You’ve got a website that looks the part. Maybe you’re running some Google Ads or working on your SEO. Enquiries are trickling in, but something feels like it’s not quite clicking. If that sounds familiar, there’s a good chance the missing piece of your marketing puzzle might be staring at you from your phone screen every day: social media.
Now, before you roll your eyes and mutter something about dancing on TikTok, hear us out. Social media marketing has matured significantly over the past few years, and for many businesses, it’s become an essential driver of growth—not just a place to post the occasional update and hope for the best.
The Two Sides of Social Media Marketing
When we talk about social media marketing, we’re really talking about two distinct but complementary approaches: organic posting and paid social advertising.
Organic posting is everything you share on your social profiles without paying to promote it. This includes updates about your business, behind-the-scenes content, industry insights, customer stories, and anything else you put out there for your followers to see.
Paid social advertising involves paying the platforms—whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or others—to show your content to a targeted audience. Unlike organic posts that rely on algorithms and existing followers, paid ads let you reach specific groups of people based on their demographics, interests, behaviours, and more.
Both have their place, and understanding how they work together is key to getting results.
Why Organic Posting Still Matters
There’s been plenty of doom and gloom about organic reach on social media, and it’s true that the glory days of posting something and having it seen by thousands are largely behind us. Algorithms have changed, competition for attention has increased, and platforms naturally want businesses to pay for visibility.
But that doesn’t mean organic posting is a waste of time. Far from it.
Think about the last time you considered buying from a business you’d never heard of. There’s a reasonable chance you had a quick look at their social media profiles before making a decision. What did you find? A vibrant, active presence with recent posts and engaged followers? Or a ghost town with the last update from eighteen months ago?
Your social media profiles are often the first impression people get of your business. They’re a window into who you are, how you operate, and whether you’re the kind of company someone wants to work with. Regular, quality posting builds credibility and trust in a way that’s hard to replicate through other channels.
Beyond first impressions, organic content keeps you connected with people who already know your business. Your existing customers, past enquiries, and professional contacts can all see what you’re up to, keeping you front of mind for when they need your services again—or when someone asks them for a recommendation.
The Power of Paid Social Advertising
If organic posting is about nurturing relationships and building credibility, paid social advertising is about reaching new audiences at scale.
The targeting capabilities available on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are genuinely impressive. You can show your ads to people based on their job title, industry, location, age, interests, online behaviour, and much more. Want to reach operations managers at manufacturing companies within thirty miles of Colchester? You can do that. Looking to target homeowners in Essex who’ve recently shown interest in home improvements? That’s possible too.
This precision means your budget goes towards reaching people who are actually relevant to your business, rather than being scattered to the wind and hoping for the best.
Paid social also gives you control over the message. While organic posts are subject to the whims of algorithms, ads are guaranteed to be shown to your target audience. You decide what they see, when they see it, and what action you want them to take.
And the results can be tracked in detail. You’ll know exactly how many people saw your ad, how many clicked through to your website, and how many converted into leads or customers. That data is invaluable for refining your approach and improving your return on investment over time.
How They Work Together
Here’s where things get interesting. Organic posting and paid advertising aren’t competing strategies—they’re partners that make each other more effective.
Your organic content gives you material to promote. A post that performs well organically is often a good candidate for paid promotion, because you’ve already got evidence that it resonates with people. Instead of guessing what might work as an ad, you’re building on proven success.
Meanwhile, paid advertising can drive people to your profiles, where your organic content then does the work of building trust and demonstrating your expertise. Someone might click on an ad, land on your page, and spend five minutes scrolling through your posts before deciding to get in touch. That journey from stranger to lead often involves both paid and organic touchpoints.
There’s also the matter of retargeting. Ever visited a website and then seen ads for that business pop up in your social media feed? That’s retargeting in action, and it’s remarkably effective. Paid social lets you stay visible to people who’ve already shown interest in your business, gently reminding them you exist until they’re ready to take the next step.
Is Social Media Right for Every Business?
The honest answer is that it depends. Social media marketing tends to work best for businesses where there’s a visual element to what you do, where building relationships matters, or where your target audience spends time on social platforms.
That said, we’ve seen social media deliver results for businesses you might not expect—from B2B service providers to industrial suppliers. The key is understanding which platforms your audience uses and what kind of content will actually be valuable to them. Not every business needs to be on every platform, and not every type of content suits every industry.
Finding the Missing Link
If your current marketing efforts feel like they’re missing something, social media might well be the answer. A consistent organic presence builds the credibility and trust that turns strangers into customers, while paid advertising lets you reach exactly the right people at exactly the right time.
The businesses that get the best results are usually those that commit to both. They show up regularly with content that’s genuinely useful or interesting, and they invest in targeted advertising to expand their reach beyond their existing followers.
It’s not about going viral or racking up likes for the sake of it. It’s about using social media strategically as part of a broader marketing approach—one that keeps your business visible, builds relationships, and ultimately drives growth.
Ready to Fill the Gap?
If you’ve been neglecting social media or dabbling without a clear plan, now might be the time to take it more seriously. Whether you need help with content creation, paid campaigns, or a complete social media strategy, our team is here to help you work out what’s right for your business.
Get in touch for a chat—we’d love to hear about your goals and explore how social media could help you achieve them.
