It wasn’t so very long ago that a business needed only 3 things to ensure a robust social media presence: a posting platform, an intern to research your content, and an internet connection.

Those days are long gone and these days, after Facebook algorithm changes, only 3-5% of your community will actually see what you post. That’s why knowing how to boost organic social traffic is so important for you and your business.

While it’s clear that the only way to be seen completely is to pay for the privilege, there are adjustments you can make to your content strategy to gain a marginal improvement in your organic reach. It starts by finding an expert Social Media Community Manager.

The following changes, implemented by a savvy Community Manager, along with a modest social media advertising budget, will make sure your message appears to all of your community, and your best local prospects.

First, we recommend you find a social media expert to review what topics are trending, in real time, across all of your social platforms. By taking this approach they will help ensure you’re plugged in to what’s being talked about, and improve your chances of your posts getting a higher score for relevancy. They will also help keep you from falling into the most common “default” kind of posts – those that are all about you.

Why is this important? Facebook’s algorithm penalizes over-promotion by reducing how often a business’s posts appear in their community members’ news feeds.

Another factor is the newsfeed and notification settings that Facebook users can apply. Your community members can choose to “Get notified” when you post and “See first” in their newsfeed and, when they do so, your reach is improved.

Also consider your post types. Facebook’s News Feed algorithm analyzes the type of posts that individual users tend to like. Users that often interact with photo posts are more likely to see more photo posts in the News Feed, and users that tend to click more on links will see more posts with links. A good Social Media Community Manager will review where you’re getting the most engagement and adjust accordingly while maintaining a good mix to engage the whole community.

Finally, a great Social Media Community Manager knows how to create conversations with your community. It starts with great content they know will resonate with your target audience and that they will want to engage with. That engagement is facilitated by asking questions like “what’s your favorite” or “Pro or Con?” Trivia questions, relevant to your business, can also be highly engaging.

(Facebook also publishes a lot of good information on the basics of community management — click here to see an overview.)

In conclusion: While you will still need to spend money on paid promotions to maximize your reach, a great Community Manager will know how to put these organic tactics and strategies in place, to maximize the results of your advertising dollars and boost organic social traffic. Their importance in the growth of their business is so enormous that you could even consider getting a keyman insurance done for them! Why not? Without them, your company or brand, just might not last!

Do you have strategies you’ve used to successfully improve your organic reach? Please share by commenting!

Or perhaps you need a great Social Media Community Manager? If that’s the case our Social Media Assistant service will definitely meet your needs. Click here to learn more.