Aligning Organic and Paid Efforts
The modern B2B marketing landscape demands an integrated approach to organic and paid strategies, yet many organisations continue to view them as separate silos. In a recent episode of B2B Marketing Futures, hosted by Joaquin Dominguez, Head of Marketing at Adzact, experts from cybersecurity provider SoSafe shared insights into how organic and paid marketing can effectively complement one another, creating a powerful multiplier effect.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez, Head of Marketing at Adzact
Guests
Zoe Minogianni, Senior Social Media Manager, SoSafe
Dominik Hemelli, Senior Performance Marketing Manager, SoSafe
The Necessity of Integration
Dominic opened the discussion by highlighting a shift in his perception from seeing social media purely as an advertising channel to recognising the importance of content that aligns naturally with the user experience. He noted that successful campaigns often emulate organic content in style and tone, enhancing relevance and audience interaction.
Zoe expanded on this by outlining the relationship between organic and paid efforts. She defined organic social media as building trust and fostering long-term relationships, while paid media accelerates the reach of targeted content. Both emphasised that without the foundation of trust built by organic content, paid media risks appearing intrusive and irrelevant.
Understanding Audience Behaviour
Dominic provided a strategic method for aligning paid content with audience interests. By examining successful campaigns and reviewing the profiles of engaged users, marketers can discern the type of content that genuinely resonates. He illustrated this method with an example involving scientists and engineers who responded better to unpolished, authentic visuals rather than traditionally polished ads. This approach notably increased engagement and generated direct sales outcomes.
Zoe confirmed that this audience-centric approach was similarly effective in organic social media, advocating for a content strategy that prioritises authenticity and conversation over corporate messaging. She highlighted the increased performance of personal stories, humour, and community-driven interactions, reinforcing that B2B buyers, including sophisticated C-suite audiences, appreciate authentic and human-centred content.
"When I first started, I viewed paid social as just an advertising channel—squeezing ads into users' feeds and hoping for conversions. Over time, I realised that the most successful campaigns mimic the style of organic content, making them feel natural to the platform. When we aligned our paid efforts with organic, we saw engagement soar and, ultimately, stronger business outcomes" - Dominik Hemeli
Collaboration Between Teams
Both Zoe and Dominic acknowledged challenges in aligning organic and paid teams, each often driven by different goals—engagement versus lead generation. However, they argued that collaboration is essential. Zoe emphasised internal advocacy to bridge these silos, ensuring decision-makers understand the mutual reinforcement of engagement and lead generation.
Dominic added that a cohesive strategy should still respect the distinct objectives of paid and organic teams but establish clear communication channels to leverage each team's strengths. Organic content serves as a testing ground, offering low-risk insights that can then inform paid campaigns.
Leveraging and Repurposing Content
Dominic and Zoe provided practical examples of how existing content assets, such as webinars, white papers, and especially podcasts featuring customers and thought leaders, could be repurposed to serve both paid and organic objectives effectively. Dominic highlighted how podcast excerpts could support paid campaigns by showcasing customer testimonials, while Zoe described how the same content could underpin organic thought leadership and educational narratives.
Dominic also noted the significant impact of creative organic content, such as humour-driven memes, which successfully amplified audience engagement in paid campaigns when strategically promoted.
"Organic builds trust, and paid accelerates reach. Organic content nurtures relationships over time, allowing audiences to engage without pressure, while paid ensures the right message reaches the right people at the right time. Without trust, paid media feels intrusive; without reach, organic struggles to scale" - Zoe Miniogianni
Recommendations for CMOs
When asked how to align paid and organic strategies effectively, Dominic and Zoe suggested maintaining distinct but interconnected strategies. Dominic recommended continuously testing organic content within paid frameworks to scale successful ideas, cautioning against overlooking organic's potential to optimise paid media efficiency.
Zoe advised focusing on creating content that matches actual social media consumption behaviours—authentic, quick, and digestible—and emphasised using organic social media strategically for relationship-building, an essential aspect of successful B2B marketing.
Final Thoughts
The insights shared by Dominic and Zoe underscore the strategic advantage of aligning organic and paid efforts within B2B marketing. Their practical approaches—grounded in audience understanding, content authenticity, and strategic collaboration—highlight opportunities for marketers to enhance campaign effectiveness, maximise content investments, and achieve significant business outcomes. As B2B markets evolve, integrated strategies that balance trust-building organic content with targeted paid amplification will increasingly define successful marketing efforts.
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