Facebook announced another shift to their News Feed algorithm on January 11. It relates heavily to organic growth potential for a several main reasons.

First, Zuckerberg says the goal will be to focus on helping users find relevant content and have meaningful social interactions. This means, when striving for organic growth with your brand focusing on content, as an opportunity to engage with your audience and drive the online conversation is very important.

Second, Zuckerberg noted that the change would result in a reduction of engagement for brands in an effort to push higher quality content. As a brand, this means rather than quantity of content, quality will be ever more important.

So what are some best practices to keep in mind for organic social growth? 

Tell a story

Think about the story behind your brand. This is important for crafting messaging and content on your platforms. The recent algorithm shift is the response to feedback from people’s use of Facebook. People are tired of being spoken to; they want to consume a story.

By incorporating this into messaging and content, your existing following is much more likely to consume and engage with the content which will hopefully lead to tags, shares and more that can drive organic growth for your brand

Video // Live Video 

Video reach and interaction is real. On Facebook specifically, Zuckerberg nodded to the new algorithm valuing videos that start conversations around important issues. This doesn’t mean that your video needs to be overly complicated, just that it ultimately has value for your target audience. 

You can go live on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, which provide another valuable channel for organic growth. Live video usually includes a notification out to users that your brand is live and can drive almost instant engagement as a result of that. 

Posting the live video after the fact can also drive further engagement in tags, shares and comments which can provide your brand the opportunity to connect with new people and ultimately lead to … you guessed it… organic growth. 

Comment on Posts // Be A Human // Acknowledge Engagement on Post

It is common to think that if you have a presence on a social platform that is enough. However, with the amount of content and people using social platforms that just isn’t the case. This means quality engagement is key. 

If people comment on your brands post or send a message to your brand. They expect a response. They want to be sure there is a human or level of interaction with the brand. Why? It builds trust. This can lead to people not only reviewing your brand in a positive way but also to sharing that experience with their network of friends, which can lead to boosted organic growth.

Think about your own personal experience with a brand you follow on social media. If you engaged with their post and they engaged back, you’re more likely to feel good about that brand than if you engage and feel like the interaction has just been with a wall and has gone unnoticed. 

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