Optimizing Your Social Media Strategy
Navigating social media marketing is like checking the weather channel. You can feel prepared and confident in your strategy one moment, only to find trends and algorithms change suddenly, requiring creative adaptations to stay relevant. Relevance is paramount in this industry, and mastering the balance, power, and potential of organic versus paid social media strategies empowers social media managers to take control and excel. So, what is the difference between these strategies?
Posting organic social media content relies solely on the platform's algorithm and is free for anyone with an account to share. The primary goal of organic content is to establish brand recognition and build trust with your customer base. This content is created by the social media manager or curated from user-generated content (UGC). Unlike paid social media, you cannot target specific demographics, so organic reach is typically limited to a portion of your followers and users who follow relevant hashtags.
Organic reach has been declining, particularly on platforms like Instagram, where it dropped to an average of reaching 7.60% of the account's followers at the start of 2024, marking an 18% decrease year-over-year, according to Social Insiders. Due to platform saturation, it's increasingly challenging for organic content to capture screen time. At AM Group, we've observed that organic posts lose priority in the algorithm if they don't gain early engagement (likes, shares, comments) within the first 24 hours. The organic content strategy requires consistent effort over time to see significant results, and to navigate this challenge, we track weekly and monthly analytics for all of our clients to ensure we are posting relevant and trending content to maximize reach and engagement.
A paid social media strategy involves paying the algorithm to display your content to a specific demographic you select. You can leverage viewer analytics from organic posts or define your ideal audience based on factors like age, interests, location, and more. The platform charges per view (this price differs depending on the platform, season, etc.), making it effective for quickly boosting content visibility and reaching new users. Another method of paid content is through collaborations with influencers, which can also be “boosted” on either your page or through the influencer's channels. Many of these collaborations are in the form of consumer “reviews” and can add credibility to a brand's product/service. At AM Group, we've found paid strategy beneficial for immediate impact and measurable results. However, long-term success hinges on a solid foundation of organic content and strong branding to foster lasting follower loyalty.
Combining these two strategies will ensure your brand voice and offerings are credible and informative while your paid social media drives immediate reach and conversions despite the constant algorithm changes. Understanding your target audience and content creation's role in marketing strategy is crucial for effective social media use—we at AM Group can help you set the blueprint.
