For your social media efforts to work, you need an audience. Without an active audience, your messages will go unheard. Unfortunately, organic reach is on the decline. But as a small business, it’s not always easy to pay for social media marketing.

But all’s not lost. Here are some things you can do to grow your audience on social media organically.

 

Look in the Right Places

You don’t have to be present on every social media platform. Simply be present on platforms where your target audience is likely to be present. Here are some ways to find the right platform for your business:

• Ask your audience – Use a survey and share it by email with your customers. Perhaps you could even call some of your customers to find out.
• Share counts – If you have a business blog, you may be using share buttons. These tools provide analytics, providing data about where your audience is sharing the content.
• Look at your competitors – If you don’t see any of your competitors on a platform, there’s no reason you should be there either.

 

Work Smarter

An average user is bombarded with hundreds of posts and stories on social media platforms.

When it comes to social media, less is more. So instead of publishing a ton of content every day and wearing yourself out, focus on publishing quality, engaging, and relevant content.

Two posts per day is a good number to start with.

 

Post the Right Type of Content

A study found that some types of content can deliver a significant boost to your organic reach.

The study found that video content has the biggest organic reach on Facebook. Of course, this doesn’t mean you assume videos will work just as well for you. It also depends on your niche and your audience.

Strive to maintain a balance between status updates, images, videos, and links. Be sure to use analytics tools (like Insights on Instagram and Facebook) to identify what type of content is performing well.

 

Leverage the Slow Hours

A common misconception among social media marketers is that you must post when everyone is online. However, that is only likely to hide your content among the hundreds of thousands that are being posted during prime hours.

Instead, consider posting during the non-peak or the slow hours. Here are some slow hours that you can take advantage of:

• Twitter – 12 pm to 3 pm on weekdays
• Facebook – 1 pm to 3 pm on Thursdays and Fridays
• LinkedIn – 7 am/8 am and 5 pm/6 pm Tuesday to Thursday.

 

Promote Your Profile

Be sure to showcase your social media profiles everywhere your business has a presence. From your website and email signature to business cards and storefronts, be sure to promote your social media profile.

You may also want to consider adding follow buttons on your website, so visitors can instantly Like or Follow your profile without having to leave your website/blog.

And of course, you can even cross-promote your social media profiles. Turn your Twitter followers into Facebook Likes and vice-versa.

 

In Conclusion

Increasing your organic reach on social media channels works much like improving your organic rankings in search engines. It’s all about user experience, optimisation, and publishing quality content.

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