Social media is an essential tool for small and medium-sized businesses, helping to build a loyal audience and attract new customers. At Wise Up Marketing, we often hear clients ask about the differences between organic and paid social media marketing, and whether they should focus on one over the other.
Let’s break down the benefits of each approach, what to consider when using them, and why combining both can lead to the best outcomes for your small business.
Organic social media marketing refers to the free content you share on your social channels—posts, photos, videos, and stories that connect with your audience without paid promotion. This approach is all about building relationships, showcasing your brand’s personality, and creating a sense of community.
There are many benefits to investing in consistent, high-quality and engaging organic social media marketing as a small business:
Establishing Trust and Brand Awareness: Organic content allows you to interact with your audience authentically, which builds trust and loyalty over time.
Community Engagement: By creating content that resonates with your audience, empathising with their experiences and responding to comments and messages, you can create meaningful connections, increasing customer retention and satisfaction.
Cost-Effective: Another great benefit? It doesn’t require a financial investment like paid ads, making it a budget-friendly option, especially for smaller businesses.
That being said, there are some things to keep in mind when it comes to organic social media marketing:
Time and Consistency: Growing an audience organically takes time, and you won’t see success overnight. It’s not just about posting every now and then either – growing your audience and reaping the benefits of organic socials requires consistent posting, engagement, and relevant content.
Limited Reach: The reach of organic posts is often limited by platform algorithms, meaning it can be challenging to get in front of a new audience quickly. While this may vary platform to platform, with the pay-to-play landscape we now find ourselves in – unfortunately this is often the case.
Paid social media marketing involves using paid ads to promote your content to a targeted audience. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer powerful advertising tools that allow businesses to target their ideal customer based on interests, behaviours, demographics, and more.
There are so many benefits to running paid ads for your small business:
Faster Reach: Paid ads can immediately boost your reach, allowing you to quickly get your message in front of a larger audience.
Targeting Capabilities: You can target specific audiences based on factors like age, location, interests, and buying behaviour, ensuring your content reaches those most likely to engage.
Scalability: Paid advertising is highly scalable, making it easier to increase your budget to achieve more significant results during peak periods, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday (which are just around the corner!)
While these benefits might seem straight-forward and a win-win, there are also some things to consider.
Budget: Running ads requires a budget, and without careful planning or knowledge of the platforms, costs can add up quickly.
Testing and Optimisation: Successful campaigns often require testing different creatives, audiences, and approaches. It’s important to monitor performance and adjust accordingly to maximise return on investment (ROI).
Using organic and paid social media marketing together can create a powerful, well-rounded strategy for your business. Here’s why:
Amplify Your Reach: Paid advertising can help you reach new people quickly, while organic content helps you build and maintain relationships over time.
Boost Credibility: When potential customers discover your ads, they’re likely to check out your social profiles. A well-maintained organic presence lends credibility to your brand, showing authenticity behind the promotional content.
Cost Efficiency: Paid social can drive traffic and conversions, while organic efforts keep customers engaged without extra cost, creating an efficient marketing cycle.
At Wise Up Marketing, we understand the importance of a balanced social media strategy. Whether you’re looking to grow your audience organically, run highly targeted ad campaigns, or both, our customisable services are designed to meet your business’s unique needs.
Book a call with us today to explore how we can help elevate your social media marketing strategy and achieve real, lasting growth for your business.
We also run a series of workshops for business owner and budding marketers who want to learn the ins and outs of social media and paid ads! If you’re keen to run your own ads, or manage your own social media and create great content – we’ve got a workshop for you.
You might also like our free social media marketing mini course!
Let’s have a chat to explore how Wise Up Marketing can help you grow your business
the principle of “treating your business like our own” and we have created a flexible, accessible solution for start ups and SME’s who value a personal approach.
