The difference between organic social media and paid advertising lies in the untapped potential of organic social media.

 

Organic social media is the first step in a person’s journey with your brand. Before they purchase your product and before the individual even knows they’re in the market for your product or service. When organic content is executed properly, your brand will appear in people’s feeds as they scroll through their social networks day to day, keeping audiences engaged so that you’re top of mind when they are ready to convert.

 

Social media allows brands to create a presence for themselves and build a community of loyal followers, where they can be exposed to the values and beliefs that the brand stands for. Over time, the community of followers becomes a source of potential customers who may favour your business over others in the category due to their understanding and alignment with your social brand presence.

 

The true benefit of organic social media marketing is that it offers a different type of interaction with the consumer. Paid advertising interrupts the consumer’s experience, while organic social media builds a relationship with the consumer over time. As brands begin to embrace organic social media as part of their overall strategy, they not only gain reach but also meaningful connections with their target audiences. This is why successful organic campaigns are so critical to competing in a crowded marketplace.

How To Create Organic Campaigns That Matter

1. Content Tailored To Each Platform

There are a variety of social media platforms, each one with a different purpose. These varying purposes create different audiences, content formats and interaction styles, meaning content resonates differently across each. Content that is reused across different social media platforms does not create a direct, strong bond with the consumers from each of those platforms. Simply copying and pasting a post from one platform onto multiple channels does not effectively connect the brand to the target consumer.

 

Content planning and creation are better leveraged when based on user behaviour for platforms. For example, LinkedIn is the place where users look for authority and expertise before heading to Instagram and Facebook. These sites support insightful content delivered in a more fast-paced and engaging way. Whilst TikTok champions content that is authentic, relatable and entertaining. 

 

Creating successful content is done when user behaviour and the expectations of the platform are matched with what the brand values and their messaging.

2. Brand Storytelling at the Forefront

A large drive behind why users come to social media is to gain deeper insight. Which is why recently, there has been a large uptick in storytelling content performing incredibly well. Brand storytelling has profound strength when it comes from lived experience instead of feeling rehearsed. 

 

As the brand continues to grow and evolve, a great avenue for storytelling content that resonates is through the brand’s founder. They have an opportunity to offer perspectives about what has driven their business and what they have learned along the way. When a founder shares insights and not egos, they can be viewed as a true person who understands the business, industry, and trials of the customers they serve. This type of visibility holds great influence as audiences look to determine who they can trust.

 

The ingredient for success is achieving a balance. The purpose of founder content is to provide clarity and insight rather than noise. It should also appear purposeful rather than overwhelming. Most importantly, the focus of founder content must be on the benefit to the audience.

3. Prioritising Community Engagement

While sheer numbers of followers may look appealing in screenshots, actual follower counts are meaningless if followers are not engaging with your brand.

 

Campaigns that emphasise engagement consistently outperform campaigns that emphasise reach. What constitutes engagement? Engagement is all the comments, responses, saves, and direct message activity that indicates that people are paying attention. Once brands engage with their audiences, their social media pages become relationship platforms instead of messaging platforms. Audiences will feel valued, accepted, and included.

 

Engagement creates feedback loops for brands in real time to determine what messaging is successful, what doesn’t resonate, and what should be stopped before being reinforced. Brands that focus on engagement create an air of experience and expertise. As a result, decision-makers will feel more comfortable relying on these brands when making decisions within the industry.

4. Cooperative Partnership Between Paid and Organic

The most successful campaigns do not segregate paid and organic digital marketing.

 

Organic is an incredible foundation for deciding on effective creative and copy for paid campaigns. Organic social media is able to offer insight into what content is performing well in particular categories, whether it’s reach, engagement, etc. Allowing paid campaigns to go through fewer trial and error stages, as brands have already determined what types of content are most likely to resonate with their audience.

 

With content across organic and paid channels having strong cohesion, audiences become more knowledgeable of that brand and its message quicker, thanks to an intentional brand presence versus one that is disjointed and scattered.

5. UGC Creator Partnerships Done Right

People tend to think that the larger the follower count, the better the investment is when it comes to influencer collaborations, but this isn’t always the case. 

 

Micro- and nano-influencers are capable of producing a much better ROI than larger influencers often. Smaller follower counts when it comes to creators tend to indicate a more engaged, tight-knit community that places a lot more trust and gravity on what the creator says and promotes. When a brand engages micro- and nano-influencers to promote their brand, it creates the feeling of being close to that community through extension rather than with larger influencers, who tend to feel like an anonymous entity to their viewers at times.

 

When smaller creators are used in campaigns, these campaigns will look less like traditional advertisements and more like shared experiences. A powerful result of this method is when the creators already align with the values of the brand(s) they are promoting.

 

Another benefit of this strategy is the ability for brands to test multiple voices and styles with a range of smaller creators rather than relying solely on one large influencer to carry the message due to budget constraints.

6. Trend-jacking within Brand Constraints

Trends are a really powerful tool for accumulating reach quickly, which in turn creates momentum for campaigns. However, they should never become the sole strategy for a campaign.

 

Jumping on the latest trends without a solid brand foundation will generate short-lived interest; it will ultimately not create long-lasting recognition or trust. Audiences connect to brands that stand for something, not just brands that are visible everywhere. When trends are added onto the foundation of a campaign, and when they align with the voice, messages, and audiences of the brand, it feels appropriate and timely instead of forced or desperate.

 

When trends are used appropriately, they create relevance for the brand; however, when trends are used alone, they create chaos and confusion for the audience. Campaigns should not be defined solely by trending topics; instead, campaign messaging and strategies should utilise trending topics to place more power behind their original goal.

 

How these Strategies Build Better Brand Visibility

All these methods work in conjunction with each other.

 

The fact that they are all built using a platform-first strategy keeps the content relevant. The application of a story-led strategy allows for the creation of a belief system, whereas an engagement focus creates a tight relationship with the audience. The strong relationship between paid and organic media allows for scaling successful content across both avenues. The execution of influencer-driven media adds a level of credibility, while the execution of trend-based content creates “buzz” without watering down the brand’s identity.

 

This is why it’s so important to find a digital marketing agency that is prepared to tailor their social media strategies to your brand. Social media always boils down to authentic insights, so it’s a matter of which of these strategies is the most effective tool to convey this to your audiences. 

Creating a Strong Campaign with TFM

At TFM, we have a dedicated and experienced social media marketing team that can help ensure your organic presence feels depthful, authentic, connects to your audiences and builds a community for your brand.

 

TFM designs organic campaigns that keep your target audiences engaged by letting your brand voice speak for itself. So that your consumers are keeping you top of mind, whether they’re ready to convert yet or not.

If you’re ready to start creating a long-term, sustainable social media presence, TFM offers social media marketing services specifically designed for you. Let’s do it right together!