Pursuing a remote career in digital marketing requires you to be present on the internet. We’ll do an organic vs. paid online presence analysis to understand why both are equally important.
Knowing the difference between organic and paid online presence is helpful for people determined to become social media and paid ads managers.
It’s beneficial to know it, even if you’re going after a career as an SEO specialist or graphic designer.
“Why,” you may think.
Working remotely means that you are probably equally interested in working for a company and as a freelancer.
Being a freelancer will ultimately give you more freedom in the long run.
However, you will need to invest some time and effort in building your online presence.
If you would like to grow your personal brand to the next level, you may also want to invest in some paid ads.
In this online presence analysis we look at how organic and paid methods support each other and are inevitably interconnected.
Organic online presence
What is it?
It’s the free one.
It’s all the content you post to your social media channels to reach your existing audience and attract new members.
Being consistent in publishing high-quality organic content that promotes constant communication and interaction with the audience is essential.
Organic posting is how you will gradually create trust and let your followers into your brand’s world to make them feel closer to you.
You can generate closeness through lives, sharing personal information about who you are, showing behind the scenes of your business, not being afraid to be vulnerable when you are.
Try interacting with your followers as if they are in the same room and talking with them, not to them.
Make your content as engaging as possible, pay close attention to the comments, and use analytics tools to understand them better.
Test different things and see what works for them and what doesn’t.
Give value just because you care, and you can before asking for a sale.
Once you create a relationship with your audience, make sure your content is nurturing to them so they want to keep coming back for more.
Paid online presence
These are the paid ads that you may want to run at some point in your business.
Paid ads are typically running on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google.
Lately, people pay attention to Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube.
They require a lot more technical training.
Different ads need to be tested with the various segments of your audience combined with suitable copy and visuals (videos, images, infographics).
Ads testing and optimization are sometimes lengthy processes requiring access to and spending a certain amount of funds regularly.
Paid advertising campaigns can have different goals.
The long-term goals…
that are on top of any sales funnel include brand awareness and reach. That means that even though your end goal is usually selling your products and services, you may want to use a paid ad to reach a new audience, so you can build brand awareness and reach more people.
This process won’t automatically increase your sales.
However, you will be able to grow your audience.
You will also have the opportunity to present your organic content and build your relationship with them.
And according to research, a business typically needs to “touch” its audience eight times before making a sale.
Starting slow will ensure that you get more quality leads and repeat business.
Paid ads mid-funnel goals…
are expected to impact short-term goals quicker.
In other words, they are a step closer to making a sale.
They may strive for things like increasing your traffic, engagement, lead generation, video views, freebie download in exchange for an email, so you can grow your email list and others depending on the nature of your business or the business you work for.
Short-term goals…
are the ones at the end of a sales funnel and are most typically conversions, as that’s how companies make money.
Short-term goals ads are usually the most expensive ones as they are expected to have the highest return on investment (ROI.)
Like the way things happen in life – a natural organic connection with the audience creates a much more loyal and engaged group of people than just targeting them with paid ads.
Audience captured and nurtured through organic reach will make your brand more popular because your followers will recognize themselves in you and your business.
If you have limited funds or no funds to spend on paid ads to advertise your products and services, you can start with organic positioning.
The Strategy
No matter what your business focuses on, make sure to sit down and spend time creating the right strategy.
Think about where your audience is and how to get them interested and engaged.
Think about what the best resources are to use – is your audience most receptive to video, lives, downloadables.
Having a good foundation is key to building a successful marketing strategy.
When you can afford some paid ads, make sure you have a strategy in place for them as well.
Also, do make sure they fully support your organic efforts.
Try testing different things as much as possible.
Finding the right combination of targeted audience, visuals, and copy is close to an artwork. Once you do, it won’t last forever, and you will have to keep optimizing to get the best results.
If you want to build the foundation of your knowledge on both subjects and how to optimally use them in your work, I recommend you take this Hubspot Social Media Marketing Course and secure your certificate upon completion.
To Wrap Up
Whatever side of digital marketing you decide to grow in, some or more social media management and paid ads training will be required for you to succeed.
Like us people, every business is unique.
Every business can succeed with its organic online presence when done right, even without paid advertising.
But if you have a bunch of money that you decide to invest in hopes of significant profit through paid ads and no organic reach, your results will be short-lasting, and you will have to keep spending more money to maintain your cash flow.
The lack of engagement and relationship with your audience will make your business weak and lacking substance.
Organic content adds that “special spice” that makes every business interesting, different, and unique. Take a course in storytelling along with the recommended Social Media Management and Paid Ads training to learn more.
I hope this online presence analysis was helpful to better understand the difference between the paid and organic presence
