You don’t have to choose between organic and paid social strategy. In fact, using both approaches is one of the best things you can do. Learn how to combine the two to see results.
More people are using social media — including B2B businesses. The competition is fierce, meaning you need an effective strategy to stand out. Luckily, you’ve got two great options: organic and paid social.
Unlike most organic things, organic social media doesn’t require you to shell out extra cash. Instead, you can sit back and let your post ride the algorithmic waves. You’ll reach customers, drive conversions, establish your brand’s personality, and more without extra cost. However, only a small percentage of followers will likely see your posts. (Think 5.5% for a Facebook post thanks to ranking algorithms.)
Enter paid social. Instead of posting and hoping for the best, you can create ads that will burst through into more users’ feeds. Paid social can boost followers, brand awareness, leads, and conversions by promoting your content to a wider audience.
But it’s not an either/or situation! Here’s how you can combine both strategies to drive maximum results.
Why Use Social Media for B2B?
We tend to think of social media as a tool for B2C companies, but the truth is that B2B companies also have plenty to gain from it. For one, digital is B2B’s future. B2B social media marketing provides a more human view of your brand, meaning it can drive sales, raise your reputation, and increase your market share, all while helping you earn customers’ trust and loyalty.
Plus, 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur on digital channels by 2025, and the uptick in B2B social media ads has already begun. Between 2019 and 2020, the percentage of B2B content marketers using social media ads jumped from 60% to 83% — and in 2023, there is unanimity that paid social can work in the space and should be leveraged by B2B marketing teams.
Organic: Low Risk, High Potential Returns
Anyone can do organic because it’s free — and there’s always a chance a post could go viral, massively boosting brand awareness. Even if your posts never take off, there’s plenty of value in organic social. Not only does it provide an incredible opportunity for brands to deepen relationships, but it also enables them to show new customers what they’re all about. Marketers consider organic social as their most valuable social media tactic for a reason!
Plus, companies can freely experiment and employ old and new tactics to pique audiences’ interest. For example, organic social is the perfect place for user-generated content to show off your product and service from a customer’s perspective. If you’ve ever been persuaded to buy something based on customer photos and videos, you know just how effective user-generated content can be.
Paid: Guaranteed Eyes
Paid is a different ballgame and more of a sprint than the marathon that is organic social. Paid will cost you out of pocket, but you’re guaranteed to have eyes on your content. A well-targeted campaign can quickly introduce countless new people to your company, fueling social media growth whenever organic traffic dries up.
For example, do you have a killer piece of gated content but need more traffic? A paid social media campaign can do the trick, allowing you to reach new, targeted audiences based on age, location, activity, gender, industry, seniority, and many more attributes.
Integrating Organic And Paid
Organic and paid social media go hand in hand and while valuable on their own, they work best together.
Organic social media excels at serving and connecting with existing customers and fostering loyalty. It offers a higher ROI and provides insights into audience preferences. Once you know what resonates with them, you can optimize your paid strategy and ad spending around posts, topics, and collateral that has performed well organically.
On the other hand, paid is perfect for attracting new followers and driving traffic to organic content. You can take high-performing organic content and then pay to show it to the world. This way, you already know you’ve got a good thing going that’s worth sharing! But here’s a good rule of thumb: only pay for ads if their performance can be tied to KPIs and business goals.
Create the Perfect Strategy With Thunderfoot
No matter your industry, product, or service, we’re confident your business could benefit from organic and paid social media. But knowing when and how to use each, all while providing a unified brand experience, isn’t necessarily easy. That’s why you should work with an industry expert like Thunderfoot. We’ve helped countless clients integrate their organic and paid social strategies effectively to drive results beyond expectations.
Ready to see us in action? Get in touch with Thunderfoot today!