Social media platforms are pushing companies towards paid advertisements and promotions to help boost their social media strategy. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of the likes of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram without driving loads of money at them.
In a recent article, it was said that Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the platform was to “engage users on the platform.”
So basically Facebook along with every other social media platform only wants to show users content that is engaging.
Social media is now adopting its very own form of SEO in a way that promotes a positive user experience. So the way this algorithm works is by placing your posts in a small pool of your followers. If those targeted followers engage with the content, then it is introduced into a larger pool. Slowly but surely, more and more people will be able to see it, but again only if it’s engaging.
Below I’ve outlined 8 ways to help boost your organic social media reach:
1. Focus your efforts on the right platform
Most companies assume that they need to have a presence on all platforms from Facebook to Pinterest to Instagram, etc, but that’s not necessarily the case. Your audience may not have a presence on every social media platform, so why waste all that resource and effort?
Choosing a network to focus on is easier than you think. Following are some ways that can help you decide on a platform:
- Ask your audience: Try using a survey, send it in an email, or maybe even indulge in a quick call asking them which social media platforms they use for both business and personal use.
- Look at your page analytics: If you have a blog, you definitely must be using the share buttons already. The analytics tool will show you who is sharing your content and where they’re sharing it. If you follow these numbers you will be able to figure out which platforms to focus more of your attention on.
- Have a look at your competitors: Understanding and analyzing your competitor’s strategy of which platforms they choose is also helpful in deciding the platforms you should be on too as if you don’t see them anywhere on the platform, odds are you shouldn’t be there either.
2. Understand social media algorithms
Social media organic reach is very dependent on the algorithms. The algorithm determines what every user sees on their timeline. And that’s why it’s important to understand how these algorithms work to maximize your organic reach. These algorithms are constantly changing to better improve the user experience and keep up with the changing times of the digital space, which makes it important to keep up with the times. I have listed how few of the social media algorithms work:
- Facebook:
The Facebook algorithm consists of four key components: inventory, signals, predictions, and relevancy score. The more active interactions, such as shares, comments, and reactions a post has, the more people will see the post. So by posting content that connects your target audience or creates meaningful interactions by Facebook Live or by building a niche community through a Facebook Group, you will get a higher organic reach. - Twitter:
– The tweet itself: its recency, presence of media cards such as image or video, and the overall engagement from retweets, clicks, favorites, and time spent reading it.
– The author of the tweet: The users past interactions with the author, the strength of their connection to them, and the origin of their relationship
– Tweets your users found engaging in the past, and also how often and how heavily they use Twitter. - Instagram:
Instagram recently revealed the three main factors that determine the posts a user sees on their Instagram feed:- Interest: Posts that Instagram thinks they will be interested in will appear higher in their feed.
- Timeliness: Recent posts will tend to appear higher in their feed rather than older posts.
- Relationship: Posts from accounts that they have regularly interacted with will also tend to appear higher in their feed.
Three other factors contribute to the ranking of Instagram posts: - Frequency
- Following
- Usage
3. Optimize your social profiles
Social media uses the same algorithms as the ones used by search engines like Google. When we create content for those engines, we optimize it with all kinds of on-page SEO tactics so basically, all this to say that every aspect of your social media profile can be tweaked for better visibility and optimization.
Many of the tactics you know and use in SEO will work for Social Media too:
- An easy to remember username.
- A recognizable brand photo or logo.
- Keyword-rich descriptions.
- A trackable link back to your website
4. Quality over quantity
Since the implementation of the algorithms, social media marketing has now become a case of working smarter, not harder. Your focus should be on producing high-quality, relevant content that your followers and audience will be interested in and want to engage with. Fewer, higher quality posts are far more beneficial when looking to increase your organic reach in comparison to spammy, lower-quality posts.
5. Interact and engage with your followers
When trying to understand how each social platform’s algorithm works you will notice that engagement is key. Ultimately, the more engagement a post receives the higher the reach of that post. One of the easiest ways to encourage your audience to engage with your content is by directly interacting with them. For example, if someone has commented on your post, then carry on the conversation by replying. Not only will this encourage others to get involved in the conversation but it’s also a great way to build a good reputation for your brand.
6. Use targeting to maximize organic potential
This tactic will vary from platform to platform, but tweaking the settings of your posts to target specific members of your audience can give you a boost in organic potential.
You can use certain targeting options that you can use such as:
- Gender
- Relationship
- Status
- Hashtags
- Education level
- Age
- Location
- Language
- Interests
- Post end date
7. Promote your profiles everywhere
Every online space that your business has a presence should also showcase your social media platforms. On your website, your storefront, your business cards, the signature on your emails, etc. You should also consider adding follow buttons on your website so users can instantly follow or “like” your page, without having to leave your company’s blog or website. You can also cross-promote your social media profiles by turning your Instagram likes into Twitter followers and vice-versa. You want your presence to be known practically everywhere which will ultimately grow your organic reach.
8. Post the right balance of promotional and useful content
Users expect to find content that is useful to them. Sharing valuable content grows a user’s trust in your brand. They come to know you as an authority in the industry and will, therefore, trust you when you recommend a product or service. The rule to master here is the 80/20 balance which means eighty percent of your content should be useful and 20% can be content that promotes your brand and its products.
Conclusion
The secret to organic social media reach is the same as the secret to ranking well on any search engine. It’s all about optimization, user experience, and high-quality content. If you start thinking about your social media efforts in the same way you think about your SEO work, you’ll see the pieces fall into place.
We at Social Pill are your experts in Social Media and have a very well-known clientele in the social world.
