Social media marketing has changed over the years. It used to be about creating genuine and personal connections online, but it has now evolved into a tool used to create and direct full customer journeys. There are two sides to achieving what you would like using social media: organic and paid social media. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, and so we will be looking at how you can create a strategy that includes both, i.e., a hybrid social media strategy.

Paid Vs. Organic Social Media Marketing

Organic social media marketing happens without a paid promotion, while paid social media marketing requires paid promotions. Both are very effective, and they typically produce different results depending on what you use them for.

Decide What You Would Like to Achieve

The first step when creating a hybrid social media strategy is deciding what you would like to achieve. As mentioned, both of these strategies achieve different things. For example, organic marketing helps drive brand awareness, supports social causes and helps build customer relationships, while paid marketing can drive leads, help companies do better targeting, and reach new audiences. Deciding what you would like to achieve early on helps you know what tools and strategies to use as well as how much you need to budget for your marketing.

Create a Budget

You are unlikely to see the results you want if you run out of money before the end of the year. This is why it is important to set a budget and monitor it consistently. Set some time aside to see how your campaigns are performing and measure the results against the results you are getting.

Doing so will allow you to see which efforts are paying off and whether you need to pivot one way or the other. You can use a spreadsheet to keep track of everything, but it is always better to use the various tools available in the market that make doing this a lot easier. These tools also let you create reports that you can file or show colleagues and leaders so that everyone is on the same page.

Determine the Content That Performs the Best

If you have a piece or type of content that performs well, it could be a good idea to consider turning it into an ad. Using the different analytics tools provided by social media platforms should show you which content can be turned into ads. Metrics such as followers gained and clicks are great for knowing what content is performing great but keep an eye on your copy and calls to action as they might also be contributing.

Know What to Pay for and What Not to

Once you know which content performs best, you need to decide what to turn into paid content. Content that aligns with your KPIs is the best for turning into paid content. While it can be a good idea to pay for content meant to increase registrations for an exclusive event or new product, content meant to create brand awareness can be left to grow and spread organically.

Creating a hybrid social media strategy is a balancing act that requires that you know how to go about things as well as which content to pay for and which not to. Detailed analytics and reports should help you make that distinction, after which you can use your marketing budget to execute your strategy.