Why Social Media is Pay to Play — And How You Can Make Sure Your Investment Pays Off
The decline of organic social reach isn’t just a rumor anymore; it’s a reality.
And with all the talk about outsmarting various algorithms, the truth is that paying for distribution and reach on social media networks is a necessity to break through the noisy, over-crowded landscape.
Over on Facebook, the boom has also been dropped recently on influencers. It used to be that brands could pay influencers to talk about their products or services, and extend their “organic” reach. Now even influencers’ posts will require pay to play (which is on top of what influencers are paid by brands).
Knowing that the investment is more significant, it’s more important than ever before that marketers are creative and strategic with their social media marketing plans. Native platform ad content is key; you can’t take the same piece of creative and replicate it across all channels. The experience on each social site is completely different and the audience interacts with content in much different ways platform-to-platform.
The best storyteller always wins. Your social media posts and ads can’t be seen as interruptions. They have to be natural extensions of the audience’s behavior and interests.
It’s worth taking a page out of Leo Burnett’s book. He’s the genius ad man whose agency’s work in the ’50s and ’60s — the golden age of television — essentially invented native advertising. Some of their biggest successes, including Frosted Flakes’ Tony the Tiger, StarKist’s Charlie the Tuna, and Marlboro cigarettes’ Marlboro Man integrated beautifully into some of the biggest hits of the day, from Westerns to cartoons. By echoing the most popular programming, they grabbed the interest and attention of viewers — so even when TV remote controls came about, people stay tuned into the ads and “stories” of these iconic brand characters.
