And Now You Want Me to Pay for Facebook

If you were around in the late 1980s in the U.S., then you may remember the advent of bottled water. The concept of buying something that was already free from the tap was mindboggling to many consumers. Yet in 2015, consumption of packaged water was expected to reach 233 billion liters.

A similar shift is happening in social media. Now that businesses have been using Facebook, Twitter and other networks for free, the idea of paying for that same service seems nonsensical.

Except that paid social isn’t the same experience at all.

If you have been posting organically (non-paid) for any amount of time, you have probably noticed a decline or even zero level of interaction. This is because social algorithms gravitate toward certain types of content and give preference to paid posts.

With paid social media advertising, you are allowing your content to be seen by more people, more frequently. It is one of the best ways to reach targeted users with the content you want them to see and act on.

Then Why Bother with Social Media?

Well, you could kill your social media budget entirely. But we don’t recommend it. For one, consumers look to social media networks for information about your company. They want to see that you exist, and they want to see what others have to say about you.

Secondly, 95 percent of consumers’ online time is spent consuming content. We also know more time is spent on mobile than on desktop. The most time spent on mobile is with apps, and Facebook is the top individual app by reach and engagement.

This means, if you want to be where your customers are, then you need to be on social media. And you need to be advertising in order to reach those customers.