By Aileen Barron, Green Acre Marketing

There is an assumption that what you post on social media will be seen far and wide; however, due to the role of algorithms this is no longer the case.

A social media algorithm is a finite list of instructions that determines who, when and where the content you post gets seen. It performs by sorting posts in a users’ feed based on relevancy. It prioritises the content a user sees in their feed by determining what it thinks the user actually wants to see, based on their browsing history and actions of engagement with other content.

This algorithm is making it more difficult for brands and agri-businesses to engage with their target market and the very reason why the role of paid social media is growing in importance. Only 7% of your audience will see your organic content, and with some platforms, this is set to decrease when you don’t run paid social campaigns.

In essence, social media platforms are looking for you to put money behind paid content in return for them showing your hard-built audience your organic content. Therefore, if you are serious about using your social media platforms to drives sales, paid social is something you can no longer ignore.

The main benefit of implementing a paid social media campaign is that it provides you with an extremely effective way of measuring the return on advertising and enables you to put your business in front of the perfect audience; if constructed properly.

Social media was once a platform where you could engage with your target market for free. Although a free element still remains, your social media strategy requires a paid plan in order for your message to reach the right audience.

The caveat to this is that it is not as straightforward as hitting the ‘boost’ option on your posts. There are many considerations to take into account.

Defining and targeting a specific audience is the fundamental goal of your social media campaign.

These should include, but are not limited to:

  • Location;
  • Interests;
  • Keywords;
  • Connections/followers;
  • Demographics.

By clearly defining who and where your audience is, you can then think about interesting content that will increase engagement, and thus, increase your credibility with the social media platforms you are using.

According to the online learning platform Smart Insights, social media is no longer just about conversation and content; it is now an established channel for customer acquisition, remarketing and engaging existing followers to support retention, so to ignore the scope of social media would be unwise.

Organic vs. paid social

Organic social media content is great for community management and engaging with your followers. However, paid campaigns can be used to reinforce your core message.

Developing a social media presence for agri-businesses can be daunting at first. It takes time to build a following and for posts to gain traction. This is where your paid strategy comes in, which boosts your online visibility, resulting in an increase in followers and engagement.

Tips for creating a paid social media campaign:

  • Set your objective – do you want to increase the number of followers, increase engagement or drive traffic to your website?
  • Set your budget – how much are you willing to put behind this campaign? Think of this like any other print or digital campaign you would run;
  • Create your target audience – who do you want to go to your website, engage with you online or follow you?
  • Monitor – in order to ensure the success of your paid social campaign, you need to monitor this closely and make any adjustments as the campaign goes on.

To develop and execute your paid social media campaign, external help is available. Digital marketing professionals are equipped with the knowledge to create engaging paid social media campaigns and help you get in front of your perfect audience.

For assistance, contact Green Acre Marketing on: [email protected].