Binks and Co. Publishing House created business accounts on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to build its social media presence. They published content to raise awareness of their vision and mission. However, due to erratically changing algorithm, they were unable to meet marketing goals in the first month. As a result, they made a hasty decision to run promotions in order to attract the target population. Unfortunately, it was a premature step that resulted in a higher bot rate and lower lead conversion rates.
In the marketing industry, the line between organic and promoted content often gets blurred. As a result, creating a marketing plan that considers the current situation of clients is essential for any brand.
Organic content includes regular videos, photos, and other multimedia forms that a brand/company posts on their social media handles.
Pros:
- Content reaches followers and the people they share it with.
- Lower probability of fake or spam accounts or bots.
- No direct costs involved.
Cons:
- Engagement may be affected due to the algorithms.
- Brands might not have the time, energy or resources to create content consistently.
- Content may not reach target audience as demographics are not specified.
Binks and Co. Publishing House shares the content posted with friends and acquaintances, increasing their exposure. Furthermore, the page is visited by legitimate accounts. However, it is likely that the information does not reach the target audience, resulting in decreased rate of engagement. Another challenging aspect is finding resources to monitor the pages when the brand is still new.
However, one should note that organic content requires time and patience. Organic growth methods never yield fast results. The time and effort, however, are well worth it when it comes to developing a brand community. Instead of moving fast to promoted content, Binks and Co. Publishing House probably would have achieved the desired outcomes if they had waited longer.
That said, promoted content is also a vital aspect of an optimized marketing strategy if used efficiently, that is at the right time with the right resources.
Promoted content includes videos, photos or other multimedia forms a brand pays to reach the target audience on social media platforms.
Pros:
- Reach target audience through specified demographics
- Paid promotions build brand awareness fast
- Yields immediate results through boost promoted content
Cons:
- No guarantee of 100% lead conversions
- Higher rate of spam orbot accounts as the platform does not have control over them.
- Inadequate resources to promote content.
Binks and Co. Publishing House developed promotions to reach the demographics they wanted to reach. However, it attracted a large number of bot followers who rarely engaged with the content. Thankfully, they were able to increase brand awareness using this strategy. Despite the fact that it did not work wholly in their favor, it did assist them in identifying clients who wanted to use their services.
A brand should ideally use a mix of the two techniques to yield more genuine and effective results. Organic Content should be used more extensively to build a community of authentic followers that believe in the brand and its values. However, the use of promoted content should also be considered after the brand has achieved certain outcomes, as this method can yield greater results if utilized effectively.