Today’s post is brought to you by our friends at Delhi Boho. If you have a moment, you should check their store out!
Now, to the point. Yesterday, while doing one of our favorite activities—scrolling through Threads—we saw this post:
And of course, it made us wonder, how many of you have asked yourselves this question? There is a lot of secrecy—and maybe a little bit of stigma—about doing pay-to-play, and maybe, it is time to clarify a little about what investing money in your Social Media implies.
Organic vs. Paid Outreach
As a small business, organic Social Media SHOULD be your bestie. For starters, doing organic has no monetary cost but comes with a time and effort investment: creating content and interacting with your audience in and out of your own profile and posts is needed for growth. However, the reality is that, at times, you will either not have the time to invest or will need results faster than what organic can offer—and you will look into investing some $$$ on that 👀
The first observation we should do here is: don’t be afraid to invest in your brand; the second, make sure you invest wisely.
One of the main advantages of organic reach—besides the obvious fact that it is very budget friendly—is the fact that serves you as a good way to measure your content performance: content that is not performing organically (not even a little—like ZERO traction posts) will most likely perform poorly if boosted.
Relying on organic content is the best way to establish your brand’s personality, values, and positioning: your content is what people will refer to when they want to know who you are. Having organic content will help you build and strengthen connections with your customers and prospects as well as give you a certain sense of credibility and better social validation.
Of course, this does not mean that is all you should rely on. Paid Outreach will be necessary to give your business the push it might need. Paying for ads can be a strategic way to reach a targeted audience: advertising campaigns allow you to define your target demographic, set specific goals for your campaigns, and track your ROI more effectively. It’s a more transparent and legitimate way to invest in your social media presence.
How is Paying For Ads Different Than Buying Followers
If you have been anywhere near any social media platform—especially Instagram—you should have at least ONCE received one of these:
Sounds reasonable… until it is not. Buying followers can be tempting. Seeing the follower count going up is a source of serotonin (and you can’t deny that), but buying your way there comes at a cost to your authenticity and engagement rates. Those bought followers are unlikely to be genuinely interested in your content or products, which means your engagement metrics could suffer.
Paying for an ad campaign—while it essentially sounds like the same thing as paying to get followers—is a better investment for a simple reason: instead of paying a random person to follow you without them being interested in your content or products, you are paying the Social Media Platforms to put your content in front of people who might actually be interested.
The audience you reach with an ad campaign has the freedom to decide if they want to follow you or not. They are real people. While buying followers might give the appearance of popularity, it is easier than you think to identify an account with an inflated follower count. Authenticity and genuine engagement are key factors that build trust with your audience and contribute to sustainable growth.
The quality of your followers and engagement matters more than the sheer quantity.
Should I Pay for Social Media Ads?
The answer here: it depends. You should find the right balance that aligns with your brand values and resonates with your target audience.
Our usual recommendation is to do a mix of both, organic and paid outreach. Depending on your goals, how fast you need results, and how much you have available to invest, advertising can be a great way to put your business out there and reach a broader audience.
Of course, never forget to focus on quality content and genuine engagement: no matter the amount of money you invest in ads, if your content is not good, your offer is not interesting, and you do not genuinely engage with those who reach out, you will be just losing money.
