In the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, brands consistently seek innovative ways to enhance their visibility and engagement. An often overlooked strategy that stands out is utilising paid media to amplify content, a tactic that transforms good marketing into great. Despite the allure of organic reach, particularly through influencers, the stark reality is that organic reach often falls short of expectations. This article explores why integrating paid media into your content strategy is not just beneficial, but essential for brands aiming to maximise their impact and achieve their goals.
The Limitations of Organic Reach (Even with Influencers)
In the realm of social media marketing, leveraging influencers is a commonly adopted strategy due to their massive follower bases and perceived reach. However, it's crucial to recognise the inherent limitations of organic reach through influencers, regardless of their popularity or follower count.
We have worked with high-profile influencers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person on the planet, with a staggering following of over 600 million on Instagram. It would seem reasonable to expect that content featuring such a celebrity would achieve expansive reach. However, in practice, our client’s post collaborating with Ronaldo reached 51 million people, significantly less than his total following. In a similar vein, our other client Tom Brady announced his new E1 Powerboat Racing Team. At the time of posting, Brady had almost 15m Instagram followers, yet his post reached only 1 million people. These cases illustrate that even with the backing of influencers who have immense followings, the organic reach achieved can be considerably lower than anticipated.
These examples underline a critical point: organic reach, even with massive influencers, is inherently limited. Several factors contribute to this limitation:
Algorithmic Challenges: Social media algorithms play a significant role in determining what content appears in users' feeds. These algorithms often prioritise user engagement (likes, comments, shares) over sheer follower counts, meaning that not all followers will see every post made by you or an influencer.
Content Saturation: The sheer volume of content on social media platforms means that even the most popular influencers' posts can get lost in the noise. Users are bombarded with a constant stream of content, making it challenging for any single post to stand out.
Follower Engagement Levels: Not all followers are equally engaged. Many followers might not regularly interact with the brand or influencer's content, leading to lower organic reach than the total follower count might suggest.
The Nature of Social Media Use: People use social media sporadically throughout the day or week. A post's timing can significantly impact how many people see it, and not all of a brand or influencer's followers will be online and engaged at the time of posting.
Limited Content Lifespan: Organic content has a brief lifespan, as its visibility and engagement tend to diminish rapidly after initial publication. This short-lived nature results partly from users typically seeing the content only once, amidst an overwhelming influx of new material competing for attention.
Paid media steps in to bridge this gap, ensuring that your content reaches not just a broader audience, but also a more targeted one. By leveraging paid media, brands can overcome the unpredictability and short lifespan of organic reach. They can ensure their content is seen by a larger segment of their intended audience more than once, including those who may not be active followers of a particular influencer.
Paid campaigns allow for precise targeting based on demographics, interests, and online behaviours, making them a valuable tool for enhancing visibility. Additionally, they provide valuable metrics and insights, enabling brands to understand better and refine their strategies to maximise impact.
While influencer partnerships offer significant value, their organic reach is subject to limitations that can be effectively complemented and enhanced through strategic use of paid media. This combination of organic and paid strategies ensures that your content not only reaches a wider audience but does so in a more controlled and effective manner.
The Advantages of Social Proof in Paid Media
Some of our best performing ads for our clients are organic posts, used as ads. You can use this for standard posts or for collaboration posts. This approach leverages existing social proof, such as likes and comments, making the content more appealing and engaging to new audiences. People are naturally drawn to content that others have engaged with, increasing the likelihood of further interaction and sharing.Social proof operates on the fundamental human tendency to be influenced by the actions and approvals of others. When potential customers see that a post has garnered a substantial amount of interaction, it implicitly endorses the content as worth engaging with. This phenomenon is not limited to likes and comments alone; shares and mentions also play a crucial role in building this perceived value. The more a post is interacted with, the more credible and attractive it appears to others.
Transforming organic posts into paid ads maintains the authenticity of the content. In a landscape where audiences are increasingly wary of overt advertising, content that has organically resonated with users carries an inherent trustworthiness. When this is combined with the targeted reach of paid media, it creates a powerful blend of authenticity and visibility.
Furthermore, the utilisation of social proof in paid media also offers insights into audience preferences and behaviours. By observing which organic posts perform best and garner the most engagement, brands can gain valuable insights into what resonates with their audience. This information can be instrumental in guiding future content creation and marketing strategies.
Enhancing Content with Calls-to-Action and Links
Paid media presents an invaluable opportunity for brands to enhance their content with elements crucial for driving consumer action. Incorporating call-to-action (CTA) buttons and destination links into content is a strategic move that can significantly influence consumer behaviour. This approach not only guides users towards desired actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter, but also streamlines the journey from engagement to conversion. For example, in the recent Solo Stove campaign featuring Snoop Dogg, despite its high visibility, the absence of direct CTAs resulted in poor sales for the company. Had the campaign better leveraged paid media to include these elements and incorporate a better retargeting strategy, the high engagement could have been effectively channelled into tangible commercial results.
The inclusion of CTAs and links in paid media is not just about facilitating immediate transactions; it's also about nurturing potential customers along their journey. By embedding CTAs and links, brands can direct users to more information, encourage them to explore a range of products, or engage them with interactive content that deepens their connection with the brand. This strategic layering of information and engagement opportunities caters to different stages of the customer journey, making the content not only a tool for immediate conversion but also a means for building long-term customer relationships. Additionally, these elements provide measurable data points, allowing brands to track the effectiveness of their content in driving user actions and adjust their strategies accordingly.
Building and Retargeting Audiences
Paid media also enhances the capacity for retargeting, a technique where brands can re-engage users who have previously interacted with their content. By incorporating CTAs and links, brands can effectively retarget viewers with more focused and conversion-oriented content. This retargeting is not merely a repetition of the message but a refined approach that considers the user’s previous interactions and presents them with tailored content that is more likely to convert. Such a strategy reinforces the brand’s message and steadily guides potential customers further down the sales funnel, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of the campaign. This approach demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of user behaviour, leveraging initial engagement to foster ongoing interactions that culminate in conversions.
Paid media platforms offer advanced tools for audience building and retargeting. Brands can create audiences based on people who viewed or engaged with their content, allowing for precise retargeting. These individuals, already aware of the brand, can be nudged further down the sales funnel. Moreover, the creation of Lookalike audiences - mirroring your followers and engagers - opens up new avenues for expanding your reach and converting new followers or customers.
Strategic Application of Paid Media for Maximum Impact
To fully capitalise on the potential of paid media, it's crucial to implement it strategically. This involves understanding your audience, aligning your content with their interests, and ensuring that your paid campaigns complement your organic efforts. Here are some key strategies to consider:
Tailored Content for Targeted Audiences
With paid media, you have the luxury of tailoring your content to specific segments of your audience. This means you can create messages that resonate more deeply with different groups, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of your campaigns. For instance, you might target fans of outdoor activities with specific content related to Solo Stove's products, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
Leveraging Data for Insight-Driven Campaigns
Data is the cornerstone of any successful paid media strategy. By analysing the performance of your organic content, you can identify what resonates best with your audience and use these insights to inform your paid campaigns. This data-driven approach ensures that your paid media efforts are not only more targeted but also more likely to yield a higher return on investment.
Continuously Optimising for Better Results
The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and so should your paid media strategy. Regularly review the performance of your campaigns, experiment with different types of content, formats, and targeting options, and refine your approach based on what works best. This continuous optimisation is key to staying ahead in a competitive market.
Integrating Paid and Organic Efforts
For the most effective strategy, your paid and organic efforts should work in tandem. Use your organic content to gauge audience interest and engagement, and then amplify the best-performing pieces with paid media. This integrated approach ensures a cohesive and powerful brand message.
The Future of Brand Content: Synergising with Paid Media
As we look to the future, the synergy between organic content and paid media will become increasingly important. Brands that master this balance will not only amplify their reach but also build deeper connections with their audience. Paid media is not just about increasing visibility; it's about enhancing the quality of your engagement, driving meaningful interactions, and ultimately, converting interest into loyal customer relationships.
As we've explored, transforming your brand content from good to great involves more than just creating high-quality content; it necessitates a well-rounded and strategic approach to paid media. But how can you effectively integrate these insights and strategies into your content creation and distribution?
This is where AND THE NEW comes in. Our expertise in end-to-end content creation and paid media management can elevate your brand's digital presence to new heights. From the initial stages of content ideation and strategy through to video and graphic production, we ensure that every piece of content is not only creatively compelling but also strategically aligned with your brand's goals.
How AND THE NEW Can Help
Content Ideation & Strategy: We begin by understanding your brand's unique story and audience. Our team crafts bespoke content strategies that resonate with your target market, ensuring that your brand stands out in a crowded digital landscape.
Video & Graphic Production: With our in-house team of talented designers and videographers, AND THE NEW creates visually stunning and engaging content. Whether it's eye-catching graphics or captivating videos, we bring your brand's message to life.
Paid Media Distribution & Optimisation: Our expertise doesn't stop at content creation. We adeptly handle the distribution and optimisation of your content through paid media. By targeting the right audiences and continuously optimising campaigns, we maximise your return on investment across all advertising platforms, ensuring that your content inspires, engages and converts your intended audience.
By partnering with AND THE NEW, you gain access to a team of experts who are committed to elevating your brand's digital presence. Let us take your content from good to great, ensuring that every campaign not only captures attention but also achieves tangible results.
Ready to transform your brand's digital narrative? Contact AND THE NEW today and embark on a journey towards impactful and successful content and paid media strategy.
