Building a brand through social media isn’t easy. It takes time and commitment to build an audience and a following. This may be something you’ve read a thousand times on different blogs. If you’ve already invested in social media and started building a following, congratulations, you’re taking important steps. 

However, what if you’re still considering to get more engaged on social media? Maybe you’ve started a profile page but you’re wondering if it’s worth the effort to start posting and building an audience. We’re here to tell you that it’s not only worth it, it’s one of the best ways to create an audience for your brand and to bring attention to your product or service.

As a small business, doing big advertising like radio or television can be very expensive and may not necessarily get you clients right away. While those are great mediums, the return on investment may not be great to start and are designed as a long-term marketing effort. 

Organic social media, at its most basic level, is the opportunity to create a buzz around your product and more importantly, it’s COMPLETELY FREE! Want to tell an audience about a great promotion you’re running or share a product review from a customer? Go for it! Social media is your platform to talk about you and your business. 

More specifically, let's dive into the benefits of “organic” social media. According to HootSuite, organic social media is defined as: “The free content (posts, photos, video’s, memes, stories, etc) that all users, including businesses and brands, share with each other on their feeds. Organic social media can also be replying to messages and comments, or even sharing about a new blog post.” 

The important distinction here is the word organic. It really focuses on natural growth by people finding your content as opposed to paid, which means you are paying for the opportunity to show up to others. 

Organic social media is truly about developing the voice of the brand and creating a connection with your followers, with the intent that they will not stay followers but grow into customers or clients. For any brand to have success, investing in organic social media will be the difference between success and failure. To further support this idea, here’s 6 reasons you should invest in organic social media.

Here are the 6 reasons:

1 // Establish Social Proof

As a consumer, we are always looking for reasons to buy products and curious if a product will help us. Usually we go to read reviews or google the product to see stories of how a product or service solved a problem. Social media allows us to create what’s commonly called “social proof.” Social proof is the ability for a consumer to prove the claims of a product or service, which helps move them towards a successful buying decision. 

As businesses, we want social proof. We want a LOT of social proof. If a product that solves the same problem has 100 reviews versus another that has 10,000 reviews, most consumers will purchase the product with more reviews. Social proof isn’t just your friend, it’s an ally that you need on your side. Social media gives you that platform. Post positive reviews and feedback from customers so others can see the success.

2 // Build Your Brand Long-Term

Social Media can help establish credibility and longevity. The longer a product has been around, the bigger the social media feed, more posts, more followers, and most importantly, more customers. Going back to the social proof piece, it establishes you. A brand that has been around for 10 years will have more credibility than a brand that has been around for less. Use this to your advantage and start building your brand by posting content to establish your brand. 

3 // Gain Insight and Feedback from Your Audience

Organic social media is all about interacting with your audience. Just like you want them to engage with your content, they want to see you engage with them as well. By liking and commenting on messages your audience leaves, it shows you are listening to them and being involved. At the end of the day, customers want to feel validated and valued by a business. By commenting or replying to their comments or messages, it ensures you’re receiving their feedback and they feel heard.

4 // Product Promotion

Organic social media is a great opportunity for product promotion to your audience. Your following has already chosen to spend time to follow you and view your content. Occasionally, take advantage of that attention and promote a specific product or service. You won’t need to promote it every day, as that’s a great way to lose people, but picking something to promote once a week is a great way to inform your audience of all the different things you can do. 

5 // Organic Social Media is VERY Cost Effective

For a business, especially one that is small or just starting out, it’s important to find ways to promote your business while preserving capital. One of the benefits of organic social media is that creating the content is free from a cost perspective. What it will require is time. If you don’t have the time to start creating organic content, it might be time to hire this out so you can stay focused on growing your business. If you’d like more information on why you should hire someone to run your organic social media, check out this article about why you might consider hiring a freelancer. 

6 // Humanize Your Brand

Organic social media is your opportunity to show that there are humans behind the graphics and posts. Take fun pictures from your office or share pictures from an event. This is your chance to allow your audience to see the faces that run your business. Tell the story of your team and create that connection as often as you can. Did someone on your staff have a birthday or celebrate an anniversary at the company? Celebrate that through social media. 

If you’re looking to build your organic social presence, these are great reasons to start with. We cannot urge you enough to put in the time and effort to start communicating with your audience. If you need help to get started, GoldBear Media can help. We have worked with dozens of clients to help them build an organic social media that resonates with their followers and built loyal customers.