Ignite Your Brand: The Top 2024 Organic Social Media Strategy

Are your organic social media efforts falling flat? Struggling to convert casual followers into loyal brand advocates? It’s time to refine your approach with a robust organic social marketing strategy.

Why Organic Social Marketing Matters

In today’s digital world, having a mere presence on social media isn’t sufficient. Brands need a deliberate organic strategy to stand out amidst the noise and foster genuine connections with their audience. Jenny Li Fowler, Director of Social Media Strategy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and author of “Organic Social Media: How to Build Flourishing Online Communities,” emphasizes the importance of strategic direction in social media marketing. Without it, marketers risk cluttering feeds and chasing vanity metrics instead of fostering meaningful engagement.

Organic community-building is paramount in 2024. It enables brands to cultivate genuine connections with their audience, leading to loyal brand advocates. MIT, a global brand, prioritizes authentic follower relationships to share its innovations with a worldwide audience effectively. By focusing on organic loyalty, brands can create valuable connections amidst the noise and inauthenticity prevalent in social media.

Developing a Repeatable Strategy Framework

Drawing from years of experience, Jenny developed a strategic framework known as the “6 Ms of Social Media.” This framework serves as a guide for developing a robust organic social media marketing strategy.

Step 1: Define Your Mission and Goals

The first step is to define your mission and goals. Clearly articulate why you use social media and what you aim to achieve. Whether it’s generating revenue, creating brand evangelists, or educating your audience, align your social tactics with broader business objectives.

To illustrate, if your goal is revenue generation, outline your social media game plan to support product launches, conduct early product reviews, and leverage micro-influencer campaigns. Your mission guides your strategy, ensuring alignment and impact.

Step 2: Craft Compelling Messages

Craft messaging that resonates with your audience and contributes to your brand’s overarching story. View your social feeds as users would and ensure they showcase diverse facets of your brand. Assess your content through a user’s lens, focusing on the overall brand narrative rather than individual posts.

For example, MIT ensures its social media content reflects various aspects of campus life, including student experiences, culture, and research. Each post contributes to the broader MIT story, engaging followers and aligning with the brand’s goals.

Step 3: Establish Process Management

Document your processes to ensure consistent execution of your organic social strategy. Outline the steps from idea creation to post-publishing, facilitating smooth handoffs and clear expectations within your team. A documented playbook fosters credibility, scalability, and structured operations.

Step 4: Evaluate Each Platform

Carefully evaluate social media platforms to determine the best fit for your content and target audience. Resist the temptation to create accounts on every platform and focus on quality over quantity. Reimagine and optimize your content for each platform, tailoring it to fit audience preferences and content consumption norms.

Step 5: Track and Revise Metrics

Select key performance indicators aligned with your goals and continually assess their effectiveness. Focus on public engagement metrics like comments, shares, and likes to gauge content resonance and audience engagement. Use engagement metrics to iterate and refine your content strategy, ensuring it consistently resonates with your audience.

Step 6: Monitor Mentions and Conversations

Monitor relevant conversations happening on your social channels to gain insights into your audience’s needs and perceptions. Continuously review comments, quote posts, and broader discussions to stay informed about your audience’s sentiments and evolving preferences.

By following this comprehensive framework, brands can develop a robust organic social media marketing strategy that fosters authentic connections, engages their audience, and drives long-term loyalty.