The Lie of Paid Social: Why Your Facebook Ad Budget Might Be Better Spent on a PR Director

Unpopular Opinion: Paid Social Is Not the Silver Bullet To Solving All Your Marketing Problems

Like most marketers, that’s what I’ve been selling for the past five to 10 years, but unfortunately it’s just no longer true. Don’t get me wrong, paid social should absolutely still be a part of your content strategy. But the more I’ve worked in this industry and the more time I’ve spent on the internet, the more I realize that although Facebook ads are certainly still one of the more budget-friendly ways to reach your audience, their broader, long-term brand impact is trending downward. And it’s only by analyzing the history and trajectory of social media that we can come to embrace that reality and adjust our social strategy accordingly.

2004

Social media was born, and overnight, people go bonkers. Brands, on the other hand, yawn for the most part, and go about their business. After all, why would this be an opportunity for them? Seems like the last place a brand would be welcome.

2008

Brands begin catching on and leveraging social media for marketing purposes, but their investment is minimal and their efforts aren’t especially creative. Most post verbiage copied and pasted from outdoor ads a couple of times a week: “Come on into Best Buy this Black Friday for 30% off DVD players.” Not coincidentally, it’s around this time that Mark Zuckerberg sees brands getting attention on his website for free and begins monetizing; Facebook Ads launches in 2007.

2012

Facebook continues to build out their advertising capabilities, further sophisticating the ability to segment and target your audience, and ostensibly optimize the way you spend your marketing budget.

2016

The perception continues to evolve that paid social supposedly is a literal formula for success! But the hidden downside was the impact this trend would have on the creative. Because this new process is purportedly so automated from a media standpoint, marketers begin to prioritize things like reach and click-through rate over subjectively interesting creative.

2020

The other shoe drops. Ads are still very much one of the more efficient ways to reach your audience, but the disadvantages have certainly begun to materialize. Mainly, the “formula” is now public knowledge. Everyone is essentially using the same model — running targeted ads — which has caused the playing field to re-level. And as a result, brands are paying more than the ads are actually worth simply for the ability to quantify their performance.

So the question becomes: If everyone’s doing the same thing, and that thing is becoming less impactful, how is any brand really supposed to get ahead?

My contention: Brands ought to adjust their content strategy to include more earned media efforts. Don’t divest from paid social entirely, but maybe don’t A/B test for a quarter out of the year; take those saved costs and hire a social PR director who is internet savvy. Have that person create branded programs that leverage the myriad capabilities of social media in ways that make people want to talk about you, and make reporters want to write about you. You can’t build a brand AND sell your product with just ads anymore, so your best course at present is to embrace the pendulum swing back toward subjectively interesting content and creative. And as with any trend, the time to hop on board is now, before the other brands even have a chance to put their pants on. Those that diversify their content strategy with more earned media, and take risks, are the ones that will lead the conversation, generate ROI (albeit indirectly) and succeed.