- 1 in 3 consumers use social media to discover new products and brands.
- More than half of the world’s population uses social media.
- 89.3% of marketers say social media is important to their overall marketing strategy.
That’s how much of an impact social media has In the World.
And with that many active users, businesses can’t afford to miss out. Most people have posted on social media, whether it’s on your personal account or that separate profile you made for your cute new puppy. And while personal pages can take a lot of effort to monitor, there typically isn’t much strategy behind them. But when it comes to developing an organic social media strategy for a business, there’s much more to consider.
What is Organic Social Media Marketing?
Organic social media marketing involves posting on social media without any paid promotions or sponsorships. Posting organically means you are utilizing the free services of a platform when sharing and delivering content. Social media marketing comes into play when these efforts are designed to promote your products, services, and/or brand. Through social media marketing, you can increase brand awareness, generate leads, boost engagement, interact with customers, and more.
Tips to Develop an Effective Organic Social Media Strategy
A solidified goal should ideally guide every marketing effort for your business. Without a strategic approach behind your business’s marketing presence, you’ll end up wasting time and resources and negatively impact your brand. This is especially true when it comes to organic social media marketing. Your audience won’t find much value in posts or content if they’re random and unorganized. An effective organic social media strategy ties your content together in a meaningful way that maximizes value for your audience and aligns with your business objectives.
So, are you posting just to post? Are you prioritizing which platforms to use? Here are a few questions you should ask before getting started:
- Who is your typical customer?
- How old are they?
- What are their interests?
- What are their online behaviors?
- Which platforms are they most likely to frequent?
There are many ways to develop an effective social media strategy, so we’re sharing five proven steps to get started.
1. Define Your Goals
With any new project or initiative, you can’t measure your success without setting a goal first. When you set objectives, you can strategically tailor your content to fulfill them. When it comes to setting goals, one way to start is by asking yourself what you’re trying to accomplish and who you are trying to reach. This way, you can ensure your content is meaningful and relevant with a specific purpose in mind.
Do you want to…
- Promote a product?
- Interact with your audience?
- Increase your followers?
- Create brand awareness?
Remember, not all social posts have the same goal. And not all channels have the same purpose. Take time to analyze which platforms your audience is using the most and the types of content they’re interacting with on those channels. When you’ve defined your audience and established a purpose for each platform, you can begin to take steps to entice them to take action. Defining this goal is your first step in creating an effective social media strategy that brings you your desired results.
2. Choose Which Platforms to Be On
While your business should ideally have a presence on multiple social platforms to increase exposure, it is important to prioritize the platforms that will most effectively reach your target audience. For example, you wouldn’t put the same effort into LinkedIn and TikTok if your primary audience is on TikTok. That’s why researching social media demographics is so important. We’ll give a rundown on the main social media platforms:
Facebook and Instagram are visually-focused platforms where photos, videos and other forms of engaging content are most effective. Facebook and Instagram are the second and third most used online platforms, according to the Pew Research Center.
Twitter is a fast-paced network where the latest news is updated every second. Information comes and goes fast, but it’s a great place to have conversations with your consumers and provide support first-hand.
LinkedIn is primarily used to educate and inform your audience with business-related content. Users also search for jobs on LinkedIn, and it was also voted the most trustworthy network in 2020.
TikTok is a short-form video platform, and 41% of users are between the ages of 16 and 24. The app is primarily used to entertain audiences, but there are also many ways for brands and marketers to get creative and increase brand awareness and sales.
3. Create Meaningful Content
You’ve already identified your target audience and established your goal. Now it’s time to create meaningful and engaging content that will resonate with your audience. Be creative and bold to make a lasting impression.
When writing meaningful content for social media, it’s important to make sure the tone of your writing is conversational and relatable. Your main goal is to connect with your followers, so bland and general statements won’t make an impact. Click here for more help on crafting impactful messages to your audience.
4. Plan and Follow a Schedule
The frequency in which you post is also essential for developing an effective organic social media strategy. Sticking to a schedule helps your business stay organized and on task. For example, it’s not very effective if you start posting every day on your social media channels and then quit posting for two months. You’re not likely to see an increase in engagement if you’re not posting on a consistent schedule.
We know that scheduling and planning social media content can be time-consuming. Social media scheduling tools such as HubSpot and Sprout Social can help. With a content management tool, you can prepare social media posts in bulk and schedule it all at once. Do this at the beginning of the month, and you won’t have to scramble at the last minute to get a post out on your platforms.
5. Track What Works, Trash What Doesn’t
The only way to know if you’re getting close to achieving your goal is by tracking your progress. Social media metrics such as reshares, clicks, and likes offer insight into your overall performance. If a specific topic or post is receiving high engagement, it’s safe to say you should create and post similar content.
We recommend regularly conducting social media audits to see what’s working and what isn’t. By observing your audiences’ interactions with your content and the progress made toward your goals, you can actively make improvements and maximize your results.
Social media provides marketers, content creators and other business professionals with unlimited opportunities to increase exposure and reach new customers. In this digital world we live in, being active on social media is one of the best ways for your business to reach your target audience and spread your message.
Not sure if you can craft an effective social media strategy or manage all of your channels single-handedly? Maybe it’s a job for a marketing agency. Learn more about how a marketing agency can help.
Explore our suite of services and how they can enhance your business. Contact us today to learn more!
