According to a January 2020 report published in www.websitehostingrating.com, there are 4,437, 215,927 internet users globally.
With more than 4 billion people online and competition rigidifying, getting the right reach is tough.
If you Google up tips and tricks on how to organically get the right social media reach, thousands of blogs will pop up.
But how this article is different from others is the fact that it is based on true and tested methods that Ossisto social media strategists and digital marketers have successfully implemented for various client’s projects.
At Ossisto, organic social media strategies and other branding efforts are not separated, understanding its value.
So, today, let us see how to gain reach effortlessly.
It is always good to start with the basics and here is the most apt definition of Social Media Reach:
An analytical metric referring to the number of users who has come across a particular content on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
If you are trying to reach out to the public, you should have a large social media presence. And if you already have a sound presence; tracking, monitoring and measuring interaction is mandatory.
Among all the metrics, social media reach is crucial.
However, according to media giant Ogilvy, organic reach for content published by businesses on platforms like Facebook is plummeting.
So, the need of the hour is a strategized action plan that will give faster results.
But for devising such an effective plan, one should know the ways in which social media can be used to benefit your business.
Here are some of the major advantages:
- Social media can be used to introduce a new product or service. More than 60% of Instagram users in a recent survey conducted by Facebook said that they have discovered new products/services while using the app.
- Social media can give a faster brand awareness boost. The number of small businesses thriving on various social media platforms is umpteen. With social media influencers mushrooming on a faster note, branding is quite easy over these platforms, unlike traditional platforms.
- Build credibility. Millennials and the generations before it, often experience difficulties in shopping online because they need proof before making any buying decisions unlike Generation Z and the rest. To convince the older generation social media can be used to create meaningful relationship moments.
- Social media thought leaders can influence trust factors that users have for a brand. If you are smart enough, convert your brand voices into thought leadership over various social media platforms. Establishing expertise in a particular sector takes years of effort and for that patience is a key skill.
- It is unavoidable to mention other benefits such as driving sales, crisis management, audience engagement, retargeting, etc. while pointing out social media business benefits. However, as this blog is on tips and tricks to boost social media reach organically; this sub-topic will be detailed in another upcoming Ossisto blog.
Businesses often spend humongous amounts of money to do paid stunts to gain more social media reach.
This must be affordable for big businesses, but what about small businesses and individuals trying to gain relevant reach?
The only choice for them is to aim for organic reach.
The following content in this blog is for them, some tried and proved methods.
# RIGHT SELECTION
As a business, it is important to understand the social media behaviors of the targeted audience. In an effort to gain more publicity, most businesses open accounts on multiple social media platforms, which is unnecessary.
Time and money loss will be the after effect. Instead, concentrate on 1 or 2 platforms and gain maximum reach.
Check the analytical tools to understand where you get the maximum reach or directly ask the audience through surveys.
If you carefully follow your competitors, you will get to know the platform that has the highest concentration of the right audience.
Competitor analysis and market watch are getting popular among businesses.
For instance, consider mention.com, this tool will monitor competitors, measure share of voice and get insights on social media content.
# SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION
To achieve measurable results and the right reach, a focus on social media optimization is vital.
Whether it be content, images, videos or any other elements, all of it should be placed by keeping SMO strategies in mind.
Consistency, incorporation of social media icons on the website, aligning SEO keywords, deliberately increasing follower base, external inbound link boosting, sharing quality content, etc., are some of the common tactics.
# CONTENT THAT LIVE LONGER
Every other business has a blog space and digital marketing agencies have much-talented content and technical writers; unfortunately, most of the write-ups go unread.
60% of marketers create at least 1 piece of content each day, so the only way to win this race is to strategically plan and write on subjects that are trendy and have a longer shelf-life.
Long-form content or short-form content, write topics that would help the readers even many years later.
Creativity in writing should never die because it is timeless. In the new age world, content that can evoke emotion will definitely be a super hit.
# POST DURING NON-PEAK HOURS
It is time to bust the myth of how posting content on social media during peak hours would garner more traffic.
Posting while everybody is online will only give negative effects because your content will then become a needle in the haystack.
Try posting content during a slow down period and see the difference. The latest trend in many social media pages is the story sharing facilities.
On average, there are as many as 15,000 stories appearing on a person’s page once he or she logs in a social media account these days.
It’s quite a Herculean task to stand out of the crowd. Before posting anything, one should ask ‘should I post or not’.
If the answer is ‘yes’ then re-check the post for its quality. And at the end comes steps like which platform to choose and when to post.
Experts say that the best time to post depends on many factors, including audience and industry.
# UNLEASH THE CREATIVITY
The first social media platform ever created was a website named ‘Six Degrees’ which connected people across the world.
This message sharing facility based on the web of contacts model became a classic hit immediately, but the same platform may not work anymore.
Everyone is looking for new ideas, interactions, and platforms.
There was a time when Twitter word limit was only 140 characters, filters existed only in high-end photo editing applications and mobile phones were used only for calling.
Things have advanced.
Trends transform society and its inevitable.
Today, there are 7 major social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit.
Every year, the competition to bring more creativity into these platforms are rigidifying among the heads of creative departments.
If a new player wants to win the competition, they have to bring something more creative and top others.
Some of the top trends to watch in 2020 are:
- Like button on Instagram will die
- Vanity metrics will fade away
- Coronation of Video content and it will be the King
- TikTok popularity will grow
- Sales on Instagram will reach its zenith
So, if you are still tailoring social media strategies for your business, consider doing it organically. It might take some time, but it is totally worth.
Try organic social media strategies in booming up platforms and get more reach.
Some of the fastest-growing are Vero, Steemit, and Musical.ly.
