Are you relying solely on paid marketing?

I want to know...

• Do you have an organic marketing plan?
• Do you know what organic marketing is?
• Do you know why you need an organic marketing strategy?
• Do you know what should be included in your organic marketing plan?
• Do you know how your organic marketing connects to your paid marketing?

If you answered "NO" to even one of those questions, read on.

As I shared this week on Instagram this week, organic marketing is all of the things in your marketing plan that doesn't require a monetary investment. This includes:

• social media with hashtags
• calls to action⁠⁠
• referral incentives ⁠⁠
• email marketing⁠⁠
• freebies/downloads⁠⁠
• blog posts⁠⁠
• Instagram stories⁠⁠
• business 2 business partnerships

These are things that are going to build your brand reputation, establish credibility of your brand, build relationships with potential clients, and convert your lead to a paid client.

Having an organic marketing strategy is crucial to your overall marketing plan for two reasons:

1. If you bring in a new lead by way of a paid marketing source, but have no organic content to back up your brand, your brand immediately loses credibility and trust.
2. If you bring in a new lead organically (ex: through a referral), studies have shown it will take less time and effort to convert that lead to a paid client because people trust organic marketing over money.

Think of your overall marketing plan like an Oreo cookie. The top cookie is your paid marketing, this brings in your new lead. The cream is your organic marketing; the yummy content that establishes yourself as a trustworthy brand. The bottom cookie is your conversion, it's what seals the deal and converts that lead to a paid client. All three pieces of the Oreo cookie need to work together to make the Oreo cookie sandwich.

If you focus too much on the paid marketing, you have no content to back up your advertising. If you focus too much on your organic marketing, you may not be bringing in enough new leads. If you don't focus on converting your leads, then you will be spending money but never making any because you're not closing sales.

It's when all three of these aspects of marketing work together that you will see a marketing cycle that is profitable and scalable.

Do you have an organic marketing plan that is separate from your paid marketing plan? How do you treat your organic marketing differently than your paid marketing? Let me know by emailing me at [email protected].