How to Revitalize Your Organic Social Strategy

In today’s digital world, a strong social media presence is essential for brands who want to excel. The best way to approach social media is through both paid and organic strategies. Paid social media refers to ads and sponsored content, whereas organic social media refers to all your unpaid efforts. According to a 2016 survey by Clutch.co, 86% of social media marketers use a combination of organic and paid tactics.

Regardless of whether or not your budget allows for extensive paid activities, organic social media remains vital to success. The following article will cover important features that every organic strategy should include, so that you can reassess your methods to ensure they’re as effective as possible. 

5 things that every organic social media strategy should have

Organic social media is something that every business can thrive at, regardless of the amount of funds you have at your disposal. Spending the time to master organic social is not only economical—it’s wise. While paid social media is more or less guaranteed to give you some results, when it comes to your organic strategy, you must endeavor to create content that people will find valuable. At the end of the day, it’s your content and your brand that will work to attract an audience.

But just where should you begin with your strategy? Fear not, we’re here to assist with 5 recommendations to help boost your organic results. Use the following to aid you in reassessing and reconditioning your plans. 

1. The right platforms

If you want your social media strategy to be as potent as possible, you need to make sure you’re on the platforms that are most relevant to your business, and most conducive to your messaging.

If you’re a B2B company you’ll want to invest time into building your LinkedIn presence.

In fact, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. If you’re a B2C company, most of your efforts will be focused on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Once you have found the right platforms, be sure to align your content to fit these so you can best engage with users. For example, those in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle fields will want to take advantage of Instagram’s visual offerings (pictures, stories, live broadcasts) and Facebook’s simple competition apps and comprehensive analytics for your business page. Twitter is fantastic for monitoring trends, conversing with followers and other businesses, and also works well as a customer service platform.

2. An engaged audience

64% of marketers say increasing audience engagement is crucial for their social media marketing strategies. The content you post and how you interact with social media users will be paramount to the success of your organic social media campaign. Since you won’t have ads and promoted content to tempt users to your profiles, you must capture their attention by offering them engaging, interesting, and authentic content. This is what will keep your brand front of mind, encourage followers to visit your website, and hopefully, in the end, convince them to purchase your products and/or services.

Engage with your followers by:

• Asking them questions to start conversations
• Answering their questions (always!)
• Using hashtags
• Keeping them updated on company news and events
• Posting behind-the-scenes footage
• Hosting live video sessions

If you’re at a loss as to what type of content your followers find most interesting, simply ask them! Take a survey to find out their preferences so that you can better adapt your strategy to suit your target audience’s desires. 

3. Consistent branding

It’s essential to maintain consistent branding across all of your social media profiles. Successful branding leads to “increased customer loyalty, an improved image, and a relatable identity.” This not only looks professional, but it will make it easier for followers to find you. Social media users should know it’s your brand simply by the content you post— your tone, your style, your filters, etc. Messaging and visuals that aren’t consistent will make your brand look confused, and will in turn confuse your followers as well. In fact, the greatest negative impact of inconsistent brand usage is the “creation of confusion in the market.” 

You want to submit a united front at all times, and the tactics you use to achieve this should be outlined in your strategy from day one. Start with ensuring your company logo, bio, and website address are present across your profiles. Your profile pictures themselves should be similar, if not identical. What colors will you highlight? Will you use humor? What filters will you stay away from? What will your subject matter be? How will you address customers?

4. Visually interesting content

The importance of visuals within the social media realm cannot be overstated. Photos and videos are a great way to engage your followers, promote your products and services, and perpetuate the essence of your brand. Videos and other visual content are shared 40 times more than any other content on social media. Additionally, a whopping 87% of a Facebook page engagements happens on photo posts.

It’s clear that when it comes to organic social media marketing, visuals play an integral role. But not all imagery is created equally. Images and videos posted by your business should always be professional looking, appropriate, authentic, and consistent with your branding. Post visuals that will help consumers understand your brand and appreciate your products.

5. Links to your profiles on your website and in email signatures

When using organic social media techniques, you should take advantage of all the promotional outlets at your disposal. An easy way to direct people to your social accounts is by adding links to them on the bottom of your website pages and within your email signatures. This is free and easy to complete, and it is a great way to garner more organic publicity. 

Cross-promoting your profiles is another great (and free!) idea for additional exposure. Share your handles or links to your profiles across your platforms, and integrate your platforms whenever possible.

Closing thoughts

Organic social media can be difficult to ace, but a strong social media presence begins with strong foundations, or a powerful strategy. Taking the time to reassess your current organic strategy in order to make improvements is one of the smartest things marketers can do. The tips above will provide a great starting point, but your strategy should adapt to suit your business’ specific goals. Keep in mind that your organic social media approach should remain responsive, and should continually evolve based on your results and objectives.