Organic growth or increasing social media reach organically is probably on the to-do list of every medium, creator or company. In the early days of some social media platforms, this was quite easy: the hype surrounding certain platforms quickly created a lot of users, but only a few companies or creators were represented. This allowed ‘first movers’ to build up their reach quickly and effectively. Once the hype is over, this becomes increasingly difficult with the large number of different offerings and media creators on the various platforms. And today’s audience expects more. So what do companies need to do now to get more followers? How do you get more reach on Instagram and co. Here we take a closer look at tips that are relatively easy for any company to implement.
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Naturally successful: What is organic reach?
Today, social media reach can be achieved through various measures. It’s less about luck and coincidence and more about real, consistent work. Of course, every now and then a post goes viral: videos reach millions of people virtually overnight. But even a viral post doesn’t just happen. In addition to hard work, the algorithms of the platforms and the preferences of the target groups play a major role. So what can companies do to increase their reach? Both paid and organic measures are available. Primarily, we would like to give tips for organic and consequently sustainable reach.
What is organic reach?
Organic marketing or organic reach means that companies build their reach through their own natural efforts without a direct budget for sponsored posts, campaigns or paid fake followers. This applies to social media as well as your own website. Measures that help with organic growth include, for example, search engine optimisation (SEO) with really good content in a blog, thought leader ship content via social networks such as LinkedIn or Instagram, or user-generated content (UGC), i.e. user-generated content that users, fans or even employees create voluntarily and that should be used appropriately by companies.
Example of user-generated content:
When users tag brands on their own profiles,
it is free advertising and ‘social proof’ for these companies. They gain in authenticity.
Those who grow organically often do so sustainably, as a real community forms around the brand with valuable engagement and at manageable costs (resources for good content are of course still required). This generates leads or even a readership that finds the content on its own and trusts it. That is priceless.
Why is organic reach important for social media success?
Warum sollten Unternehmen keine Follower einkaufen und sich anstatt nur auf Kampagnen auch auf organische Reichweite konzentrieren? Wenn Unternehmen nicht organisch wachsen, ist eines vorprogrammiert: Es werden kaum Menschen mit den erstellten Inhalten interagieren und Erfolg auf lange Sicht bleibt aus oder wird sehr teuer.
Der Grund: Eines der wichtigsten Kriterien für mehr Reichweite ist das Engagement der Nutzer:innen einer Plattform. Es zeigt an, wie relevant Inhalte sind. Und ein eingekaufter Follower interessiert sich nicht wirklich für die Inhalte und bleibt stummer Beobachter – wenn überhaupt. Das zeigt den sozialen Medien, besser gesagt den Algorithmen: Die Inhalte scheinen nicht relevant, interessant oder qualitativ hochwertig. Übersetzt: “Wenn nicht einmal die “Follower” mit den Inhalten interagieren, warum sollten sich dann noch fremde Menschen für den Beitrag interessieren?” Die Konsequenz ist, dass die Beiträge eines solchen Unternehmens auch nicht neuen Nutzer:innen im Feed gezeigt werden.
8 tips for more organic social media reach
Building your reach organically therefore makes a lot of sense – even if it can take longer and editors and creators have to put in a lot of work. But don’t worry: it’s not rocket science and some important strategies can be implemented by everyone. So what can content managers do?
1. Know your target group
Every successful social media presence starts with a deep understanding of the target group. Who are the people you want to see your content? Which platforms do they prefer to use and what drives them? Analyse their interests, their daily routine and their problems. This will help you to create content that not only resonates, but also touches them emotionally and offers relevant solutions. Also use tools such as social media analytics to gain insights into the demographic data and behaviour of your followers. Only those who know their target group can deliver truly relevant content and sustainably increase their reach.
How to analyse the target group and thus build more reach: Find out now in the free whitepaper.
2. Understand the algorithms
It is not necessary to decipher every technical aspect of an algorithm, but you should know the most important influencing factors. Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and others prioritise content that encourages interaction, is viewed for a long time and is frequently shared or commented on. Use platform-specific features such as stories, polls or reels, especially if these are new to the platform – this will increase your visibility. With hashtags today, less is more. Choose precise and relevant hashtags that directly match your content and your target group. Lots of unspecific hashtags are rated less effectively.
3. Observe trends and competition
Social media thrives on trends. Use trendy music, filters or challenges that are currently popular to achieve more reach with your content. Although it’s not just about short-lived trends – analysing the behaviour and content of your competitors is also crucial. Which topics are going viral for them? Which formats do they use? Let yourself be inspired and find creative approaches to set your own touches. Also, always keep up to date with what is happening in the world so that you can pick up on relevant topics in real time. Timing is often crucial for potential viral success.
4. Interact with the users
Social media is not a one-way street. Interaction is at the heart of every social network, and platforms reward accounts that actively engage in dialogue with their community. Respond to comments, ask questions, start polls and encourage your followers to actively participate. The more interactions your posts generate, the higher your content will be rated by the algorithm. It also strengthens the bond with your community. Users who feel heard not only like to come back, but will also be more willing to share or recommend your content.
5. Pay attention to quality, but nothing has to be perfect today
High-quality content is key, but perfection is not essential. Nobody expects studio quality in every post – especially not on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. In fact, authenticity is often the better approach. Mobile phone videos that offer a glimpse behind the scenes or are created spontaneously often come across as more likeable and approachable than perfectly staged shots. However, always make sure that the core message comes across clearly and avoid pixelated or unprofessional-looking content. It’s all about the added value you offer – be it through information, entertainment or inspiration.
6. Tell stories and use dramatic effects
Good stories captivate people – this also applies to social media. Think about how you can extend the length of time your followers stay with you. Build up suspense in your content that makes the user want to watch to the end. A strong hook that arouses curiosity in the first few seconds is crucial, especially for short videos. Emotions also play a major role: content that surprises, moves or makes people laugh is shared more often. Fast cuts, well-placed text elements and captivating sound help your story to be memorable. Make sure that every story has a clear objective, whether it is to convey a message or simply to entertain.
7. Build a network
A strong community on social media doesn’t happen on its own. Network with other experts in your industry – but also with your target group. Collaborations, reciprocal links or guest posts can massively increase your reach. Partnerships with people or brands that appeal to a similar target group are particularly effective. This allows you to potentially reach new followers who may be interested in your content. Interaction with other content creators also brings fresh ideas and synergies – so it’s worth building up a solid network and actively maintaining it.
8. Consistency rather than frequency
It is a misconception that you only need to post as often as possible to build reach on social media. Whether you post once a week or three times, the important thing is that you do this continuously and offer clear added value with every post. Find a fixed and reliable rhythm that works for you and your target group. This will ensure that your community knows when to expect new content and that they can look forward to interesting and valuable posts. Today, it is not necessarily the sheer quantity that counts, but the quality and, above all, the consistency – even if frequent posting still helps to reach more people.
For more reach, it is also worth familiarising yourself with the tips provided by the platforms. Here, for example, are the recommendations from Instagram itself – such as: ‘Post original content, avoid reposted content.’
Monitor social media KPIs for more reach
In order to achieve long-term success, it is important to keep a close eye not only on reach, but also on other social media key performance indicators, i.e. social media KPIs. The aim here is to understand your target groups and recognise trends in good time. This is the only way for companies to react early and create content that will be more successful.
What social media KPIs are there besides reach?
Reach is an important key figure, but not the only one for understanding the performance of content. Monitoring other KPIs can also help:
- Impressions – also broken down by content type, e.g. story, post or reel on Instagram
- Number of followers and growth rate
- Accounts reached that are not followers
- Number of engagement and engagement rate
This allows editorial teams to get to the bottom of such questions:
- Which posts get the most interactions?
- Which formats work best?
- Where do the impressions come from? From the home screen, hashtags or the Explore section?
With social media analytics, it is therefore important to constantly scrutinise and test hypotheses about your target groups and content and to adapt your content plan based on the findings.
How can cross-media reach be increased and what tools do companies use? Find out more in our free whitepaper.
Also look at qualitative insights
In addition to quantitative insights such as reach and impressions, there are also qualitative variables that help to better understand the target groups. These include the content of comments, questions via direct messages or other reactions. Community management and monitoring the target group is therefore becoming increasingly important for a media organisation.
Reach or impressions? What is the difference?
When it comes to social media KPIs, there is always talk of increasing reach, gaining followers or achieving impressions. What is the difference between reach and impressions and which KPI is more important?
Reach describes the number of people who have seen a company’s post.
Impressions refers to the number of times a particular piece of content was displayed.
Example: Let’s take an advertising campaign on Instagram. 3 people have seen this campaign 2 times each. That makes a reach of 3, but a total of 6 impressions, because a post can be shown to someone multiple times.
And followers vs reach?
Since a company can also reach people who do not yet follow it or because followers may not see a post, this number can vary greatly.
Which KPIs are more important?
Ob Reichweite, Impressionen oder Follower für ein Unternehmen am wichtigsten sind, lässt sich nicht pauschal beantworten. Es kommt immer auf die eigenen Ziele an und auch auf die Plattformen. Für manche Accounts sind Follower wichtiger, für andere die Reichweite. Schließlich kann ein Account mit den richtigen Inhalten auch ein großes Publikum erreichen ohne viele Follower:innen.
Am Ende zählt vor allem: Regelmäßig verschiedene Kennzahlen tracken ist entscheidend – auch für mehr Reichweite. Nur so lassen sich datenbasierte Entscheidungen treffen. Damit das auch über verschiedene Kanäle ganz einfach wie nebenbei geschieht, haben wir zum Beispiel Social Media Analytics direkt in unsere Redaktionssoftware Newsmind Stories integriert. Nicht nur planen, sondern auch messen: Alle Kanäle auf einer Plattform, ohne Informationslücken oder Wechsel zwischen vielen Tools.
Social Media Insights in Newsmind Stories
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