Social media marketing has become an essential part of any digital marketing strategy.
Brands can choose between organic social media marketing, using unpaid tactics to grow their brand, and paid social media marketing, using ads to reach a wider audience. In today's digital landscape, most experts recommend combining both organic and paid efforts to maximize results.
Organic social media marketing focuses on creating high-quality, valuable content to organically build an audience and generate engagement.
It relies on tactics like optimizing profiles, posting regularly, using relevant hashtags, interacting with followers, etc. The goal is to grow brand awareness and establish credibility and trust with the target audience. However, it takes more time and effort to see significant growth and reach.
Benefits
- Builds more meaningful connections and loyalty with highly engaged followers
- Seen as more authentic and trustworthy by avoiding "salesy" paid ads (Source)
- Generates long-term growth in followers and engagement (Source)
- Lowers cost by avoiding paid advertising spending
Drawbacks
- Slower initial growth and smaller reach compared to paid ads (Source)
- Harder to control reach and target specific demographics (Source)
- Requires dedicated effort to create engaging content and interact consistently
Paid social media marketing uses paid ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
It allows brands to target precise demographics, locations, interests, behaviors and drives quick growth in followers, engagement, conversions with a defined budget. Paid social also measures clear ROI showing the impact of advertising spending.
Benefits
- Expands reach to find new audiences outside of existing followers (Source)
- Drives immediate growth in followers and engagement through promoted posts
- Can track conversions and ROI clearly through pixels and analytics (Source)
- Controls targeting and messaging through careful ad creation
Drawbacks
- Seen as disruptive or "salesy" since users know they are ads (Source)
- Risk of wasting budget on poor-performing ads or bad targeting
- Requires constant testing and optimization to maximize ROI
- Does not build deeper connection with followers (Source)
Best Practices for Balancing Organic and Paid
- Use 80/20 rule - aim for ~80% organic and ~20% paid social efforts (Source)
- Focus paid efforts on expanding reach and conversions
- Use organic to nurture loyal followers and brand advocates (Source)
- Promote organic content through paid ads for greater reach
- Test both small and large budgets to find ideal split (Source)
Tips for Determining Ideal Budget Split
- Start with 50/50 organic/paid split and adjust based on results
- Slowly increase paid budget if conversions and ROI are strong
- Reduce paid budget if organic growth is thriving on its own
- Maintain at least 20% paid budget floor for expanding reach
- Ideal budget split varies by factors like industry, competition, product/service
- Closely monitor analytics to optimize organic vs. paid allocation
Combining organic and paid social media marketing requires testing and optimization, but can help maximize reach, engagement, conversions, and brand growth. Focus organic efforts on building connections and paid efforts on expanding reach. With the right balance, brands can grow their social media presence both authentically and cost-effectively.
