Your current ad strategy uses a lot of organic content to get the job done, but in today’s world it just won’t get the job done. Paid ads are where it’s mat, and you’ve got to find the right balance of organic ads vs. paid ads if you want to keep the revenue flowing. 

Organic Ads vs. Paid Ads: Differences to Consider

It’s a pay-to-play game now, and if you’ve been relying heavily on organic ads vs paid ads it’s time to start shifting the balance. 

There’s no doubt about it that a solid word-of-mouth campaign can be a game changer, and organic ads offer the possibility of meeting your customers where they are and setting social media alight. However, in today’s landscape, they’re just not going to give you the steady revenue and growth a well-designed set of paid ads can deliver to keep your business scaling. 

So how do you decide what the right mix is? Ultimately, everything comes down to your specific industry and  business goals, and we’re going to give you some of our insider tips to find the perfect strategy. 

“Organic” Ads? How Do I Grow Them?

Organic marketing is fundamentally a word-of-mouth strategy that’s usually supported by solid SEO. You incur no costs from third party platforms, and the traffic it brings your site develops naturally, or “organically”. 

Good examples of organic marketing you can easily utilize are Facebook posts, Instagram pictures, viral videos, and other clever social media engagements. 

One of the best-known organic ad campaigns is the Wendy’s twitter account. A series of strange, funny tweets grew into an internet comedy phenomenon. They deliberately roasted posters and the competition, and it earned tons of new followers who checked in constantly to see the next joke…

…while also being exposed to Wendy’s offers and branding. It’s grown into a major part of their online presence, and they didn’t pay Twitter a dime for the privilege.

When weighing organic ads vs. paid ads, keep in mind it’s not all roses: word of mouth and viral marketing take time to build momentum (if they build at all). Also, viral phenomena can’t  be predicted, and organic marketing tends to offer feast-or-famine results that may or may not give you the reliability you need. 

Finally, the big downside of organic is taht it’s  only going to reach people who already follow you or find their way to your page on their own. A lot of big platforms—including Meta’s subsidiaries—are all pay to play now, so your organic ads aren’t going to bring in any new leads. 

Paid Ads

Paid strategies are an exceptionally dependable style of marketing that reach target demographics faster because you control distribution and leverage tried-and-true algorithms and metrics. Unlike organic ads, they also allow you to use ad managers to target specific demographics, use multiple creative iterations, and test your work to maximize revenue and deliver it consistently.

Because you have a lot of flexibility and capability at your disposal, managing your paid ads can be a daunting and robust task,  but that’s OK! The biggest companies are bringing in millions with paid ad strategies, so there’s a potentially huge reward for all your hard work. Plus, once you figure out the right strategy, the AI and machine learning you can leverage with paid ads will do a lot of the legwork for you. 

Designed well and competently executed, traditional ad campaigns are a steady earner for your bottom line that will keep that stream of predictable revenue rolling in even if you don’t break the internet now and again. 

It can be tempting to focus on organic content because—let’s face it—buzz is exciting. However, if you run your marketing like a gambler you’re probably going to lose big, and that’s why investing in paid ad campaigns are a critical part of any solid business strategy. 

How Do Each Benefit My Business?

As you have probably already guessed, these two approaches complement each other in many ways. Not just in results, but across different parts of your business model. 

Organic marketing tends to support—and flow from—customer service and institutional marketing campaigns. Some benefits would be:

• Alerting your existing customer base to new products or services.

• Great word of mouth from excellent products and top-notch customer service.

• Making potential customers aware of your brand for the first time through popular trends you set or harness.

• Building relationships that customers tend to include in their daily life.

Paid ads are mostly direct pitches for your products and services. They offer:

• More direct targeting of quality leads.

• Consistent sales and predictable growth.

• The ability to quickly reach out to new and wider audiences through a variety of ad channels.

• Raising product awareness beyond your current social media reach.

And to be fair, no matter how you feel about the organic ads vs. paid ads debate, either should achieve the following results:

• Promote your content.

• Help indicate where your advertising dollars are best targeted.

• Gain new customers and enlarge your social media footprint

• Bring in new revenues through lead conversion.

Ask the Experts

In the end, it’s not an either-or discussion. Both sides have pros and cons, and a well-curated, industry-specific mix of organic ads vs. paid ads will probably be the best strategy. 

But even the most experienced marketing departments can struggle to find the balance. Digital campaigns are opening up new marketing channels every day, and without some industry expertise and experience you may find yourself wasting a lot of time and money on ads that don’t produce the results you’re looking for. 

That’s what we’re all about at Social Ktchn: we’re Facebook and Instagram marketing veterans that have been winning the social media ad game for our clients for over a decade, and we’re here to take your organic and paid ad campaigns to the next level. We know how to craft and fine tune the balance and content regardless of the sector, and would love to chat with you about how we can help your business take off!