Can organic social media still get results?

Do You Need to Spend Money to Get Your Social Media Posts Seen on Facebook (Meta) and Instagram?

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become essential tools for businesses and individuals to reach their target audience. But with so much content competing for attention, a common question arises: Do you need to spend money to get your social media posts seen on Facebook and Instagram? 

To answer this, it's really important to understand how these platforms work, and then decide whether investing in paid social media is definitely necessary.

Understanding Organic Reach

Organic reach refers to the number of people who see your posts without any paid promotion. It's the result of your followers, or other users, finding your content through natural means like shares, likes, comments, or recommendations by the platform’s algorithm.

In the earlier days of Facebook this was amazing, you could get in front  of so many of your desired audience without investing in promoted posts and ads. BUT this changed rapidly with monetisation for audiences.

How Organic Reach Has Changed

Over the years, organic reach on Facebook and Instagram has seen a significant decline. This decline is primarily due to several factors:

Increased Competition: More users and businesses are creating content, making it harder to stand out when using organic social media only.

Algorithm Changes: Facebook and Instagram algorithms prioritise content that generates high engagement. Posts from friends and family and user generated content are often given preference over business or branded content.

Focus on Ad Revenue: Both platforms are owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), and make no mistake they rely heavily on ad revenue. Naturally, they want businesses to pay for increased visibility, they invest huge amounts to make the platforms work so they need to pay for that and more.

The Challenges of Relying on Organic Reach

Relying solely on organic content and reach can be challenging for several reasons:

Declining Visibility: Studies show that organic reach for Facebook Pages can be as low as 2-5% of your total followers. Also, by not investing in the promotion of your organic posts, you have no control over where they are seen and by whom.

Unpredictable Algorithms: The ever-changing algorithms can impact how often your content appears in users’ feeds. Going viral is no longer such a fluke and the noise is so large in the social media sphere, it would have to break through all of it to get traction.

Time-Intensive: Building a strong, engaged audience organically takes a lot of time and effort. Some social media strategies may include building an audience being the key performance indicator, however once this is done, you need to invest in reaching that audience also - it’s a double edged sword. Sometimes it could be a better strategy to reach your audiences with paid promoted posts and ads if you’re selling products online.

So it’s no wonder many marketers and business owners agree that ad spend and a paid social media strategy is the only way to get their posts seen by the audience they want to see them. Also, they may consider this way more bang for buck when it takes resources to create the content in the first place.

 The Benefits of Spending Money on Social Media

Investing in ad campaigns, promoted posts and influencer marketing on Facebook and Instagram can significantly increase your reach and engagement.

Here's why spending money on these platforms is worth considering:

Targeted Advertising

One of the most significant advantages of using paid ads in the digital space in general is the ability to target specific audiences. Facebook and Instagram allow you to choose who sees your ads based on demographics, interests, behaviours, location, and more. 

This level of targeting ensures that your content reaches people who are more likely to engage with it. They also have multiple ad formats for Instagram and Facebook ads to reach the multiple platforms people use to access the social networks.

Increased Visibility and Reach

Paid promotions can help your content get in front of more eyes, regardless of how many followers you have. This is especially useful for businesses looking to grow their brand awareness or promote a new product or service. 

Rather than a potential vanity metric of followers being the measure of success, especially if your budget is limited, this makes paying for your content to be seen as a good option as it can measure exactly what the users do on your website if you’re driving them there for more information.

Higher Engagement Rates

Promoted posts tend to generate higher engagement rates because they are often shown to a more relevant audience most likely to be interested in what advertisers have. This increased engagement can lead to more organic visibility as well since the algorithms will pick up on the higher interaction levels. 

Think of these as organic social media marketing posts, on wheels. You’re posting like normal but boosting it to ensure you get it in the right feeds for action and results.

Control Over Budget and Results

One of the best things about paid ads on these platforms is that you can control your budget. You don't need to spend a fortune to see results; even a small amount can make a noticeable difference in your reach and engagement. 

Including a budget for this in your social media marketing strategy, means you can manage your spend and know the right types of content you’re prepared to invest in promoting. You may choose to promote a post for a day for only $10 - it’s worth trying this to see what return you might get on this small investment.

 Can You Succeed Without Spending Money?

While paid advertising offers significant advantages, it's still possible to succeed on Facebook and Instagram without spending money—if you approach it strategically.

Tips for Maximising Organic Reach

Create High-Quality Content: Focus on creating visually appealing, informative, or entertaining content that resonates with your target audience. This includes videos, visual explainers and engaging messages about what you stand for.

Leverage Engagement: Encourage your followers to like, comment, and share your posts. High engagement signals to the algorithm that your content is valuable, increasing its chances of appearing in more feeds. This is often the tactic used for giveaways and competitions - tag a friend and like this post to be in to win. 

Good social media management also includes having a two way conversation - the more you engage with your posts comments - the more likely your engagers will be to be more loyal and feel heard.

Use Stories and Reels: Instagram Stories and Reels tend to have higher engagement rates and more visibility than regular posts. Use these features to connect with your audience in a more interactive way. This is helpful when showing a day in your office or demos on using your products.

Post Consistently: Consistency is key to building a loyal following. Regular posting increases the chances of your content being seen by your audience. Facebook has an easy to use planner so work ahead and be more in control of your content and brand.

Collaborate with Influencers: Partnering with influencers or micro-influencers can help you tap into their follower base and increase your brand's visibility without spending a lot of money. Micro influencers could be more inclined to promote your product if you provide them with a free product or experience and/or pay them a set fee. Larger influencers often have agents you can negotiate with for coverage.

Optimise Your Posting Times: Posting when your audience is most active can increase the likelihood that your content will be seen and engaged with. This could be in the evenings after the rush of family life has calmed down if your audience is in this life stage.

Use Hashtags Wisely: Hashtags can help your posts reach a broader audience on Instagram. Use a mix of popular and niche hashtags relevant to your content.‍

So, Do You Need to Spend Money?