In this day and age, social media isn’t just about connection and conversations — it’s a channel for customer acquisition, remarketing, and engaging existing fans for customer retention. Many e-commerce brands are ramping up or have an already-established investment in paid social media strategies, but what can small businesses with limited budgets do to compete? The answer is to leverage organic social media.
There’s no mastering social media with its ever-changing landscape. One day, you might think you’re doing pretty well, then the next, boom, you’re hit with new platform algorithms and features. The constant fluctuations in emerging platforms, new features, consumer buying habits, and the sheer amount of people across all social media platforms can be overwhelming. To stand out, paid social has become the norm in marketing strategies.
However, there’s still organic social media to consider, especially for smaller brands. Organic social media is whatever happens on social, minus the paid promotion. You’re not spending a dime “boosting” any posts to expand reach and engagement.
While this might seem utterly foreign to some companies (no money behind social media? What?!), there are some ways to maximize your potential on social media without breaking the bank.
Take a long hard look at the social channels you’re using, or are planning on using. Do you really need to focus your efforts on a particular channel? Most businesses think that to build a social presence, you should be on everything from Instagram to Pinterest, but it depends on your industry and target audience.
For example, let’s say that your business is in construction. You probably wouldn’t need a presence on Pinterest. Most of your audience might be on select channels, so don’t waste your time with all of them. Here are some ways to help you decide what social platform works and doesn’t work for your company.
There are a few easy and fast ways to get the most out of your profiles:
If you’re minimizing spend on social media marketing, your social channels must be thriving and full of useful content.
Decide what types of content and campaigns you’ll push out for different channels. It’s best to have a mix of content, like educational and what's trending, depending on what your target audience likes. Determine how much content you’ll need during your content cycle and plan out three months’ worth of content in advance.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to include evergreen content in your calendar. This is an excellent best practice for all channels. It also saves money and labor to have long-lasting and sustainable content that's easily reusable in the long-run.
Whether it’s your emails, website, or business cards, include links to your social media pages. There are even options to add social media buttons on your website so people can instantly follow or “like” your brand.
Cross-promoting is also an excellent way to gain new followers organically. For example, if someone is already on your Facebook, you can include links to your Twitter and Instagram in the “About Me” section, as well. Or, you can even publish posts urging your followers not to forget your other pages.
How do you feel when you receive “likes” or comments on your personal social media posts? Great, right? The same goes for your followers. 64% of consumers want brands to connect with them.
However, most followers won’t interact with your profiles unless you make the first move. Schedule a bulk of time each week to engage with them, whether this means commenting, liking, or even sharing their posts. It’s also essential to be on top of answering questions and responding to feedback so that followers feel heard.
It’s not always about the money. Sometimes, the most effective social media accounts are the ones with the most original and attention-grabbing content. Although a combination of organic and paid social is the best strategy to grow, organic social serves as a strong foundation for any social media strategy — especially when there are creative marketers involved.
Don’t miss these five social media retargeting strategies that maximize sales.
Originally published on November 24th, 2019, last updated on June 16th, 2022.
