Why (Most) Brands Have Their Social Priorities Wrong
Take note… less than 5% of followers see your organic posts…. Don’t believe me? Go onto your Meta business suite and check!
With that in mind, we believe many brands continue to misallocate their resources. Prioritising organic social media efforts over more impactful strategies. While organic social media is undeniably important in the mix of activties, an overemphasis on it is in almost all instances, a mistake.
Of course if you are a beauty/beautiful/iconic/unique/disruptive/content heavy brand then crack on - but for the rest… take note!
The Overinvestment in Organic Social Media when small
Organic social media refers to the free content (posts, photos, videos, stories) that all users, including brands, share with their followers on their feeds. It’s about engaging directly with your audience and fostering a community and can be a great brand builder for SOME. However, the reach of organic posts is limited once you become successful. According to a study by Hootsuite, the average organic reach for a Facebook post is around 5.2% of a page’s followers*. This means that a brand with 10,000 followers would only reach about 520 people per post and most of them will be flicking straight past it!! It’s also bloody hard to get to 10,000 followers unless you have a shed load of customers or are doing something truly content worthy!
I’ve seen start-ups make their first full time hire be a social media manager on£30k+, when their total marketing budget is way less than that! I recently stepped into a role at one of the worlds biggest automotive brands where they had over 30 full time paid staff acting as social media managers on a global business that strived for global consistency! That’s before the inevitable churn of shoots and costs required to fulfil the 30 hungry social media managers creative minds! Madness….
The truth is, for most brands, paid social media and other awareness-driving channels offer a higher return on investment (ROI) and will in turn ultimately bolster organic social media presence, it’s rarely the other way round… yes of course there are examples, just like 5-10 people a week win 100k+ on the lottery, doesn’t mean it’s easy!
The Power of Paid Social Media
Paid social media, on the other hand, involves paying to display ads or sponsored messages to social network users based on their demographic information, behaviours, and interests. This method allows brands to reach a broader and more targeted audience. A report from WordStream found that the average click-through rate (CTR) for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.90%*. While this may seem small, it is significantly higher than the engagement rates seen with organic posts and remember these are most likely “new users” to your brand, I would argue even more valuable clicks than churning more and more content to your loyalists. (there is a place for that of course)
Moreover, paid social media campaigns can be meticulously tracked and optimised in real-time, offering a level of control and measurability that organic social cannot match. This data-driven approach enables brands to refine their strategies and maximise their ROI whilst building their awareness and consequent social media following.
The Symbiotic Relationship
When executed effectively, paid social media and other awareness-driving channels can create a positive feedback loop that enhances organic social media efforts. Increased visibility from paid campaigns can lead to more followers and engagement on organic posts. In turn, a robust organic presence can provide social proof and authenticity, further supporting paid initiatives so both are important, but please don’t over invest on organic at the outset!
At Blorange we believe whilst organic social media remains a vital component of a brand’s digital strategy, it should not overshadow the importance of paid social media and other awareness-driving channels. By reallocating resources to focus on these high-ROI strategies, brands can achieve a more balanced and effective marketing approach that ultimately benefits their organic social efforts going forwards.
Interested to see what this could mean for your business? Speak to us at Blorange!
Sources:
Hootsuite, "Social Media Reach: What It Means and How to Improve It," 2023.*
WordStream, "Facebook Advertising Benchmarks for YOUR Industry [Updated!]," 2022.*
Campaign Monitor, "The Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2023."*
Influencer Marketing Hub, "Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report: 2023."*