What is Organic
Social Media?
Organic social media is all about building a real, natural
connection with your audience. It is the content you post for free on your
business page. This includes your daily posts, photos, videos, and stories. You
are not paying for your content to reach a wider audience. Instead, you are
relying on your followers to see, like, and share your content.
Think of organic social
media as building a community. It is like having a town square where you can
talk to your neighbors. You share news, get to know people, and build trust
over time.
The Advantages of
Organic Social
- It builds trust and authenticity: People trust content from a brand they
follow more than they trust an ad. Organic content feels more genuine. For
example, a local coffee shop posting a short video of the barista making a
special drink feels more real than a flashy advertisement.
- It helps with customer service: Social media is a great place to talk
directly with your customers. You can answer their questions, respond to
comments, and show that you care. JetBlue, for example, is well-known for
using its Twitter account to provide fast, direct customer service.
- It is cost-effective: The main cost of organic social is your
time and effort. This is perfect for small businesses and freelancers with
a limited budget. You do not need to spend money to start building your
brand and connecting with people.
The Disadvantages of
Organic Social
- Limited reach: Social media platforms use complex
computer programs called algorithms. These programs decide which
posts people see. Unfortunately, the average reach of an organic post is
very low. For example, a Facebook post may only be seen by 5% of the
people who follow your page.
- Slow results: Building a community and getting followers
takes a lot of time and patience. It is a long-term strategy. You cannot
expect to get a lot of new customers overnight. A study by the Content
Marketing Institute found that it can take months of consistent work to
see good results.
Examples of
successful organic campaigns:
- Starbucks' #RedCupContest: Starbucks invited customers to share
photos of their red holiday cups on social media. People used the hashtag
to enter a contest. This simple idea made customers feel like they were
part of the brand and created thousands of free posts for Starbucks.
- The Getty Museum Challenge: The Getty Museum in Los Angeles asked
people to recreate famous works of art using things they found at home.
The museum received a huge number of creative photos, which were shared
widely online. This campaign was a fun way to engage people without
spending any money on ads.
- Duolingo on TikTok: The language learning app Duolingo became
very popular by creating funny, short videos on TikTok. The company's
mascot, Duo the owl, became famous for its funny personality, which helped
the brand get millions of followers without using a lot of paid ads.
What is Paid Social
Media?
Paid social media is when you pay a social media platform to show
your content to a specific group of people. This content is called a social
media ad. You can choose who sees your ad based on their age, location,
interests, and online behaviors.
Think of paid social
media as putting up a billboard on a busy highway. You are paying to make sure
many people see your message, and you can choose which highway to use to reach
the right drivers.
The Advantages of
Paid Social
- Fast results: Paid social media can bring fast results.
You can get new website visitors, leads, or sales very quickly. This is
great for a new product launch, a special event, or a time-sensitive sale.
- Precise targeting: You can show your ad to the exact people
you want to reach. For example, if you sell products for new mothers, you
can create an ad that is only seen by women who have recently had a baby.
This makes your marketing efforts much more effective.
- Measurable return on investment (ROI): It is easy to see if your ads are working.
Social media platforms provide detailed reports that show you how much you
spent and how many sales you made. According to thinkwithgoogle.com,
businesses earn an average of $2 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.
This helps you know if your money is being spent well.
The Disadvantages of
Paid Social
- It costs money: The main problem with paid social is that
you have to spend money. The cost can add up quickly, especially in
competitive industries.
- It can lack authenticity: Some people find social media ads annoying
or less trustworthy than organic content. If your ads do not feel genuine
or helpful, they can be ignored or even get negative comments.
- Ad fatigue: If people see the same ad too many times,
they can get tired of it. This is called "ad fatigue." To
prevent this, you need to change your ads regularly.
Examples of
successful paid campaigns:
- Spotify Wrapped: Every year, Spotify uses a mix of organic
and paid social media to promote its "Wrapped" campaign. The
company creates personalized, shareable summaries of users' listening
habits. Spotify then uses paid ads to show these personalized results and
encourage even more sharing, making the campaign go viral.
- Airbnb's "Live There": Airbnb created a paid ad campaign called
"Live There" that focused on the experience of living like a
local in a new city, not just visiting as a tourist. The ads were shown to
people who were planning vacations and successfully changed how people
thought about using Airbnb.
- Nike's "What the Football": During the Women's World Cup, Nike created
a paid ad campaign with a fun, fictional story about football. They used
paid social media to show the ads to millions of football fans, which
helped them get high levels of engagement and brand awareness.
So, Which One Should
You Focus On?
The best strategy is to
use both organic and paid social media together. They work as a team.
- Start with organic social: If you are a beginner with a small budget,
start with organic content. This is a low-risk way to learn what your
audience likes and build a community. Create content that is helpful,
entertaining, or inspiring. Listen to what your followers say and build
trust. This is the foundation of your social media presence.
- Amplify with paid social: Once you have created good organic content
that people are engaging with, you can use a small budget to
"boost" your best-performing posts. For example, if a blog post
gets a lot of likes and shares, you can pay to show it to a new, similar
audience. This helps you reach new people much faster.
- Use data to decide: Use the data from your organic posts to
decide which content to use for your paid ads. If a video gets a lot of
views for free, it is a good sign that it will do well as a paid ad. McKinsey
reports that companies that use data to make marketing decisions are more
successful.
Conclusion:
You do not have to
choose one over the other. Start by building a strong, authentic brand through
organic social media. Then, use paid social media to quickly reach new
customers and grow your business. This balanced approach will help you build a
loyal following while also getting the fast results you need to succeed.