“Despite the popularity of ads and constant algorithm changes, organic social media isn’t going anywhere. In fact, according to a Q1 2023 Sprout Social pulse survey, marketers rank organic social above paid as their most valuable social media tactic.*” – Ronnie Gomez , Sprout Social
With the social media landscape constantly evolving, staying ahead requires a mix of strategy, creativity, and genuine engagement.
In this third instalment of our three-part organic social media guide series, you’ll find out:
- Why you should get to know your audience.
- Why you should invest in content.
- How boosting your posts can increase engagement.
- The intricacies of posting organic content.
- The best ways to interact with your audience.
Let’s dive in and unlock the secrets to skyrocketing your organic social media performance!
*Sprout Social, 23rd February 2023: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/organic-vs-paid-social-media/
Tactic #1 – Get to know your audience
Understanding your audience is the foundation of any successful social media strategy. Without an in-depth knowledge of who your followers are, what they want, and how they behave, your content may fall flat.
A key way to understand your audience is to carry out audience profiling. This involves analysing your target audience and breaking it down into groups based on shared behaviours (also known as personas). The more effort you put into understanding your audience, the better your relationship can become.
To build an audience persona, you should analyse things like:
- Demographics such as age, gender, education and income
- Interests
- Influencers they engage with
- When and how often they are using different channels
- Their frustrations
… The list goes on!
Analysing these elements may look easy, but crafting an accurate persona that drives a social media strategy is a nuanced process best left to the professionals.
Tactic #2 – Invest in your content
Good content isn’t just about capturing your audience’s attention – it’s about holding it, and that requires investment in terms of both quality and strategy.
Remember, your organic social content should not be a sales pitch, your audience won’t be looking for one and certainly won’t be engaging with one.
To make sure your content is providing value to your audience, your posts should aim to either teach, entertain, inform, or inspire. Whether you create in-house content or hire an agency, remember that value is key.
Here are some suggestions on how you can add value for your audience:
- Create infographics that give bite-size explanations of key subjects.
- Write a blog post that details how to do specific things.
- Partner with an influencer to create content that teaches and empowers your followers.
- Inspire your followers with quotes, case studies, and other interesting content.
Tactic #3 – Boost posts and follower campaigns
Paying for organic post amplification through boosted posts is a key part of an organic strategy.
Social media channels are essentially adopting their own form of SEO – these channels (particularly Facebook and Instagram) promote a positive user experience by focusing on content that attracts the most engagement.
When you share content on your social channels, it’s shared with a small pool of users (your followers). If these users engage with your content, the post will then be shared with more users, essentially increasing your reach and exposure.
Why you should boost the occasional post
It’s not enough to just rely on your content organically gaining exposure. And with the decline of organic reach, you will likely need to invest in giving your posts a bit of a boost.
A boosted post is like a regular post, except it has an investment behind it to provide exposure that it wouldn’t get on platform algorithms alone. The good news is that cost per engagement (CPA) is low on boosted posts, so smaller investments can make a big difference.
How much should you invest, and where?
The art of boosting posts is a finely tuned skill that aligns with both platform algorithms and audience behaviour. Experts in social media (such as our in-house social specialists) can guide you through how to get the best return on your investment.
Tactic #4 – Understand types of content and post frequency
We covered the importance of timing, structure and consistency in our second social media guide. But if you’re noticing a stagnant period of results and engagement, here are some things you can do.
- If you want to change your approach to content, it’s best to change it gradually, ideally only changing one thing at a time. This way, you can analyse and explore what content works on each platform.
- Every piece of content you create won’t be suitable for every single channel. Aim to tailor your content towards the specific platform you are posting on.
- Use data on your target audience to work out what times you should be posting on each platform. The same rule applies to how often you should post and the types of content worth posting.
- Videos are a great way to boost your engagement rates but producing them can be expensive. If it’s not feasible, consider implementing a re-posting strategy. Users and businesses often share trending content, and “lookalike” users who are interacting with this content are also likely to be in your target audience.
Tactic #5 – Interact with your audience
Engagement is a two-way street. While getting likes and shares is great, you need to make sure you’re interacting with your community.
Engaging with your audience is paramount when it comes to building and maintaining strong digital relationships with customers or clients. Not only does it humanise your brand, but it also shows your audience that you value their input and presence.
No one likes being ignored, and fans who engage with your posts will want you to engage with them in return.
Here’s how you can enhance audience interaction:
- Make sure that you’re replying to comments your followers leave on your posts.
- Host a giveaway and offer prizes to thank your followers for their loyalty.
- Create an ambassador programme and reward your most active customers with affiliate codes, links, or special discounts.
Key takeaways
Before we wrap up, let’s quickly recap the information we’ve covered.
These insights are not just tips but guiding principles to help elevate your organic social media performance.
Remember:
- To excel in organic social media, a well-crafted strategy is essential.
- Content is king, and it is strong, valuable content that will resonate most with your target audience.
- Boosting is not just a paid strategy; it’s a nuanced technique that can elevate your organic reach as well.
- Social is typically a “pay-to-play game”, and investing in boosting your posts or running follower campaigns can help grow your audience and engagement.
- When your audience does engage with your content, make sure you engage back and show appreciation and support to your community.
- Timing and frequency matter; data-backed decisions can make all the difference.
- Authentic, two-way engagement is the cornerstone of community building and growth on social platforms.
Partner with Elixirr Digital: The missing piece in your social media puzzle
Why wrestle with the intricacies of organic social media when you could be focussing on growing your business?
Partner with us to secure:
- A dedicated team to help craft captivating and compelling content.
- Expertise that turns insights into actionable opportunities.
- A tailored organic social media strategy that aligns with your business goals.
- Peace of mind knowing that you’re in good hands with our social specialists.
Reach out to us to reap the benefits of our extensive organic social media services.
Phone: 0845 482 0472
Email: info.digital@elixirr.com
