A fascinating academic study published in the Journal of Marketing a few years back looked at how the interaction of a company’s paid advertising, their complementary organic social media content, and consumer peer-to-peer social media interaction impacted brand building and customer acquisition. Understanding how these types of communications influence each other can help campaign planners assign the appropriate level of resources to each one. For example, how much time should a company spend on organic content for its Facebook page? How does it help meet the organizational goal?

Not surprisingly, the study found that advertising is most effective for both brand building and customer acquisition. But the study also revealed that impressions generated through a company’s organic social media efforts complemented those traditional advertising efforts. In other words, coordinating the paid advertising and organic social media messaging improved overall performance.

In addition, this one-two punch can stimulate a higher level of peer-to-peer social media interaction. Generally speaking, social sharing and referrals can have a huge impact on brand building and customer acquisition. So, making sure your paid advertising and organic social messaging is coordinated can help you tap into the social network of your supporters at a higher level to build awareness and grow your customer base.

So, take the time to organize your advertising and social media content. Have a story to tell and make sure your ads and your posts contribute to that story throughout the duration of your campaign. Use your organic content to generate engagement and use your paid advertising to generate the conversion and seal the deal.

The 2017 study, “Effects of Traditional Advertising and Social Messages on Brand-Building Metrics and Customer Acquisition,” was conducted by Lisette de Vries, Sonja Gensler, and Peter S.H. Leeflang.