Is Posting Enough to Grow Your Business on Social Media?
Kirsten Armleder| May 31, 2021So, you have a Facebook Page. What now?
You’ve probably read or heard it said that producing high quality content on a regular basis is the way to get more followers and grow your business on social media. While it is true that consistent, quality content converts, it takes getting in front of the right audience, at the right time, to drive results.
How do you accomplish that? Before we get into it, let’s discuss the difference between organic and paid social media.
Organic social media
Basically, organic social media is all the free content that all users, including businesses and brands, share across the platform. You can expect the content you post to be seen by a percentage of your followers and your followers’ followers (if people choose to share your post).
So, if you’ve invited your family and friends to like your page, guess who’s primarily seeing your content? Are they really the ones you are trying to reach with new product and service offerings?
Another factor to consider is declining organic reach. At the end of 2020, the average reach for an organic Facebook post was reportedly down to 5.2%. So, no matter how good your content is and how often you share it, only a small selection of your followers will see what you post. If you have a qualified fanbase, how will you keep all your followers engaged, while attracting new customers?
Paid social media
Paid social media is ads or sponsored messages displayed to a target audience in their news feed and / or other areas of the platform, such as Facebook Marketplace, Messenger and Stories.
There are a couple of ways you can take advantage of Facebook’s social advertising platform. One method is by boosting organic posts on your Page and the other is to create dedicated campaigns in Facebook’s full ads system.
Both methods allow advertisers to target users not only on Facebook but Instagram as well. Through Facebook’s ad system, you can also reach people on external apps and websites.
Can I afford social advertising?
Facebook is an extremely effective and affordable method of advertising, making it a very appealing option for small businesses and big brands. Ads optimized for engagement can cost less than a daily Starbucks habit, which begs the question: how much should you dedicate to social advertising?
There are several variables that affect cost, including the size of your audience and objective, so you’ll want to be strategic in who and how you target. The Facebook ads system allows for precise targeting. Advanced techniques honed by experienced digital marketers allow you to further refine your audience, ensuring that you are reaching the right people, at the right time, and making your ad dollars work for you.
With paid social media, you can also use the power of your website to further your advertising efforts and reach the people who are most likely to buy from you.