Organic social media has been a staple of marketing strategies since it exploded onto the scene in the early teens.

However, in recent years, there has been a decline in organic reach on major social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, leading many businesses and marketers to question whether organic social media is still worth the effort.

In this week’s edition of Inside Track, I’m going to tackle this question, providing a breakdown of the main benefits of using social media for businesses and outlining the differences between paid and organic posts.

I’ve also included some expert tips and tricks on how to get the best out of your social media strategy. Let's get into it.

Is social media still worth the effort?

As social media platforms have steadily grown over time, the bar for competition has been raised. It’s not enough to just post on social media and expect to grow; you need to provide value to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more.

But the answer to the question of whether it’s still worth the effort is undeniably yes. This is underlined in a recent study by Hubspot, which found that 22% of consumers prefer to discover new products via social media

With that being said, many businesses make the mistake of relying solely on paid social media advertising for quick success. Whilst this can work for specific campaigns or one-off sales, it’s difficult to build a loyal following through paid ads.

This is where organic posts come in as they help to build genuine and loyal audiences who are interested in your brand.

By marrying the two together you can create the ideal strategy; using organic posts to give your page an authentic touch, whilst expanding your reach through paid promotion.

Let us look further at the advantages and unique uses of each.

Organic Vs Paid – What is best for your business?

When it comes to choosing between organic and paid strategies for your business, the best approach depends on your goals, budget and target audience.

Organic social media is a good choice when you want to:

• Build relationships with your audience: When you post interesting and engaging content, you will attract new followers and encourage engagement.

• Generate quality leads: Post content that is relevant to your target audience which encourages them to act.
• Build brand awareness: Post consistent, high-quality content to see results.

Paid social media, on the other hand, offers a different purpose and is a good choice when you want to:

• Reach a wider audience. By using ads, your content can be seen by relevant demographics who don't yet follow you, giving you a chance to grow your following.
• Target your audience. Paid social media allows you to target precise demographics based on everything from age to interests, and even past behaviour. This means that your ads are more likely to be seen by people who are interested in what you have to offer.

• Get better results. Improve your marketing campaigns by tracking results and seeing which ads are performing the best. This information can help you improve your campaigns and get more out of your investment moving forward.

The number one takeaway here is that despite their differences, both mediums work well together.

A combination of both strategies can maximise reach, engagement and conversions, providing flexibility and optimal results.

Where and when to use paid ads?

At Inspire, there are several things we consider that help us decide when and where we use paid ads for our clients (or for ourselves!).

Here are some of the main factors that should be considered when running a paid campaign:

• Choose the right platform: Consider where your target audience spends their time and choose the platform that aligns most with the type of content you’re planning to post.
• Set a budget: Take time to consider how much it will cost to reach your target audience on your platform of choice and stick to that budget. Once the campaign is done, you can analyse the results and amend the budget for next time.
• Track your results: This is an essential step so that you can see what is working and what is not. This information will help you improve your future campaigns and ensure you get more out of your investment.

Some additional tips we strongly recommend following are:

• Use the analytics tools provided by the social media platforms you're using to give you insights into how your ads are performing.
• Set specific goals for your paid ads, such as increasing website traffic or generating leads. Then, track your progress over time to see if you are achieving your goals.

How Inspire can elevate your social media game

At Inspire, we believe in exploring different avenues to maximise your online potential. Incorporating both paid ads and organic strategies can be highly advantageous not only for your own social media growth but for your business in general.

This balanced approach can help you reach a wider audience, foster genuine connections and achieve optimal end results that relate to your business goals.

If you want to discuss our social media services in more detail, please reach out to me directly and together we can create a personalised plan that will get your socials trending in the right direction.

Speak to David about social media.