Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube to reach potential customers, build trust with them and bring them to buy. It combines three kinds of work: publishing your own posts, talking with people in comments and messages, and running paid adverts aimed at a chosen audience.
Organic and paid social: the two halves
Organic social is everything you publish on your own profiles without paying the platform: posts, stories, short videos, replies. It costs time, not media budget. Its reach is mostly limited to people who already follow you and those they share with, so it builds slowly. Its strength is trust: a profile with regular, real posts and quick replies reassures people who are checking you out.
Paid social means adverts placed through the platform’s ad system, such as Meta’s for Facebook and Instagram or LinkedIn’s. You choose who sees them by location, age, interests or behaviour, set a budget and pay the platform. Ads reach people who have never heard of you, from the first day, and stop when the budget does.
Most businesses need both. People who see an ad often check the business’s profile before acting, so a neglected profile works against the ad. A good profile without ads may never be seen by new customers.
An example: an independent gym
An independent gym in a market town wants more members in January. Through the autumn, its organic posts show the class timetable, short tips from the trainers and members’ progress, shared with their permission. The team answers every comment and message within the day.
In late December, it runs paid Meta ads for a two-week trial, shown only to adults living within a few miles. The ads send people to a landing page with the offer and a sign-up form, and every sign-up is tracked. When people see the ad and check the gym’s Instagram, they find an active, friendly profile, which makes the decision easier.
What social media marketing involves
- Strategy. Which customers you want to reach, which platforms they use, what you want them to do, and how you will know it worked.
- Content. A plan of what to post and when, plus the photos, videos and text themselves. Much of it can come from the same material as your content marketing.
- Community management. Replying to comments, messages and reviews, which is often where a sale is won or lost.
- Advertising. Campaign set-up, audiences, creative, budgets and ongoing optimisation. Social ads are one form of targeted advertising.
- Measurement. Following people from the post or ad to the website and the enquiry, in your analytics and the platform’s own reports.
Which platforms suit which businesses
There is no rule that a business has to be everywhere. The choice depends on where your customers spend time and what you sell:
- LinkedIn suits business-to-business services, recruitment and professional audiences.
- Instagram and Pinterest suit products and services that sell on looks: interiors, weddings, food, fashion, beauty.
- Facebook remains useful for local services and community groups.
- TikTok and YouTube suit businesses that can explain or demonstrate in video.
One platform done well usually beats four done badly.
UK advertising rules on social media
The CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, applies to more than paid ads. According to the ASA’s guidance on brand-owned and paid social media, posts on a company’s own accounts that are directly connected to the goods or services it sells can fall within the rules. Content on a clearly branded account is generally recognisable as advertising without an “Ad” label, and paid posts must not suggest that someone other than the advertiser placed them. Posts by creators you pay or send gifts to follow stricter labelling rules, covered in our entry on influencer marketing.
Common social media mistakes
- Posting only promotions. A feed of offers gives people no reason to follow.
- Boosting posts without an objective, so the money buys likes and the enquiries do not follow.
- Leaving messages unanswered for days, while the enquiry goes to a competitor.
- Judging success by likes and followers alone, with no tracking of clicks, enquiries or sales.
- The business page owned by a former employee’s personal account, so the business cannot get back in when that person leaves. Admin access should sit with the business.
How we work with social media
Our team covers both halves: organic social media marketing and paid campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. Meta Ads management starts from £400 a month. The ad budget is separate from our fee and paid directly to the platform, and you keep full ownership of the ad account.
FAQ
Is social media marketing the same as digital marketing?
No. Digital marketing covers every online channel: search engine optimisation, paid search ads, email, content and social media. Social media marketing is one part of it, and it usually works best when its posts and ads lead to the same website, offers and tracking as the other channels.
How do I start social media marketing for a small business?
Pick one or two platforms your customers already use and set up complete business profiles with your contact details, opening hours and a link to your website. Post regularly enough to look active, reply to everything, and use the platform’s insights to see which posts get a response. Once the profile is in good shape, test a small paid campaign with one clear goal, such as enquiries for one service.
How much should I spend on social media ads?
It depends on your market, your goals and how much a customer is worth to you. For Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram), we recommend an ad budget from £500 a month, paid to Meta, so that campaigns have enough data to learn from. A smaller test budget can show whether an offer gets interest, but it is rarely enough to judge cost per enquiry reliably.
How long does it take to see results from social media marketing?
Paid Meta campaigns show early signals within 2-4 weeks, and costs per enquiry or sale usually settle after 6-10 weeks of testing and optimisation. Organic social takes longer, because a following and the trust that comes with it build over months of regular posting.
