How to Grow a Loyal Audience with Organic Social Media

Highlights:

• Discover how authentic content can transform the way your audience connects with your brand.
• Learn why genuine interactions matter more than automated responses on social media.
• Explore how showcasing the people behind your brand can spark loyalty and long-term growth.

Social media was originally created for the purpose of being social. Seems obvious, right? Well, the early days of the MySpace Top 8 and Tumblr reblogs are long gone. Anyone remember when Twitter (now X) would go down and we’d get to see the fail whale? Those were the days. Now our newsfeeds today can seem like an endless scroll of advertisements, organic posts that feel identical to six others, and clickbait news headlines. Despite this, a social media presence is a necessary (and free) tool to grow your business or brand. While we are all at the mercy of the ever-changing algorithm, there are several ways to leverage your organic social media presence and build an online community that goes from followers to longtime fans: 

Stay on brand, but don’t forget to be real

The early days of Instagram meant Rio filters and aesthetically curated grids (everyone remember flat lay content?). And while there is still an element of curation that performs positively on social media, people want to experience a level of authenticity. Don’t be afraid to infuse content that shows your missteps, bloopers, or behind-the-scenes real-life moments. 

Engage Like a Human, Not an AI Auto Responder

We’ve all seen the “comment INSERT WORD and receive the link in your DM!” responses in captions, whether it’s a link to a product, course, or service. While I am all for productivity and leveraging some automation with your content, especially for scheduling posts, this barrage of autoreplies can make your audience feel disconnected. Part of building an authentic online community is just that: engaging authentically. Taking the time to reply to comments, ask follow-up questions, like replies etc. Great conversations can be fostered in the comments section of your posts, but you need to prioritize the time. 

Show the People Behind the Account or Brand

This one might feel obvious, but hear me out: There are several brands and businesses that have built incredible social media followings based on showing their team and everyday office content instead of talking about what they do or sell. Social media inherently has a voyeuristic element that lets people in on your daily life. People want to know what you’re reading, watching, cooking, or wearing. When it comes to work, they want to see the humorous team building exercises, Pam from HR trying a TikTok trend, or light-hearted office hijinks that unsuspecting coworkers participate in. All of this builds a following and fans without even pushing products or services in front of your followers. 

Building community through organic social media takes time, effort, and adapting to the platforms as algorithms change. But the end result is sustained support from an online community that will purchase, advocate, and boost awareness for your brand. 

Want help building an authentic online community? Contact us today to create an organic social strategy that turns followers into loyal fans.

Written by Abby Smith; Manager, Strategy & Growth