In today’s landscape of social media, the quest for visibility and engagement is a challenge every marketer faces. Therefore, advertising vs organic reach is a crucial and relevant question in trying to get your business out there. As platforms evolve and as you monitor your marketing budget, you need to ask: Is it better to rely solely on organic reach or dive into social media advertising? In this blog post, we’ll explore the delicate balance between social media advertising and organic reach, backed by statistics that shed light on the advantages of each approach and the importance of finding the right equilibrium.
The Power of Organic Reach
The Rise of Organic Reach Challenges:
Organic reach, the ability to connect with your audience without paid promotion, has seen challenges in recent times. Over the past decade, organic reach on Facebook has been declining steadily, with a 2.2% median organic reach for large pages with over 500,000 likes, and under 6% for smaller pages. This is from a study done all the way back in 2014 due to the increasing number of users and posts on the platform oversaturating users’ feeds, and the statistics have only decreased since. With that being said, relying solely on organic reach to drive traffic is less and less effective each year. However, this does not mean organic reach is unimportant, rather, it serves a different function to help alongside social media advertising.
User Trust in Organic Content:
Consumers value authenticity, and the true value in posting your own, non-promoted content is that it builds trust and credibility with the between the user and brand. A report by Stackla reveals that 86% of consumers say authenticity is a key factor in their decision to support a brand. Organic content, with its genuine and non-promotional nature, has the potential to build stronger connections. Imagine seeing an ad that you were interested in and upon diving deeper into the company, you find they have no Facebook, Instagram, or any other online presence. Would your trust in the advertisement go up or down?
The Potential of Social Media Advertising
Expanding Reach with Precision:
Social media advertising offers unparalleled reach. On Facebook alone, over 2.25 billion monthly active users are accessible through advertising. Instagram is up to nearly 2 billion itself with 97% of its users being targeted each month. While these numbers are staggering, we all know in this digital age those numbers are ever-increasing. If you haven’t already considered social media advertising, you’re behind the curve.
Targeting the Right Audience:
Social ads allow you to target specific demographics. In fact 73% of marketers believe that social media advertising is effective for reaching specific target audiences, likely due to over half of consumers using social media to research products. This, once again, outlines the importance of having both the paid social media advertisements to show up where your audience will be, as well as having a credible backlog of content for them to research and gain trust with your brand.
Driving Conversions and ROI:
Social media ads can directly impact your bottom line and some platforms are better than others. Google ads can be on the high end with a cost-per-click (CPC) of up to $100. However, Facebook ads can run a CPC of as low as under 15 cents. Because of this, it is vital to know your where to find your audience, and how to target them accordingly.
How Important is the Balance Between Advertising and Organic Reach?
Hybrid Approach for Optimal Results:
Most marketers in today’s age opt for a combination of the organic and paid advertising. A hybrid approach leverages the strengths of both methods for a well-rounded strategy. In a circular fashion, the organic content builds credibility for the paid ads while the ads drive traffic and engagement to the business, increasing the post analytics for the organic content which builds even more trust in the business.
Adapting to Platform Algorithms:
Platform algorithms favor engagement, which can be bolstered through a mix of organic content and paid engagement. According to Buffer, paid ads with high engagement can improve the organic reach of your posts. Therefore, a good strategy is to have a catolog of engaging, organic content that can have more traffic driven to it through paid ads.
Aligning with Goals:
Choose your approach based on your goals. If you aim for quick visibility and conversions, social media advertising might be your go-to. If community building and authenticity are paramount, organic reach can be your anchor.
The battle of social media advertising vs organic reach isn’t a winner-takes-all scenario. It’s about striking the perfect balance that aligns with your brand’s goals and resonates with your audience. Organic reach holds the power of authenticity and community-building, while social media advertising offers unmatched reach and precision targeting. A combination of both, tailored to your objectives, is the recipe for social media success in today’s competitive landscape. Contact us to learn how your business can maximize that balance and start driving in more traffic today!