What are the best ways to increase organic reach on social media?

Paid promotions have their place in the social media landscape. But organic content – posts that aren’t paid, are an excellent way to reach more people and obtain new followers who are genuinely excited about your brand. These people are also more likely to stick around. When measuring the effectiveness of organic content, you must consider organic reach.

What are the best ways to boost organic social media reach?

Organic social media reach has become a cornerstone of every brand’s marketing strategy. But while serving your audience with great content and attaining sky-high engagement rates is the dream, intense competition and those pesky changing algorithms are the obstacles in your way.

So, if you’ve seen a drop in your organic social media reach of late, you’re not alone. Thankfully, there are some tried and tested tactics to get back on track, without resorting to spending half your budget on paid ads.

Know your audience

Whether your business sells shoes or provides a cloud-based call center service, it’s vital to know where your audience spends most of its time. Otherwise, you’ll just waste time and resources in the wrong place.

“It’s vital to know where your audience spends most of its time.”

Use all the data you have on your customers and the abundant information available on social platforms to narrow down where you should focus your efforts. If your audience is predominantly Gen Z, then TikTok and Instagram are your best bet. But if you’re seeking professionals of any age, LinkedIn is your natural habitat.

Appease the algorithms

All social media algorithms are designed to promote the maximum amount of engagement. That’s why if someone likes just one recipe-making video, you can be sure that their feed will be a never-ending parade of foodie tutorials forever more. But how does a business such as a craft chocolatier ensure that their recipe video gets seen amongst a saturation of others?

“Twitter’s algorithm values the popularity of trending topics, LinkedIn favors high-quality, insightful posts, and Instagram’s main focus is currently on videos.”

This will vary depending on what platform you’re using and it will constantly change. Keeping on top of algorithms is not easy, but it is an unavoidable part of the social media game. As a general rule, high-quality content and carefully selected keywords and hashtags will help. 

Many ranking factors contribute to a post’s success, but social media expert Hootsuite explains that Twitter’s algorithm values the popularity of trending topics, LinkedIn favors high-quality, insightful posts and Instagram’s main focus is currently on videos.

Partner with influencers

Nurturing fruitful relationships with the right influencers can help to build your business credibility and have a big impact on your organic social media reach. If you think that influencer deals are only for big businesses, you should think again. Influencers come in all shapes and sizes, from big-bucks celebrities to nano influencers with fewer than ten thousand followers.

Your goal should be to forge partnerships with those influencers who have a strong following within your niche. Even those with a smaller audience can make a huge difference, as they have built loyalty with their fans and so their recommendations come with a priceless side-helping of trust. If your budget is small, many influencers will accept free products or other affordable types of compensation.

“Your goal should be to forge partnerships with those influencers who have a strong following within your niche.”

Create useful content

Let’s not beat around the bush: the main goal of any social media campaign is to generate more sales for your business. However, this can skew the standard of the content you put out. When the focus is more on selling your goods and services than providing value to your audience, it turns people off.

Make sure that the majority of the content you put out is aimed at providing useful information that your audience will love. This can do wonders for your image and brand recognition. It is also far more likely to receive higher engagement than content that pushes your products too hard at the cost of quality.

“When the focus is more on selling your goods and services than providing value to your audience, it turns people off.”

Engage with your audience

This starts with encouraging your followers or customers to engage with your content. Include some form of call to action (CTA) with every post. This could be a thought-provoking question, a link to additional content, or other creative prompts to get them to like, comment, and share.

This strategy should extend beyond the initial post. When people comment or reply, respond to as many of them as you can, especially within the first few days. You’ll be low-key building your brand identity, learning what your customers are feeling, and making sure they feel valued and heard.

“When people comment or reply, respond to as many of them as you can – especially within the first few days.”

Maintain a consistent presence

If you decide that your small business needs to be on TikTok, then you need to stick with it. Posting a video once in a blue moon is not going to get the following, engagement, and results that you want. Make a content calendar and posting schedule so you can plan your strategy more effectively.
A consistent presence looks professional, works well with social media algorithms, and helps to build a strong relationship with your followers. Planning on this scale also helps you to maintain a consistent brand image and voice, so there is coherent messaging across all your social media channels.

“Make a content calendar and posting schedule so you can plan your strategy more effectively.”

I know what you’re thinking: as a business owner, you wear many hats. Understandably, time is of the essence–and social media can be all-consuming in that respect.

However, it is possible to engage with your audience even in short bursts. Set yourself a feasible, realistic goal then carve out that time in your schedule. For example, you might decide that you can set aside 10 minutes a day, two days a week – and that’s fine. Whatever you choose, make sure you stick to it.

Conclusion

Boosting your organic social media reach demands a holistic approach that combines an in-depth understanding of your audience and a dynamic approach to social media algorithms. It is essential to engage with your audience and build strong influencer partnerships to appeal to your target market.

But above all else, you should prioritize creating high-value, useful content consistently. This will grow your social media presence and brand recognition, leading to lucrative results for your business.

Looking for more inspiration? Here are our best tips for using Instagram and increasing your social media presence.