Organic Social Is Dead
Organic Social is Dead
With 2020 already upon us, I’ve been reflecting on my industry and how it has evolved over the past few years. Not to mention the last decade. It’s bizarre to think that just 10 years ago, my most recent roles didn’t exist. On the other hand, it’s exciting. Industries centered around digital technology are growing exponentially. Plus, when you’ve worked in social media for several years, you know where it has been and where it’s going. I’m talking about organic and paid social media.
The Method Behind The Madness
In case you’re not familiar with the terms “organic social” or “organic,” I’m referring to content that you post on your personal or business’s social media accounts that does not receive any paid promotion. The landscape of organic social has changed drastically throughout the years. As we’ve seen with Facebook, users are served content they’re likely to engage with whereas in the past, content would be distributed evenly and chronologically. The method of serving based on the likelihood to engage is the same for ad serving too. If a core group of users love lemonade, it makes sense to serve them more lemonade. Maybe even pink lemonade!
When it comes to businesses and how they use social media organically, marketers and business owners are finding their posts are reaching fewer and fewer people. In fact, organic posts on average reach only about 2% of people who “like” or “follow” them on social media. In other words, if 1,000 people “like” your page on Facebook, your average reach per organic post would be about 20 people. Yikes! The rest of users’ feeds are filled with content competing for their attention: targeted ads and posts from accounts the user interacts with most. Though there are ways to combat the 2% reach average, none of them are as powerful as committing to ads, or as we call, paid social advertising.
The Power of Paid Social
It may seem scary for businesses that have never used it before, but paid social advertising through Facebook offers incredible benefits. My primary case for it is that it’s relatively cheap for the value returned. Facebook ads drive awareness, website traffic, conversions, and more, and you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars. If done correctly, paid social advertising offers guaranteed value more than any other marketing channel. Though placements in newspapers and on billboards are important, the ROI on Facebook is ten times higher than traditional methods. In fact, rarely have I ever run a Facebook campaign that didn’t perform above benchmark. With over 7 million businesses leveraging Facebook, there’s no better time to start than right now.
Organic and Paid Social Work Together
Please note this doesn’t mean you should can your organic social efforts. Your brand should still have a presence, regularly publish content, and connect with your following. This is especially key once you’ve captured a customer from advertising. Not running ads at all from your social accounts, however, is a hugely missed opportunity for your business. If you’re interested in getting started or looking to make improvements to your campaigns, send me a message and we can explore the options. Otherwise, cheers to new adventures in social media in 2020 and more pink lemonade.
