June 29, 2023
Social media is a powerful tool for organizations looking to connect with their customers. I think we can all agree on that. But it’s not just that – it allows businesses to reach their exact target audience with their advertising messages; it helps create a community and build brand trust, and if done well, it can lead consumers to the last part of the funnel: conversion, loyalty, and advocacy.
But let’s talk about Organic & Paid. Lately, some of our clients have been asking us these questions:
“What does organic do? Do we really need to focus our efforts on creating organic content?”
And also:
“Is paid social really necessary?”
Let me put it simply. You should think of organic and paid as a dynamic duo. In other words, it’s important to consider that the best approach is to combine the two. So base your strategy on both, knowing that they are different but complementary.
Organic Social Media
First things first! An organic social media strategy refers to the actions you take on your social platforms without investing any additional costs. However, you should also know that you won’t have much control over reaching a specific target audience since you’ll be reaching those who are already following you. It could be like posting a Facebook update to inform your followers about your new product development, creating a behind-the-scenes Instagram story, or sharing a TikTok video explaining how your product works.
Paid Social Media
On the other hand, Paid Social Media involves all the actions that incur additional expenses because you pay for ads or sponsored content on social media channels to reach an audience you don’t have yet. However, you can fine-tune your targeting to a much greater extent. For example: targeting males aged 35 to 45 on Facebook who are interested in healthy recipes and kitchen products in London, Manchester, and Liverpool. Nice, right? But this doesn’t end here…
Each channel, a purpose
The first thing you need to do is understand and identify the purpose of each social media channel and decide which one best suits your Organic and Paid objectives. Using Instagram is not the same as using LinkedIn since their users are looking for different things on each platform. The way people consume content on TikTok is different from Pinterest. Choose the platforms that interest your audience and align with your objectives. Then, use them for their intended purposes. Don’t share a picture of your fancy avocado toast on LinkedIn, and don’t write poetic posts on Twitter because they probably won’t generate much engagement.
The most suitable approach for each channel
You should choose the most suitable content for each channel. Decide which channels you will use for organic content and which ones for paid, although there can be overlap. This should be part of your plan and strategies.
Organic, paid, or both at the same time?
Lastly, you need to decide whether you want to promote each organic piece of content simultaneously as you publish it organically, or if you will do it before or after. But it’s important to understand that your organic content will support your paid content. To explain this better, let me ask you something. When you come across a paid ad and you want to know more about that product/service, what do you do? You’d probably check their organic presence to see if the brand is genuine. With paid ads, you are reaching cold audiences, and they probably don’t know anything about you. It would only be natural for them to want to know what other people are saying about you, check what other users are commenting on your posts, and make sure they have enough information before they can trust you. So it’s all about brand reputation, really.
Organic and Paid Plan
Planning a good organic and paid strategy involves a lot of studying and analyzing your social networks, channels, products, and, above all, your target audience—the people you want to sell your content, product, or service to.
Sounds like quite a task, doesn’t it? But hey, no need to fret! You’ve got this, and if you need a helping hand, we’re more than happy to have a chat! With a well-crafted plan and a dash of creativity, your organization can conquer the realm of social media and achieve its goals. Just remember to remain flexible and adapt as you go along.