Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you've got an exciting phase of growth with your new US-targeted brands and a solid foundation with your performance marketing team handling paid ads. That's great for driving immediate results.
Understanding Your Goals: Organic vs Paid
You've hit on a crucial point: what your paid team is optimizing for (likely conversions, CPA, ROAS) is very different from what you need on the organic social side (follower growth, shares, saves, comments, brand retention). We've seen this many times with software and eCommerce clients. Paid ads are like direct sales calls or shop window displays – they're about getting immediate action from people who are often problem-aware or looking to buy now. Organic social, however, is more like building a community, hosting conversations, and creating a space people want to hang out in and share with their friends.
The skills needed are quite different. A great performance marketer is often very analytical, focused on data, bidding strategies, and optimizing for cost per acquisition. Someone excelling at organic social content and community management is usually more creative, conversational, and deeply understands how to engage with an audience on a human level. They're tracking engagement rates, sentiment, and community growth, not just clicks and conversions.
Finding the Right Fit for Your Budget
You mentioned that many agencies bundle paid and organic services and charge significantly more than your £7k/month budget. This is pretty common, tbh. Larger agencies often have higher overheads, and they typically view marketing holistically – meaning they see organic social as feeding into paid efforts (building warm audiences for retargeting) or vice versa (using paid to boost organic content reach). While that integrated approach can be effective, it sounds like it's not what you need or can afford right now.
Looking for specialists who focus purely on the organic content and community piece at your budget level means you might need to look beyond the traditional large agencies that offer full-service bundles. They're just not set up to offer that specific slice of work at that price point.
What to Look for in a Specialist
Given your goals – building brand retention through engagement, shares, saves, comments, and follower growth – you need someone who lives and breathes online communities and content that resonates.
Here's what I'd suggest focusing on:
> Look for Freelancers or Smaller, Boutique Teams: These individuals or small groups are often more flexible and specialise in specific areas like organic social content creation or community management. They typically have lower overheads than larger agencies.
> Prioritise Experience in Organic Growth & Engagement: Their portfolio or past work should demonstrate success in building genuine engagement, fostering community discussion, and growing a follower base organically, not just through paid means. Ask them about specific campaigns where they focused on shares, saves, or comments.
> Focus on US Market Experience: Since your products are US-targeted, finding someone who understands the cultural nuances, online trends, and community behaviour within the US social media landscape is critical. What works in Korea might not work the same way for a US audience.
> Define the Deliverables Clearly: Break down exactly what you expect daily or weekly. How many posts across which platforms? How much time dedicated purely to engaging with comments, DMs, and other users' content? How will content ideas be generated (e.g., trend research)? This clarity helps scope the work and budget.
> Evaluate Their Creative & Conversational Style: Since organic social is about building connection, their ability to write compelling copy, create thumb-stopping visuals (or direct the creation of them), and engage in genuine conversations is paramount. This is different from the persuasive sales copy needed for a landing page we might build for a paid campaign.
Here’s a quick overview of the recommended steps:
| Actionable Step | Focus |
|---|---|
| Clearly define organic social deliverables | Specify platforms, post frequency, engagement time, content types needed |
| Target search for freelancers/small boutiques | Look beyond large bundled agencies for specialists |
| Prioritise experience in organic engagement & content | Check portfolios for success with shares, saves, comments, community growth |
| Ensure strong US market understanding | Critical for resonance with your target audience |
Transitioning from solely performance-focused paid ads to building an organic presence for brand retention is a smart move for long-term growth. Finding the right specialist who understands your specific goals and target market, and who fits your budget, is key to making this work effectively. It requires a different kind of expertise than just running ads.
Navigating the landscape of agencies versus freelancers, especially when you need a very specific skillset (organic only) and have a clear budget, can be challenging. Finding someone who truly understands the nuances of building community and driving engagement metrics, particularly for a US audience from a Korea base, requires knowing where to look and what questions to ask.
We're happy to discuss your situation further and offer some insights based on our experience helping businesses grow across various platforms and goals. Sometimes an outside perspective can help clarify the best path forward and what realistic expectations are for your budget and goals.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
