Organic methods help promote your business, but they have significant drawbacks — they require a lot of time and effort. By relying on them alone, you will reach success slowly, which is why paid methods are often more effective, as they can deliver results on an hourly basis.
However, organic methods should not be ignored as a promotion strategy. The key is not to use them as your primary growth channel. Below, we will share information on how to grow your social media naturally.
Choose Social Networks Based on Your Goals
Each platform has its own audience characteristics and content formats. Therefore, you should select social networks according to your criteria. The choice depends on the following factors:
- goals;
- available resources.
If you aim to reach hundreds of millions of people who are highly likely to use your product, Twitch or LinkedIn may not be the right choice. On the other hand, if your business focuses on professional networking or job searching, Instagram or VK may not be suitable platforms.
How to Make the Right Choice
Every platform finds its user, but not every user finds the right social network. To simplify this process, we will describe each popular online platform and explain the purpose it was created for.
Having over 2 billion registered users does not mean that all content is equally valued or appreciated. Facebook is primarily designed for communication rather than entertainment or humorous content, and its audience reflects that. There are two main reasons people use Facebook:
- to meet new people;
- to stay in touch with old friends.
Facebook is not ideal for entertainment or “positive vibes.” People use it to build long-term relationships, meet new people, and maintain contact with clients, for example.
Instagram is focused on a younger audience that seeks emotions from reading posts and watching videos. The platform allows users to create short videos and host live streams. It is used for the following reasons:
- sharing life updates;
- enjoying the lifestyles of celebrities.
Many influencers and public figures use Instagram to showcase their daily lives — went out for a barbecue, posted a Story; made breakfast, took a photo. To manage these social interactions effectively and track engagement, many creators rely on the Linkly URL shortener to streamline their shared content.
YouTube
YouTube has over 2 billion registered users, but millions of unregistered users access it daily. This highlights the platform’s massive popularity. People use YouTube for the following purposes:
- watching videos to relax;
- solving everyday problems;
- watching educational and useful content.
Each user visits YouTube for their own reasons. Some want to watch gameplay of a new game. Others look for travel guides to Italy before a trip. And some want to learn how to apply for a visa to Japan.
This social network is used as a specialized platform for job searching and building business relationships. The creators designed LinkedIn with the following goals:
- helping companies find new employees;
- facilitating interaction between employees and employers;
- helping users find clients for their services or products.
If you are looking for professional services, LinkedIn is the most popular platform of its kind.
TikTok
TikTok is a relatively new social network with a predominantly young audience. It is used for watching short videos ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes. Users visit TikTok daily for the following reasons:
- enjoying hundreds of short videos;
- watching interesting or useful content;
- watching purely entertaining videos.
The younger generation is accustomed to short-form content, which has led to a form of dependency. While it is far from serious addiction, it still causes noticeable harm: a lot of time and energy is spent consuming large amounts of content, resulting in information overload.
Twitter is openly used by U.S. presidents and high-ranking officials. The platform has introduced official verification statuses so users understand who they are reading and interacting with. The audience uses Twitter for the following reasons:
- communication;
- news distribution;
- discussion of current events.
Twitter is an unofficial platform that is often the first to report global events or major happenings. Users instantly begin discussing breaking news publicly.
Define Your Goals
Goal setting is the first step in developing a marketing and social media growth strategy. Here are some tips to help you define them:
- Specificity — clearly define the platform you will focus on;
- Achievability — set goals you can realistically accomplish;
- Time-bound — set deadlines for achieving your goals.
Strive toward the goals you set. The Boost Like Store service can help you achieve success — use our services to grow on any platform.
Define Your Target Audience
Identifying your target audience helps you understand how to develop your social media presence. Determine your audience’s interests, needs, and preferences to improve content quality, increase engagement, and boost sales.
Engage With Your Audience
Communication with followers is the key to social media growth. Respond to comments, reply to direct messages, thank users for their activity, and engage in other forms of interaction. Your audience will appreciate this and become even more active.
Stay on the Same Wavelength as Your Followers
How can you grow a business on social media without communication and interaction? Simply put — you can’t. To start meaningful engagement, you need to think like your audience: express ideas clearly, answer questions, and adapt your online behavior.
Monitor Your Competitors
Competitors are a valuable source of content ideas and niche insights. You can learn from their social media strategies to improve your own content.
Publish Content at the Best Time
The optimal posting time is when your audience is most active and likely to see your content. You should adapt to your followers’ habits so that whenever they open the platform, your posts appear in their feed. Over time, peak posting hours may shift by an hour or two, so it’s important to regularly analyze audience activity and adjust accordingly.
Automate the Process Correctly
In recent years, creators have increasingly turned to automation for managing online profiles. We recommend using services that help track engagement and identify the most successful posts. However, you should not fully rely on automated systems for your online presence.
Be an Active Content Creator
Keep your audience informed about what’s happening: share company updates, introduce new employees, and post other relevant news. Maintain a balanced posting schedule — posting too little or too much can be harmful.
Motivate People to Engage
Show your audience that you value engagement: likes, comments, and subscriptions. If they don’t take action, ask them. Include calls to action at the end of posts or videos — just make sure it feels natural and unobtrusive.
Don’t Sell — Help Your Audience
Your followers should feel that your goal is not to sell them a product or service, but to help them solve a problem.
