There is a common misconception regarding the value of organic social media strategy, whereby many brands see paid social advertising as the only way to convert and generate sales. While tracking conversions via paid ads is a much easier task – the paid strategy route tends to offer immediate results, while organic strategy gives a long-term solution. The reality of any good social media strategy is that both organic and paid content should be implemented alongside one another to get the best out of your social marketing efforts.
In today’s post, we discuss the top three reasons why an organic Instagram marketing strategy is integral to your brand’s growth – and how it can be used to supplement your paid ads. But first, let’s define these terms…
Organic Strategy:
Organic social media strategy refers to the use of the free services and tools that the social media platform provides to users. In the case of Instagram, this includes things like posting images and captions, hashtags, posting to stories and direct messaging. The purpose of an organic strategy is to build a loyal community of followers through posting relevant content, and interacting with those who interact with your brand (engagement). According to Social Media Today, “if you want to show customers your true values and culture, while also learning about the values of your customers, organic social media marketing is the best way to do so.”
Paid Advertising:
Paid social advertising, as the name suggests, is when a brand pays a social media platform to display sponsored messages or advertisements to the users of the platform. This is usually based on the user’s profile, their characteristics and buying habits. Depending on the type of campaign a brand is after, varying ads incur different costs.
Three reasons you should be taking organic social marketing seriously:
1.Organic social strategy boosts brand validity and credibility
While audiences may come across your brand via a paid ad, word of mouth, referral or by other means – generally, their first point of contact with you is to scope out your Instagram profile to see if you’re the real deal. Many people are influenced by first impressions of the account, and if they do choose to follow your brand, the subsequent trust and relationship building with this audience is paramount. If you don’t have an organic strategy in place to complement your paid efforts, chances are, your profile will lack followers and engagement – this can cause new potential leads to question your credibility. If someone is deciding between you and your competitor, and your competitor
2. Organic strategies offer a means of true interaction with potential customers
There’s a big reason why we always bang on about the importance of engagement work, also known as community management. Paid efforts can help to expand the awareness of your brand to those who are not following you, while organic efforts further connect you with your existing audience – meaning you can build a loyal following of repeat customers and reap long term benefits. Brands and consumers alike can get to know each other simultaneously, as they both post and share content they feel is important or relevant to themselves. Usually they will share a common interest which should be outlined when brands set out their content pillars.
In addition to this, those who have found your account via a paid ad can then directly contact you on your Instagram account, to ask questions and gain some more insights. Paid ads can give you analytical data based on the audience you’re interacting with, and this data can be used to target your organic messaging. This is a wonderful example of the two strategies working together.
3. It offers a long term solution
Building a strong reputation that is sustainable in the long term is indicative of ongoing success. You don’t just want to be selling your product or services for the next few months, you want to keep doing it for the next few years – if not, forever! A lasting brand legacy comes down to how your brand makes other people feel. This is what they remember. Again, this comes down to your general interactions with your audience, but it also shows itself in the valuable educational or inspirational content that you post. This is why it is so important to cultivate a strategy, and get out of the habit of posting on the fly.
There is certainly a place for both paid ads and organic strategy in the realm of social media marketing. Brands do themselves a disservice when they decide that one is more important than the other, rather, their focus should shift to intertwining these strategies for the best possible outcomes. An all-rounded approach is required to nailing social media marketing. Content Savvy specialise in organic Instagram management strategies. For more information on our packages, head to our services page or get in touch for our rates.
Leave a Reply