Greetings! If you’re researching social media marketing, chances are you’ve stumbled upon the question: Should I go with organic social or paid social ads? It’s a popular question. So let me weigh the benefits and drawbacks of organic vs. paid social to see what has the best ROI for your brand or business.

What Is Organic Social?

Organic social refers to content that you post on your social media channels without an allocated advertising budget behind it, such as:

• Typical posts on a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn feed.
• Stories, photos, or videos to drive further engagement.
• Comments as replies to user-generated content that creates a more genuine sense of community.
  Organic content is basically communication with an existing or potential audience. It comes from a place of trust and credibility and fosters a relationship with the brand over time.

Pros of Organic Social

• Low cost: It’s free.
• Increases loyalty: Those who like and follow you and engage with you organically are more likely to remain followers.
• Good for brand personality: Humanizes your company.

Cons of Organic Social

• Takes a long time to scale: It can take months or years to develop a growing following.
• Limited exposure: Social sites seldom show all followers all posts.
• Hard to track immediate ROI: It’s not easy to track that someone did something because of your post and then made a purchase or conversion.
  What About Paid Social?

Paid social is, well, paying for social. Facebook Ads, Instagram Sponsored Posts, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Promotions; you name it. You choose audiences, budgets, and you have the potential to be seen by many, many more, much faster.

The Pros of Paid Social

• Instant exposure: You can be seen by thousands—which can turn into millions—in no time.
• Highly targeted: You can reach people based on geographic location, age, interests, and actions.
• Easy ROI tracking: Most platforms offer analytics related to clicks, conversions, and sales.

The Cons of Paid Social

• Costs money: The more competitive your industry, the more you’re going to have to spend to get noticed.
• Can feel “salesy”: If you don’t execute ads correctly, you could irritate your audience and/or turn them off.
• Must constantly optimize: Ads will need to be tested and retested.
  So Who Gets the Highest ROI?

Well—it depends. But let me explain.

1. It Depends On Your Goals

• If your goal is brand awareness and community growth and engagement in the long run—organic social is the best option. It builds trust, relationships, and loyalty in the minds of your audience as they follow and like your content organically.
• If you want sales and leads immediately or you want to push out a limited time offer—paid social is the best option.

2. It Depends On Your Budget

• Companies with smaller budgets run organic to maintain lower costs while still building their brand.
• Companies with higher budgets can test out paid ads compounded with organic posts to scale quicker and reach wider audiences.
  3. The Best ROI Usually Comes from Both

I’ve done it all for clients across industries. Everything I’ve learned has led me to believe that the best way to get things done is to do both social paid and organic.

• Organic posts to form your brand voice and engage followers.
• Paid posts to showcase your best work to a wider audience and potential new clients.
• Analytics to determine what’s trending and boost successful posts with even more spend.

4. The Platform Matters

Certain platforms still allow for excellent organic reach—currently, TikTok and Instagram Reels—but Facebook’s algorithm does not favor organic reach at all. Thus your platform will either help you achieve better, easier ROI with paid or organic.

5. Without Great Content, Social and Social Paid Fail

If you don’t have good content, your organic and paid social will fail. It’s the compelling, relevant content that sparks interest that gets the audience to engage and act. Therefore, if you’re putting up anything for an organic or paid placement, it better be a well-intentioned story with fantastic visuals and appropriate calls to action.

How I Would Implement This? No Need to Choose, Use Wisely

I’ve seen brands throw money down the drain with social paid and no organic presence. I’ve seen brands grow at a painfully slow rate over time with only organic implementation. The only way to get the best ROI is to do both:

• Start with organic efforts to build a presence with valuable consistent content.
• Then implement paid social to expand reach and micro-target.
• Always assess and adjust — social is an ever-present, evolving platform, not a one-and-done.
  How to Increase Your Social ROI
• Measuring engagement rate, CTR and cost per conversion.
• Always A/B test before allocating a large budget to Social Ads.
• Boost your best performing organic posts.
• Always reply and converse with your community; fosters loyalty.
• Understand current trends and algorithm changes of the platforms.

Thank you for reading and I hope I’ve answered your organic vs paid social questions. Just remember social media isn’t one size fits all and sometimes, a little trial and error goes a long way for your particular brand. If you’re in need of more resources or help in creating a social strategy with proven ROI, don’t hesitate to reach out.

About the Author: A seasoned blogger for 14 years and social media manager for brands’ growth. An accomplished SEO and social media professional combines creativity with research and reporting to guarantee your success.