Why Organic Social Still Matters (WAY MORE THAN YOU THINK)

The way you talk to a friend, to a coworker, to a boss, and to a stranger are all different in person. So why would that be different for social media?

If we could give brands any piece of advice right now for social, it would be: Keep a balanced approach between BOTH paid and organic. This is key for a number of reasons, not least of which is that your organic audience has an entirely different expectation for how you’d talk to them than a paid audience does. And oddly, there needs to be some convincing in this arena:

- Only 5% of large businesses' marketing budgets are allocated to organic social - despite often having the biggest followings. And, more than half of the 166 million Americans who use Instagram are between 18-34, the demo that first and foremost expects brands to show up authentically. When you’re writing a paid ADVERTISEMENT, are you being your most authentic self, or are you mostly focused on selling?

Organic content gives large brands a natural space to: Develop continued familiarity with fans, reach without paying for every impression, and a space for social researchers to find the right information. Ignoring that is like owning a stage and refusing to step on it. So while brands are spending big to literally interrupt strangers, they're underinvesting in the content people actively seek out before deciding whether to buy.

Paid vs. Organic: Different Tools, Different Jobs

Paid social is like shouting across a busy street. You've got a second to get someone's attention. They didn't ask for your ad to show up - so make it quick, visual, and clickable. The success metrics? Clicks, conversions, impressions.

Organic is your living room. It's where your audience voluntarily stops by, pokes around, and decides whether they trust you. The best organic content feels like talking to a friend. It's casual, informative, and human. You're not selling, you're connecting.

And yet... brands so often write both the same. It’s a big mistake.

Tailoring the Message

Organic content needs copy that feels like a conversation.

Think warmth, clarity, tone.

You're not just informing - you're inviting. Paid, on the other hand, should be punchy, visual, and engineered to disrupt the scroll. If you're writing “Add to cart now!" in your feed posts and wondering why you're getting crickets, you’re using the wrong voice, wrong platform. Think of organic like how you’d talk to a friendly acquaintance who has opted in to hear from you.

Organic Builds Credibility (And Credibility Converts)

Here's the kicker: when your paid ads work and people come looking for more - what do they find? Too often, nothing. Or worse, the same three posts recycled every quarter. That's not a welcome mat. That's a ghost town.

Think of organic as your brand's digital handshake. It doesn't have to go viral. It just has to show up — and that consistency is what builds trust.