We talk a lot about organic social media content versus paid social media advertising, but what does that actually mean? One of the biggest misconceptions is that organic = free while paid obviously = $$$.
But what business owners fail to keep in mind is that while organic social media strategies don’t necessarily cost anything upfront, they require a great deal of time invested to actually see any kind of ROI. While you can certainly see social media and business growth exclusively through organic strategies, the time spent working on those strategies must be considered.
What every business really needs to see social media and digital marketing success is a mixture of both paid and organic strategies. The organic content and community interaction helps to build a reputable brand and engaging online presence, while the paid ads help to generate brand awareness and build a customer base.
So it’s not actually an organic versus paid debate. It’s more of an organic plus paid equals success.
Organic vs. Paid Posts
What do organic and paid content actually look like? Let’s take a look.
The organic post is more engaging with the audience by sharing a gift guide from a different source while the paid ad promotes the quip website and includes a Learn More call-to-action to entice the user to click over and get more information.
The organic post is fun and engaging, celebrating a holiday and sharing fan art while the paid ad promotes the game while also sharing a current deal/sale going on, increasing the likelihood that a user will click the Shop Now call-to-action and make a purchase.
Organic content is more engaging. The purpose is for engagement, brand awareness, and building a reputation for your business. Paid content is meant to generate leads and make sales. Your paid content should lead to your website or landing pages, advertise your products/services, or showcase a lead magnet.
A brand needs both types of content in order to make social media work. This is why we create a strategy built around both organic tactics and paid advertising for each of our clients. To learn more about how TargetMarket manages client accounts, fill out our free consultation form or call us at (888) 632-4499.
