Are your social media accounts growing slowly, or maybe even not at all? Have you played with the idea of boosting posts or running a paid ad campaign on Facebook but aren’t sure if it’s worth it? We have some ideas for you to try out before paying to boost posts or running ads.

What is organic growth? Organic growth refers to developing your audience and increasing engagement without relying on paid strategies. You can pay for growth by boosting posts and running paid ad campaigns. While there is a place for both strategies, if you’re short on funds or your goals are to create lasting, authentic followers, then lean into organic marketing as your main priority. Here’s how:

Clean up your profiles.

First things first, set up your account profiles for success. This includes all pertinent information to be consistent across every platform:

• Contact info, business hours, and links
• Profile and cover photos 
• Bio copy 
• If possible make sure your @ handles are the same

Consistency.

It’s long been understood that if you want your social media accounts to grow their audience, you need to be posting consistently. This applies even more if you’re relying on organic growth over paid ads. What does that look like exactly? Well, it tends to vary by industry. A proper assessment should take place. Look into your competitors and see what they’re doing in terms of post frequency and post content. What’s working for them, and what’s not?

A good rule of thumb is to post 3-5 times a week, on the same days, and at the same time. This frequency creates an expectation among your followers and gives your brand a consistent heartbeat online that shows you’re out there making it happen.

Engage. Engage. Engage.

When people leave comments on your posts, interact with them. Don’t copy and paste the same canned responses to all posts, but rather try to be intentional with your responses. When you interact with your audience, it builds trust in your brand. Remember to use the tone of your brand with your responses. For example, if you operate a fun, vibrant restaurant, then use that same tone with your responses. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries a little bit.

What about negative comments? You should always respond politely with an answer or send a direct message to the user and address the matter in a more private setting. If you have a large following you can bet that your biggest fans will jump in the comment section and come to the defense of your brand.

When addressing negative comments, remember:

• Do not get defensive or angry. This will just make things worse. Be the bucket of water to put the fire out, do not fuel the flame.
• Some people just want to complain. We all know someone who always has something to complain about or a reason to be negative. And somehow they all gathered online to cause trouble. Stay cool, calm, and collected, and don’t take it personally. If a user is consistently causing trouble, go ahead and block them.

Respond to messages.

Don’t forget to check your inboxes on each social media platform. Many times there are specific inquiries that come in that need to be addressed. Try to get in the habit of checking at least three times a week. Respond promptly, politely, and professionally.

Invite.

This applies mainly to Facebook but is an easy way to grab more followers.

Here’s how it works:

1. For any post that has reactions on it (likes, loves, etc.), click on the reaction count. All of the users who reacted to that post will pop up there and if they don’t already follow your page an “Invite” button will be next to their name (see the image below). Simply click on that button and VOILA! You’ve successfully sent that person an invite to follow your page.

2. Occasionally, in Meta Business Suite there will be a pop-up on the content calendar (see image below) that notifies you about people who have reacted to your posts that you can invite. Click on the “Send Invites” button and check the users you would like to invite. So simple.

Give it time.

Everyone wants a quick fix to get huge growth numbers fast, but even with paid ads, that isn’t always successful. We suggest trying any strategy for 3-6 months to really give it a chance to work. Each social media platform has its own quirks and algorithms and they are constantly changing and being updated.

Creating quality, branded content takes a lot of time and intention and can be quite overwhelming to some. Our social media experts have been plugging away on these platforms for years and have the industry knowledge to take your social media platforms to the next level. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to grow your following on social media, let’s connect.