#020:Why Businesses Must Invest in a Paid Media Budget As Part Of Their Wider Social Media Strategy??

Have you ever wondered why your favourite brands’ posts are always at the top of your feed, even though your cousin’s start up business hardly gets a look in? It's no accident. Welcome to the world of paid social media. Today, I want to address something many businesses are grappling with: Why should your business pay to play on social platforms?

1. The Reality of Modern Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are not charities. Their model is clear—If businesses are profiting, they want their slice of the pie. You’re dreaming if you think you can run commercials in the middle of a prime-time TV show for FREE. The same logic applies to social platforms. They provide an arena for businesses to reach billions, and naturally, they expect compensation.

Consider the rise of creators and influencers. Why do their posts get so much traction? They're creating value for social platforms by generating content that keeps users engaged, which is why the platforms push their content more. After all, these social media platforms measure success by the time users spend in-app. The longer they have your attention, the better for them.

2. An Investment, Not an Expense

Remember, not allocating a paid advertising spend for socials is like buying a smartphone and expecting it to work without a battery and a SIM card. In the world where you have to compete to be seen in a newsfeed with a volatile economy, justifying a budget for social media is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Look, I know times are tough and recessions scare everyone. Businesses often look to cut costs during such times, but they forget the value of visibility. Tracking monthly expenses and having a strategic paid media budget avoids unnecessary overspending and ensures you don't lose your voice in the crowd.

3. Organic vs. Paid—The Balance

While organic social media strategies are essential for building genuine relationships with your audience, they take time to get tangible results. Paid strategies offer precision. Want to target 18-24-year-old surfers? Easy. Paid ads enable businesses to narrow down the audience to those who'll likely resonate with their service or products

4. Make the platforms work for you

When it comes to spending on platforms like Meta and TikTok, you want to see some genuine returns on the money spent. Now, I’m fine with paying for leads, or people downloading an app, or website traffic. But just paying for likes or people seeing our post? Not so much. That's fine if a business just wants to spread its name and has the budget to burn, but when you're spending your hard-earned money, you should be gunning for results that truly matter.

Bottom line: If you’re gonna drop cash on these platforms, let's make sure they're giving you something solid in return.

Challenge for this week:

If you've been exclusively banking on organic growth, take a moment to chalk out a potential budget for paid media. This should be over and above your regular social media management expenses. Once set, identify your target audience and determine which social platforms they're most active on.

Need guidance on leveraging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest or LinkedIn? Feel free to book a slot in my calendar HERE.

See you next week! ??