5 Organic Social Media Marketing Growth Strategies: Drive Digital Creative

The digital world of social media can feel like the wild west without the knowledge and skills to navigate it. Making a name for yourself on social media, especially as a brand can be a pressing challenge. 

Where to Post? When? Hashtags? Sponsored links? The following tips and tricks outline how to apply organic social growth strategies in an ever-changing digital landscape.  

So What is Organic Social Media? 

In the simplest of terms, ‘Organic Social Media’ is any social media activity that doesn't include a form of paid promotion. Organic social efforts take advantage of free and integrated tools to engage with an online following. 

Emerging platforms, algorithm changes, and features make it difficult for the average user to master the blueprint to social success. That said, extremely effective growth strategies do exist that don't break the bank. 

Social Media Marketing Growth Strategies: 

Strategy Development: 

Conduct a social media audit and ideate definitive goals. Gain a clear picture of where you stand and where you desire to go. Whether you plan to boost your following, create new leads, or cement your brand name online, an audit will help you develop a baseline. Social media can suck the time and energy out of you, so channeling efforts into meaningful goals beforehand helps to streamline the process. Using an established goal-setting framework like S.M.A.R.T helps to create achievable and relevant goals: 

• Specific: Be clear. What does a boost in the following mean? Do you want 50 or 500 new followers? Make specific goals that you and your team understand and agree with.
• Measurable: Decide on a fixed metric that you can use for goals that may not have a numerical value associated with them. Decide how to measure a goal like solidifying your social media presence in a way that improvements can be tracked. 
• Attainable: Social media objectives should require you to stretch, but still be in reach if you put in the required effort. 
• Relevant: A relevant goal should tie your personal tasks back to the greater business objectives or strategy. Ask questions like ‘How will followers benefit the business as a whole?’
• Timely: Goals need to have fixed timeframes for completion. Incrementally check-in and map your progress. 

Channel Emphasis: 

A primary step in developing a successful organic social strategy is preliminary research. Knowing what social platforms draw the most engagement from your target audience helps to streamline your efforts.

There’s little use in promoting posts and content on platforms that your target customers don't use. Generally speaking, if 77.1% of Pinterest users are female, organic efforts to promote a men's product or service on the platform is likely not worth the time and effort

Stay on top of the Calendar:

A content calendar is one of the most important tools in facilitating organic social media growth. Whether you work solo or with a team of content creators, clearly align marketing and promotional objectives beforehand. The majority of digital marketing techniques, including social media management, require real-time efforts to produce results in the future.

Using an app or integration like CoSchedule helps manage real-time marketing calendars, automatically publishing planned and approved posts.   

Engage Your Followers: 

Intimately engaging with followers on a personal level is one of the most cost-effective methods to gain and keep customers. Personably reaching out through comments and dm’s initiates a genuine connection that customers seek after. 64% of consumers want brands to connect them so there’s no harm in making the first step. If customers feel they have a personal connection with your accounts, they are likely to share your content and further engage other people through word-of-mouth marketing. 

Creativity: 

With social, it’s not all about the money all the time. Having original and eye-grabbing creative content engages followers so they don't feel forced, but motivated to engage with your products and services. In an age when users can so easily filter through irrelevant social content, creatively standing out and thinking different are crucial.

Sharp and authentic content that draws people in without feeling like they are getting ‘sold’ on something is imperative. Customers will begin to act on compelling social buzz once they feel naturally involved in your brand and social feed. 

Anything is Possible: 

Although a combination of social strategies are required for growth and eventual conversions, never underestimate the power of organic social activities. 

At Drive Digital, our expertise as a data-driven digital marketing agency connects businesses with target customers and clients across all digital platforms. To explore how strategic paid and organic social strategies can take your brand to the next level, visit drivedigitaladvertising.com For everything else digital marketing, including website design, content creation, or email marketing contact us today.