Many social media specialists have noticed the decline of organic reach, especially on Facebook. Marketers and businesses are now asking themselves: is organic reach dead? Before we answer that question, we need to quickly understand why it has become more and more difficult for organic posts to be seen.
In 2018, Facebook made significant changes to its algorithm, and Mark Zuckerberg announced they were made to encourage meaningful connections—prioritizing friends, family and group content rather than business pages. Since then, the social media strategy shifted from organic to paid social campaigns. Paid ads allow businesses to reach broader audiences with more accuracy.
With an extreme change to the algorithm and an increased competition on the platform, Facebook became a pay to play game. The easy solution would be devoting some money to boost your content to create social ad campaigns. However, that doesn’t mean the end of organic posts. It is definitely harder than what it was before, but it is not impossible.
Here are four types of organic Facebook posts to reach your audience without spending money on ads.
Native Video
We already know video content is important. It’s been listed on many social media trend reports as a fundamental marketing tool that is here to stay. However, it is even more important to post them natively. Facebook News Feed algorithm is prioritizing native video content in its own environment and, in fact, when compared to shared YouTube links, videos uploaded directly to Facebook get 10 times more shares.
“Facebook is making a huge push for its native video features, including Facebook Live and audience targeting” – Entrepreneur
Use Facebook Live
Live streaming can be even more positive for your organic reach on Facebook. Live videos create a unique sense of community. They are the most meaningful way to interact and connect with your audience— a great example are “ask me anything” Q&As. This can establish an authentic connection with your audience, allowing them to get to know the real you while giving them valuable information.
“Anyone can blast out promotional messages. But developing a social media strategy that embodies authenticity, demonstrates transparency and creates a real connection with your audience—while delivering on your social and business goals—is a different story.” – Sprout Social
Recycled or Repurposed Content
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. If you have content that has worked in the past, why not share them again? Use your Facebook Insights tool to handpick the best evergreen content and convert them into different posts with a different angle. That’s an opportunity for new followers to see that content for the first time and for existing followers to learn something in a new way.
“If it’s been a year since you posted a certain piece of content and you now have 10,000 new followers, by all means, recycle! When it is relevant, you can still bring value to your audience with previously posted content” – Like A Voss Blog
Facebook Groups
The fourth type is not necessarily a post type, but actually a place where to deliver your posts organically. Many marketers now believe Facebook Groups is a new tool for businesses when delivering organic content. Groups bring together people who share the same interest, and that is a great opportunity for you to reach a large number of people interested specifically in the topic you are talking about on your posts.
“One benefit of relationships is that we can gain new knowledge and experiences by spending time with someone else. Even though a dissimilar person would be more likely to actually provide new knowledge and experience, research has shown that people are more likely to see self-expansion opportunities when interacting with someone who is similar, rather than dissimilar, to them.” – Psychology Today
These types of posts bring the most organic engagement because it allows you to be authentic.
It is important to test and try new things to learn what works best with your audience. Mix up formats, test a wide variety of post types: images, videos, quotes, polls, Q&A. By creating sincere content that speaks to your audience you will begin to see increased engagement. Organic reach isn’t quite dead, you just need to get a little more creative with how you create content and how you interact with your audience.
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