Getting organic reach on social media is becoming more and more difficult over time. It depends on a variety of factors but at the base, it’s the quality of your content and algorithm. There are many ways you can boost your organic reach, but no method works 100% surely. Regardless, these methods still increase your chance of getting organic success, hence worth trying. In this article, we will explore a variety of methods to understand how you can improve your organic strategy on social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and so on to boost your digital marketing efforts.
Why organic traffic?
Let’s face it: we hate ads. You, me, most of us do. The internet is getting so ad oriented, most of the time you will just scroll past every sponsored content you come across. You may even end up using an adblocker. Unless the content is really engaging, even an ad campaign may not be effective on your target audience.
However, please note that these platforms are really progressing towards the “pay to win” mindset. Why? Because they want to show relevant and quality content to the users on their platform. And if you think you have quality content, they want you to pay for it. For example, 10 years ago, Facebook did not really have much sponsored content appearing on your news feed. Now? After every 3-4 posts, there is one sponsored link. Even if you follow all the guidelines to make your content high quality, you will still have to rely on the algorithm and a bit of luck to ‘boom’ your posts. So, if you seriously want to use the platform, do consider paying for ad campaigns occasionally.
With that being said, let’s dive into how you can improve your organic reach.
1. Understand your platform:
Before you create a post, you must understand your social media platform well. Ask yourself these questions: are people here just to socialise and entertain? Or would they want to be professional and serious? What kind of content is generally considered ‘engaging’ on this platform? This requires research. Remember, the ‘tone’ of your post will make or break the game.
2. Create Engaging Content:
Whether you are having a paid promotion or expecting to improve your organic reach, this method is equally important. Creating high-quality engaging content that prompts users to make a call to action is something every social media platform will notice. Such content has a really good chance of going viral. Now, the definition of ‘engaging content’ differs from the social media platform. For example, your Facebook post’s tone will be friendly, conversational. You will use engaging images or videos on Facebook to attract and hold their attention. However, on Linkedin, you will create a post that may look professional. Your tone will be serious and professional. Design the body of your content in such a way that it appeals to that particular social media’s user.
3. Interact with your audience:
Active interactions with your page audience is a great thing. It will make them feel good about your business. Besides, if the outcome is productive, they may even share the post with others. This should be at the heart of your social media organic strategy. The more audience you personally impress, the greater your chance of extending your organic reach. Respond to as many comments or message requests you receive, conduct surveys and get feedback, create discussion posts, and more.
4. Go Video!:
Videos are one of the most effective forms of content that has a better chance to generate organic reach. Various studies have shown how explainer videos have gained superiority in holding an audience’s attention. People these days are likely to watch a video over reading paragraphs for knowledge. Of course, that does not mean you should ‘videofy’ every post. Just wherever it is appropriate. This is an important factor in your social media organic strategy, so don’t miss it out.
5. Balance your content:
Continuing from the point said above, it is important to balance your social media content. Mix and match, keep it dynamic. Create a schedule for your content and stick to it. For example, post a video on Thursday and Saturday, conduct a survey or have a conversation with your audience on Sunday, link articles on Monday and Friday, and have promotional posts on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was just an example but this is how you can schedule it. Keep it dynamic, keep it diverse. But more importantly, give your audience what they would expect to see from you.
6. Be active but don’t spam:
On average, you should publish one post per day. Research shows that it improves your overall reach, keeps your presence active, and keeps reminding your audience about your business. Also, that being said, you should also make your content dynamic as mentioned above. If they are going to see the same type of posts all days of the week, they are likely to unfollow you. Posting too frequently or less frequently will also work against you. Too frequent means spammy content (unless you are a trendy entertainer with good quality, funny content), and too little means you are making your audience forget about your business. Keep it one post a day or at least one post per two days at a minimum.
7. Promote your social media:
You can organically promote your social media. There are many ways to do so. You can add your social media links to your website, email address signatures, business cards, and so on. Let people know about your existence. It may seem underwhelming, but it works. This will help you boost the organic traffic on your social media.
Conclusion
Always paying for a social media campaign can be taxing on your budget. This is what makes a social media organic strategy important. We know that these platforms are getting pay to win, yet there are organic strategies that do work. Regardless, do keep in mind that getting such traffic can be incredibly difficult and inconsistent at times. At such times, don’t lose your heart and keep walking onwards.
Remember that your business is unique and things may work out differently for you. This article is not rigid advice. Rather, we insist that you should experiment with your social media organic strategies to see what works out well for you. This requires strategicsocial media management on your end.
Ryan Myers is a business blog author and writer. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. His favorite topics to write about are blogging for small businesses and becoming an entrepreneur.
