Facebook is at the vanguard of squeezing increased value from paid social media marketing – and other networks are following.

Marketers have been complaining for some time that organic reach no longer exists on social media and that brands have to pay for adverts if they want to engage with their target audience.

These rumblings have been growing louder over the past 12 months, particularly in regards to Facebook, which some marketers claim is now little more than a glorified advertising network. However, it could be that Twitter will also become a so-called ‘pay-to-play’ network for marketers, as it recently hinted at plans to implement a news feed-style algorithm.

This means users will no longer see tweets in one continuous real-time feed, but will be shown the content that Twitter deems to be the most important or relevant. Apparently the aim is to improve the user experience, but a cynical might suggest Twitter also wants to squeeze more ad revenue from brands by restricting their organic reach.

To give some context to this debate, it’s worth looking at the evidence that’s stacking up against Facebook.