Organic social media is a term that’s thrown around a lot. But what exactly is it and how does it compare to paid social media? Let’s take a look at the main differences between organic social media and paid social media because these two fuel social media marketing.
Organic Social Media
To put it bluntly, organic social media is unpaid social media. What does that mean? It’s posting to social media platforms for free. Like status updates, photos, tweets, resharing posts, etc. It involves reaching out and interacting with the company’s customers. Now let’s look at some of what organic does.
Branding
Organic social allows companies to establish their branding online. This is entirely dependent on the content they’re sharing and posting. Through organic social media, companies learn about their customers while their customers also learn about the company’s brand. Branding through organic social media allows companies to build an audience and narrow out or expand who they want to interact with.
Cost-Effectiveness
Organic social media is free. It’s the easiest way to interact with a company’s audience. No matter the size of a company or the budget they have, it’s something anyone and everyone should do. Companies don’t need to pay to create creative, attention-grabbing content. Organic social media is only limited to those that are creating content for the company. Because of this, organic social media is a long term strategy for companies. If they aren’t on social media right now, they should’ve been yesterday.
Paid Social Media
Paid social media is social media that’s entirely paid for. This involves advertising for products, promotions, events, etc. Companies can pay to have their content advertised on almost every social media platform. Through paid social media, companies can target demographics for certain Facebook is great for those that are experts or beginners in paid social media. But why does paid social media matter?
Generate Leads
Through paid social, customers learn what their audience likes and what they don’t like. It helps shape a company’s marketing strategy. In turn, it helps a company redesign and revamps what kind of content a company wants to put out. Through lead generation, companies can automate campaigns and see the results of what worked and what didn’t work.
Build Brand Awareness
Organic social helps companies but paid social media takes it a step further. Think about trial versus premium. Facebook owns Instagram, Whatsapp, and Facebook Messenger. Companies can use videos to target audiences that are more likely to view videos that correspond to someone’s beliefs and values. If there’s a company that is sending out a video that relates to someone’s opinion or value, they can target that demographic to increase brand awareness.
Companies need both organic and paid social media marketing to thrive in the digital age of marketing. Organic establishes natural relationships and helps grow a company more slowly, but helps nurture relationships. On the other hand, paid social media helps companies grow more rapidly with targeted ads. They’re both needed and both helpful to a company’s success.
