which strategy or combination will most benefit your business based on the social media goals, but here is a handy little checklist to confirm which aligns more with your brand.
Organic Content is:
- Free
- Long Game
- Evergreen – Stays on Your Timeline
- For Mostly Cold Audience / Builds Trust & Authority with Current & Future Audience
- Authentic
Paid Content is:
- Requires Spend
- Short-Term Payout
- Temporary – Content AND Engagement Disappears After Spend Runs Out
- For Targeted Potential Customers / Warm & Hot Audience
- Transparent
Avrah Virtual specializes in Organic SMM Strategies. Want to chat more about building a custom strategy to take your social media game to the next level? Use the following link to book a quick Discovery Call and let’s elevate your impact:
www.calendly.com/avrahvirtual