Social media has become an essential form of identity for individuals and businesses alike. It can help with brand awareness, and even help build meaningful connections. Naturally, there are two ways to go about social media marketing, free (organic) and paid. Both hold great potential, which is why understanding them can be the key to unlocking your brand’s true potential in the digital world today. 

Organic Social Media Marketing (Free)

You can use social media networks to promote your services and business for free. This is what we refer to as "organic" social media marketing. This aids in the development of an online identity and rapport. You may do this on popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, among others.

When undertaking this type of marketing, there are a few things to keep in mind. It's critical to understand the purpose of the social profiles you're going to create. Will it be sales, web traffic generation, or something else? You will be able to set better targets for yourself as a result of this.

When consumers look at your posts, your profile should be honest, giving them a good picture of your company's ideals. Having a friendly tone with your users is also a good approach. You can offer tips and tricks to your users. Your posts should not seem spammy, which can happen if you use a salesperson's tone. You also have to consider the time you are investing in these platforms and what you are gaining from them. It is advised that you only have one or two social media profiles.

Paid/Organic Social Media Marketing (Paid)

We discussed organic social media marketing at the outset. That is one method; the other is to pay to promote and boost your posts, which is referred to as paid social media marketing. 

This may be done in two ways: first, you can enhance a post you've recently published to receive more views, or you can pay for display advertising. 

Display advertising can range from the video ads we're used to seeing on YouTube when we click on a video we want to watch to a simple Facebook sidebar ad. When it comes to Facebook, it's simple to boost your post to reach a larger audience; you can set a budget, target demographic, and a variety of other options. 

We now understand why these social media behemoths need our personal information and what they do with it. Instagram comes with similar options; this might be because it is part of ‘Meta’, it is also becoming the preferred platform these days. This also depends on your target audience's demographics and age.

Now we'll discuss the tools that will help you manage your social media profiles more effectively. You will not need to log in to all your social media accounts separately, the tools will do it for you thanks to automation.

1.   Hootsuite

This platform has a proven track record and has been around for quite some time. It's excellent for social media automation and can save you a lot of time. It offers various features such as scheduled posts to all your profiles, measuring the results of all profiles in one place, advertising, messages, and more. Browse their website to discover if this is the right tool for you. 

Hootsuite offers a 30-day free trial, so it's definitely worth a shot.

Payment plans

Professional: £39/mo. Free 30-Day Trial

Team: £99/mo. Free 30-Day Trial

Business: £520/mo Request a Demo

Enterprise: Contact for pricing Request a Demo

2.   Agorapulse (Free Plan Option)

This social media tool offers similar features as Hootsuite, with the additional option of an evergreen option. It gives you the option to select the content that you want as evergreen, which is content that never goes out of date. You can then select when and how often you’d like that selected content to be posted on your social media accounts. This feature is not available on all social media tools, and it can prove to be very useful.

Payment Plans

Free Price Plan: (Limited users and social media profiles)

Pro: £84/mo. Free 15-Day Trial

Premium: £169/mo. Free 15-Day Trial

3.   Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a well-known service, and if you search for social media management, Hootsuite and this application will undoubtedly appear. The most significant disadvantage of this tool is its cost. Not all is lost, it seems, since they offer a free trial for users to try out the SMM tool before making a long-term investment. Sprout Social includes all the features that its competitors do, plus a few extras. Because this instrument is extremely heavy-duty and has a lot to offer, it is excellent for medium- or large-sized businesses.

Payment Plans

Premium: £71.28/mo. Free 30-Day Trial

Corporate: £107.28/mo. Free 30-Day Trial

Enterprise: £179.28/mo. Free 30-Day Trial

4.   Buffer (Free Plan Option)

Buffer is the less expensive choice when compared to Hootsuite and Agorapulse. However, it lacks the functionality of the top two social media management systems. The tool allows you to plan and schedule posts. Buffer is Instagram-friendly, allowing you to post to your Instagram stories as well. Instagram is the focus of the social media tool; it offers a variety of options for this platform. Buffer, like Agorapulse, offers a free plan that covers social media networks.

Payment Plans

Free: £0/mo

Pro: £11.21/mo

Premium: £48.57/mo

There are a plethora of additional social media automation solutions on the market currently, especially in recent years. The tools mentioned, on the other hand, are at the top of the chain and have been in use for a long time, making them safer and more reliable.

By harnessing the power of both organic and paid social media marketing, you can position your brand for success. This will allow you to reach new heights of growth and engagement in the realm of social media marketing. So go forth, create compelling content, foster meaningful connections, and unleash the true potential of social media for your business.