Investing in Social Media Marketing - When to Spend and When to Save

Information in this blog post was obtained from Sprout Social, HubSpot, and Semrush.

The use of paid social media is dependent on your goals. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

Using social media to market your brand can be a great way to create a connection with your audience and promote your offerings. Most social media platforms allow you to invest in paid advertising and other forms of promotion. But, should you pay to market on social media? The truth is that it depends. There are benefits to both using only free options and utilizing paid social media. Let's begin by discussing when to use free social media options.

Free Social Media

You might be asking yourself, "Can I market my brand effectively if I don't spend any money?" The answer is yes! There are many ways to market your brand using free options available on each social media platform. Semrush's James Brockbank suggests finding the right platforms, identifying your audience, planning and creating content for that audience, and tracking your performance. These tips for effective social media strategy can all be done for free. Sharing posts and content with your audience can be done for free on most social media platforms. This is one of the major benefits of social media, as it can be done without much monetary investment. The decision of whether or not to use paid social media will depend on your brand and goals.

Read the rest of these strategies for marketing on social media for free here.

Paid Social Media

Many social media platforms offer paid promotion options for individuals and businesses. According to HubSpot's Basha Coleman, paid media is made up of different types of advertisements mixed with things like influencer or partnership content, all of which will carry a tag that identifies it to users as paid media. Coleman notes that these advertisements are inexpensive compared to other media formats and are good for targeting the audience you want to see them. Paid advertisements are a great way to expand your social media audience, target specific demographics, or promote specific products or services.

Learn more about the role of paid social media and tips for specific platforms here.

A social media manager can bring fresh ideas and knowledge to your team. Image courtesy of Unsplash.

Social Media Manager

We have discussed the decision of whether or not to pay into social media platforms, but should you pay someone to run your social media? Again, the answer depends on your strategies and goals. According to Sprout Social's Brent Barnhart, a social media manager can offer specific knowledge, help you improve poor performance, and support larger business growth. While these are things that would benefit any business, the costs associated are likely to be the most common sticking point for brands looking into a social media manager. The decision to hire a social media manager will come down to the brand, the social media budget, and the overall business goals.

To learn more about hiring a social media manager, read this post from the Sprout Social Blog.

To learn about becoming a social media marketer, read this post from my colleague Makenna Allen.

There are options for brands looking to use social media for marketing, some paid and some unpaid. With these tips, you'll be better prepared to dive in and know when to invest and when to save!

References

Barnhart, B. (2021, August 2). How to hire a Social Media manager: A recruiter's guide. Sprout Social Blog. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/hire-social-media-manager/

Brockbank, J. (2020, September 23). How to craft a social media content strategy (from start to finish). Semrush Blog. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://www.semrush.com/blog/social-content-strategy/

Coleman, B. (2021, April 6). Paid social media: Worth the investment? HubSpot Blog. Retrieved May 13, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/paid-social-media