Which is right for you?
Organic vs. Paid
Organic content is what appears in someone’s timeline naturally as they are scrolling through Facebook. These are posts or pictures shared by a business on their page and in order to see them in their feed, someone must have liked your page in advance. They can also be seen by going directly to your business page. Posts such as new listings, changes in business hours, or pictures of a plate of cookies waiting to welcome guests at an open house are all examples of what you could post. Organic content is free to post, but it is limited to the audience you already have a history with.
Paid is content you pay to promote. It can be similar to things you would post organically, and sometimes it is, but you pay to expand the audience that can view it. Whereas organic will only reach those who have liked your page or gone there directly, paid advertising will appear in the feeds of larger and more tailored audiences of people who match your criteria. When displayed, Paid Ads will appear in feeds with a “sponsored” label so audiences are aware they are seeing paid advertising.
So which is best?
Both, of course. Organic and paid each serve different purposes and together you combine them into a more effective Facebook advertising strategy.
With organic, you may have a smaller reach, but you know your audience is all there by choice. You can interact with them via comments and discussions to build your brand. Organic can help you establish your presence in your local community and begin to build trust with those who have already liked your page.
However, if your Facebook page is newer or used infrequently, your audience base might be small. In a report on declining organic reach by social media platform Hootsuite, organic reach has declined steadily over the last 3 years and is likely to continue that trend. At the end of 2020, the average reach for an organic post was down to 5.2% from 7.7% at the end of 2018.
Don’t let that figure discourage you from utilizing organic content for what it does best. Rather, use it as a reason to invest in paid advertising through Facebook. Expand from your current engaged audience and use the targeting features on Facebook to try and reach the potential customers who haven’t even heard of you yet. With BOOST, Facebook advertising is included in every advertising campaign so you can get the reach and results you’re looking for, without having to worry about having to worry about setting up separate campaigns across multiple services. It’s all handled for you with BOOST!.
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