If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you’re wondering if organic social posting on Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and other channels is a waste of time or something beneficial for your brand. For this blog, we interviewed Tier 11 Growth Strategist Landon Poburan. Landon has years of experience with Tier 11 helping clients develop holistic and highly converting growth strategies.
As you read, you’ll learn about the powerful relationship between organic social and paid ad performance. You’ll also get strategies for growing your organic social presence and your ad campaigns in tandem, so that each builds on the success of the other. Finally, you’ll get ways to make generating social content on demand easier than ever before.
“Ads and social media can work synergistically with one another. Diversification is a good thing, especially in your marketing strategy.”
Before we dive into why and how to leverage social media in tandem with your paid ads strategy, it’s important to get clear on definitions. How do we define social media content?
Organic social media is any piece of content across any social platform. This could be text, it could be image, it could be audio for podcasts, it could be videos across TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. YouTube is TECHNICALLY a search engine and thus is intent based, however YouTube is becoming more and more social all the time, so we’ll count it here.
Let’s face it: most brands don’t have a big enough budget to make ads do all of the work of scaling performance without some amount of social presence.
“Clients who have a very strong organic social media presence typically see stronger ad results,” says Tier 11 Sr. Media Buyer Landon Poburan. “They have more engagement from their community, they’re getting comments on their posts, and when they run ads, even just by the nature of it, people inside their community are commenting positively and there’s a more positive sentiment around what they’re doing.”
Brands shy away from doing social media for many reasons.
The first... time. It takes a lot of time and effort to do social media right. (Although if you read to the end, you’ll get some strategies to make it easier and faster than you think!) You may need a designer, a video editor, a copywriter, and a social media manager, and it can be hard to find the time and talent to make it all work. It may be okay for the owner of the company to create all the content, but as companies scale, it becomes more expensive to get key stakeholders to create the volume of content needed.
The second reason is because of the length of time needed to see ROI. Unlike paid ads, growing your social media presence takes time. “The trouble many organizations fall into is that there isn’t a direct ROI on content generation efforts, and so they start to lean more toward paid advertising because they can attach an immediate return on it.”
The third reason is because there is a misconception of the value that social media can bring. Many business owners believe that social media is merely a distraction, the equivalent of shouting in a crowded room. But done right, social media can become the ultimate hook testing ground and your trust driver.
“You can use social media as a ‘testing playground’,” says Landon. Any product or service has different market segments, psychographics, buying reasons, pain points, and more that can be tested on social channels. (In paid advertising, these become your Creative Pillars that are used for testing to cold audiences.)
“You can create 100s of different posts that are contextually different on social media, and then watch the trends,” he says. He suggests leveraging social media algorithms to find out which topics your audience wants to hear more about.
You can ask:
You can then pull your successful posts directly into your paid ad campaigns.
He says, “We just need to pay attention, and the audience and algorithms will tell us exactly what we need to create on social media.”
Today’s buyer is skeptical. The internet has fundamentally changed how prospective buyers view businesses, offers, and products. And if your brand isn’t leveraging social media to build an audience and community, then chances are that you’re missing key trust factors that are critical to avoiding wasted ad spend.
One way that brands cut through the noise is by building an engaged community. A strong and engaged community is more likely to:
Think about it: when you compare products online, what do you look at? Do you buy the first product you see, or do you stop and evaluate the reviews, the number of stars the product has, the overall credibility of the site, the engagement of the community, and other factors before you make a purchase?
Chances are, you’re evaluating brands for trust factors, and so are your prospects. Which means that when you have an existing audience, you’re more likely to have more successful ad campaigns.
Many brands believe they have to create new social media all the time in order to make organic content marketing work. Landon says that’s not necessary. “It just takes a little bit of creativity, and even just in taking it and creating more content, there are so many more ways that people can create ideas for organic content than they think,” he says.
One well-made video can be all you need to create winning social media content.
For example, from one long video you can:
You can also repost and recycle your content again, because most people won’t have seen your content the first time. When you post a video for the first time, you can also schedule it to post again in 3 or 6 months.
“Almost everyone can think of a situation where you heard something, and then only when you see it the second or third time are you ready to act on it.” The same is true for your marketing messages. Keep repeating the same messages, the same themes, and the same stories. Don’t assume that people will see, read, or hear everything you post the first time.
The comment section is a great place to find content ideas. Keep an eye on the questions people ask and how content is perceived. Use those comments as a springboard for new content. Chances are if one person is saying it, many people are feeling it.
Many business owners will get bored of saying the same thing over and over again. But this is a trap, says Landon. “You could be jeopardizing your business because you weren’t consistent enough with your message.”
Not everyone is ready to buy now, so maintain consistency for the long-haul. Once you know something is working to pull buyers through the awareness journey, keep going.
Sometimes, messages are received differently because the world changes. For example, AI has been around for a long time, yet only recently has it become a big deal. Smart social media campaigns leverage trends wisely to boost performance and tap into prospects’ current frame of mind.
Don't be another brand that shies away from the power of social media integration in your marketing campaigns. Yes, it may feel daunting, and yes, it takes time, effort, and strategy. But it's also a formidable tool that can massively amplify your ROI and conversion rates when leveraged correctly.
Being smart about organic social media isn't about shouting the loudest or posting the most. It's about creating a conversation, sparking engagement, and building a community of followers who not only buy from you but advocate for you.
So, don't treat social media as an isolated channel. Instead, see it as an extension of your paid ad campaigns. Use it as your ad testing playground and your trust driver. Pay attention to the trends, learn from your audience, and build on your successes. And remember, your efforts on social media are not a distraction; they're an investment in your brand's future growth.
Q: Why should I integrate social media into my marketing campaigns?
A: Integrating social media into your marketing campaigns can significantly boost your conversion rates. It provides a platform to engage with your audience, build a community, test your marketing strategies, and gain insights into your customers' preferences and behaviors.
Q: How does social media benefit paid ad performance?
A: Brands with a robust organic social media presence typically see stronger ad results. They benefit from higher engagement rates, more positive sentiment, and increased credibility. Social media acts as a trust driver, encouraging positive interactions with your ads and increasing conversion rates.
Q: What are some practical tips for managing social media content?
A: Repurpose and recycle your content to save time and resources. For example, one long video can be transformed into several short clips, quotes, blog posts, podcasts, and more. Leverage comments for new content ideas and maintain consistency in your messages. Lastly, don't be afraid to tap into current trends to boost your social media performance.
Q: How can I measure the success of my social media marketing campaigns?
A: You can measure the success of your social media campaigns by tracking key metrics like reach, engagement rate (likes, comments, shares), and conversion rate. You can also observe trends in audience behavior and their responses to different posts.
Q: How can I identify the most effective social media channels for my target audience?
A: Understanding your audience is key. Research your target demographic to understand which platforms they use most frequently. Monitor the performance of your posts across different platforms to identify where you're getting the most engagement and conversions.
Q: Can social media replace my paid ad campaigns?
A: While social media is a powerful tool, it shouldn't replace your paid ad campaigns. Instead, it should work synergistically with them. Think of social media as an extension of your paid ads, a space where you can engage with your audience, build trust, and test your strategies to improve your overall marketing efforts.