Are you considering paid social media posts? To pay or not to pay … that seems to be the question …
Getting your message out there on social media seems easy enough, right? If you are following along with our tips, you know many of the most important guidelines when it comes to nailing it. But this begs the question: should you spend more money on promotions in your social accounts or should you just rely on your cleverness, charisma and business know-how?
Our verdict: Your competition is probably paying for social media promotions – boosted posts, Facebook ads, Instagram reels ads, etc. This doesn’t mean that you should blow your whole budget on running paid ads at every turn. There is a nuance to it, and we are here to help you parse it out.
Know your goals
Remember those SMART goals you set in one of our first blogs in this series of tips? You will need to return to those repeatedly to make sure you are keeping them at the forefront of your marketing strategy. Your goals will guide you in figuring out when to use paid advertising on social media versus when to go the more organic route.
Paid promotions and boosted posts allow you to share your content with a specific target market. In today’s (almost) post-pandemic world, many people are still spending a lot of time on their phones (flashback to quarantine). To reach consumers who haven’t yet come across your brand, paid advertising will pop up in their newsfeed. You want to use paid promotions if your goals include:
- Raise brand awareness and attract new followers
- Promote the newest content and events, etc.
- Generate leads
- Drive conversion, including e-commerce sales
Organic social media refers to content that is free for you to post and can reach anyone, but mainly the followers you have already acquired. Your followers’ followers and people who search for hashtags you use may also see your post, which is a slow but steady way to grow your audience. Organic social media is a great way to grow connections and create a community surrounding your brand– an important aspect of brand loyalty. You want to use this type of social posting when:
- You are establishing your personality and voice
- You are trying to build a relationship with your target audience
- You want to engage customers at every stage of their buying journey
- You want to give the best customer service
B2C versus B2B
Next, it is important to know who you are trying to market your efforts toward. If you sell a B2C product or business to consumer, then your social accounts on Instagram, Facebook or even TikTok will probably be a beneficial place to start. If you are marketing yourself to other businesses, however, you will likely be aiming your sights on social platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. The point is, no matter what you are selling, your tone should match that of your target audience and the feeling of the ad should be something they would gravitate toward.
Content matters, but especially if you are going to pay for an ad. You must make sure your voice matches your brand. You must also make sure your target audience will WANT to click on your ad. Have you ever been scrolling through your Instagram feed and been surprised by a terrible ad? Don’t be that brand. (Maybe that is our best advice yet.)
Integrate paid promotions into your already existing content
If you want to reach a larger audience and target ideal customers, chances are paid promotions will help you. Repeating: Don’t put all your eggs in this basket. It is important to take care of the mama hen, aka your current followers and community, as well. Settle into a nice combination of paid promotions and organic social content that will wow your target audience and help your brand to speak up within the saturated landscape of social media.
You can do this by boosting organic posts that have performed well AND by targeting people like your consumer base. Make sure to keep an eye on your data and measure your results, something we will talk about later in this series of social media tips. Until then, best of luck out there!
