In case you missed it, Meta and TikTok are considering introducing ad-free, premium versions of their platforms.
This has spurred the question: what does this mean for the future of online ads?
Brands need to invest more in their organic content, community and strategy if they want to stay present in the hearts, minds and social media feeds of their customers.
In a social media world with less ability to run ads, brands need to give people a reason to a) follow them on social media, and b) actually engage with their content.
If your social engagement is low and growth is slow, or you’re just posting for the sake of posting, you’re literally giving your customers the all-clear to ignore your content. Not a promising sign for premiumisation of platforms.
The more value, entertainment, and engagement you offer, the more likely people are to follow and stay up to date with your brand. It takes time, energy and resource to optimise your content, so start today before it’s a scramble if/when premiumisation hits social media platforms.
Here’s the First Five Steps you can Take to Optimise Your Organic Content Strategy:
1. Start with a plan
Great organic content isn’t simply one professional photoshoot, posting 3x per week instead of 2, it’s knowing what type of content your audience cares about. You first need to do a deep dive on who your target customers are on your social platform of choice.
What do they care about?
What makes them laugh?
What captures their attention?
When are they most active on socials?
You should be able to answer all of these questions before you start posting. (Need help on your Social Media Plan? That’s our specialty! Get in touch).
2. Ask before you create
As you’re creating your content, ask yourself:
Does this add value to my audience?
Does it make their life easier?
Does it entertain them?
If it doesn’t directly provide a resounding “yes”, it’s a no. Content for content’s sake is a waste of your precious resources.
3. Evaluate
Assess your analytics of post type to find out what kind of content is resonating with your audience; what’s getting the most clicks? The most comments/shares/saves/likes? Post more of that.
4. Engage
If you’re not liking or responding to the comments on your posts, you’re missing a huge opportunity to not only connect with your fans, as well as boost your post in the algorithm. Every engagement is a vote of confidence to the algorithm that your post is relevant and interesting.
5. Be Consistent
Choose a posting frequency and content type that works and stick to it. There needs to be a balance struck between quantity and quality. If you can only do three good posts per week, that’s far better than five average ones. Find what works for you and keep at it.
6. Trust your social media team/agency
Social moves FAST. Micromanaging your team or agency means social goes stale. Once you know they understand your brand, give them a bit of leash to respond faster to brands without needing it to go through all levels of the company
7. Leverage collaborations and partnerships
Identify brands and influencers who are aligned to your brand and partner with them regularly. From collab posts through to UGC, the more you can get your brand featured on other social media accounts in a natural way, the better.
The evolution of social media and the introduction of premium ad-free versions by Meta and X herald a new era in the world of social media marketing. The future belongs to brands that place equal importance on their paid and organic strategies; embrace emerging trends, and stay focused on delivering authentic, engaging content.
If you’re wanting help on your organic social media strategy, social media management, or paid strategy, book a chat with the Brandsitters team.