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Organic social media growth used to be so much simpler:
- post something to social media
- people would see it as long as they followed you or one of their friends liked or shared it
Quick definition: What is organic social media? Organic social media means your content is distributed without any ad dollars behind it. That means it’s “organically” getting in front of people. That can happen because the social media algorithms favor it
Today, it’s much harder to drive results with organic social media. But there are ways to still make it work as I discussed on this episode of the Business Storytelling Podcast.
To truly affect organic social media growth, our content must speak to the audience, have people that amplify it, and need to take advantage of how the algorithms currently favor content.
Read next: Tagging on social media: When is it OK to tag other people?
Let’s dive into some of my tips on how to increase organic reach.
Content ideation and planning
As we are planning content, keep in mind how it can fit on organic social media:
- Can we create an infographic
- A short video
- A GIF
- Soundbites
- A TikTok trend
- Use emerging content types like short-form audio or video
- Live video
Also, keep in mind the current sweet spots for each network. Those certainly change without notice. If you work with clients, that can be especially problematic. “But we bought a horizontal LinkedIn video … and now it should be vertical?” It’s a good practice to stay flexible to maximize strategies that work.
A couple of years ago I ran a video campaign on several networks. LinkedIn was the winner at that time. Then I found success with live audio on X and audio in general in the forms of podcasts. Much more so than video. And today I don’t use X anymore.
But other times video has worked better. Like when I did a virtual reality video of an active shooter training I participated in. It even won the Best Immersive Storytelling category at the 2019 Folio Awards.
Things change constantly on social media, but the strategy of looking for the sweet spots for each network works.
Let’s dive into other strategies to drive up organic social media reach.
Read next: (How-to-tips) Using short-form audio in your content strategy
Interview experts
For journalists, this is old hat: Of course, we interview people – the experts – for our stories. There are even services out there that find you experts to interview. Of course, the experts want that free press as well.
Finding experts – or at least people willing to talk – isn’t that difficult. In 2019, I started having guests on the Business Storytelling Podcast. Sometimes I would turn those podcasts into a companion or related articles on my blog.
Once the podcast or article is published, most guests also share the link with their network.
It’s certainly appreciated when guests and people quoted in articles share those articles. That can also drive our organic reach.
Read next: PODCAST: Content marketing helps experts become wider known
Reach out to connections once content publishes
This is a bit of a public relations play. Let people know that a piece of content has published and hope they will share it. Often these messages look like this:
Hello. I just published an article on <insert topic> and I thought you and your followers might find it interesting. Feel free to share. Here’s the link: <insert link>
When overdone, this can feel spammy, and I personally hardly ever share content that comes to me this way, especially when I don’t even know the sender. If I know the sender and we have a good, mutual relationship, I may add it to my queue. I’m more likely to share it when it’s truly unique and not just a rehash of a story that’s been told over and over.
I always share content when I’m quoted in the article – unless there’s an obvious mistake. I’ve even created a page – Media coverage featuring Christoph Trappe – to link to those articles.
I used this strategy when my new book launched, and many of the people I sent a note to, shared my book and a comment. In fact the organic campaign was more successful than the paid version.
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Connect with others in the vertical through reverse content marketing
Agencies or brands search for others who are talking about or have talked online about the topics in which they want to reach audience members.
Many of the pitches I receive in this model arrive a bit too quickly. I don’t even know the sender yet, and they already want me to work for them for free. Doing this at scale likely still works when they send a bunch of requests. Somebody will share their content.
Sometimes they will tell me that some big names in the industry are also sharing it. I can see how that can work. “If <big name> participates and I participate I’m just like them.” Maybe. It’s a play on the proven strategy of the halo effect.
If you want to take a lighter route, consider this:
- Find the right people
- Connect with them on relevant networks
- Let them discover your content that you shared on your channels
Certainly, it’s not guaranteed that they will see your content. If they never share or like, assume they just didn’t see it. Maybe send them a link a few weeks into being connected.
Be a guest on a social media chat or livestream
Participate in other people’s chats and livestreams. When I was a guest on Twitter chats years ago it can help you share my knowledge and message, establish me as an expert and likely will make some new connections. I usually gain a good amount of followers as well.
Livestreams for organic social media growth
There are basically two ways to run social media livestreams to improve your organic social media growth.
More formal
This is where you have an outline and it’s basically a show. When I livestream my podcast with Restream, this is what we do. It’s 24 minutes, and while we do respond to comments, there’s structure.
Unstructured
You see these mostly on TikTok. People just hang out, look at the camera, and chit-chat with the audience.
Read next: Strategies for Growing Your TikTok Audience
Share buttons on your website
People are more likely to share your content when it’s easy to do so. That includes having:
- share buttons on top and the bottom of posts, preferably
- maybe on the side
- pre-written copy. Don’t just share a blank update with the link
- include all relevant networks prominently
Jump on trends for organic social media growth
Many networks like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram also highlight current trends. So consider jumping on those.
Organic social media growth conclusion
The hardest part is measuring the results. I can see organic reach for the accounts I have access to. But I can’t necessarily see how many people saw the post shared by my guests and experts. In the long run, we hope that those shares lead to clicks on the website. That does happen, but not always. A top expert’s share of my article was likely seen by hundreds, of which dozens maybe clicked over. I can see the dozens, but I can’t see the hundreds.
Certainly, organic social media results are harder to come by today than a few years ago. Nonetheless, it’s still possible to win some battles in organic social media with the right strategies and, more importantly, The right implementation.
And if any of this feels overwhelming, consider getting help from a social media management agency.