What We're Talking About...The Death of Social Media Organic Reach

Before 2012, it was easy for brands to reach their audience through social media. And the best part? It was all free and organic!

You've probably noticed by now that fewer and fewer people are seeing and engaging with your posts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So, what happened?

Social platforms are no longer showing brand's posts because they don't get as much engagement and they want to discourage their users from leaving their platform to visit your link. This leaves us marketers with an ultimatum: pay for exposure or create more engaging content. Many brands are now shifting focus back on tactics like blogging and high-quality content production to get more reach and engagement.

So if you're wondering where should you focus more of your time to generate awareness, here's what we're talking about...

Articles

The Decline of Organic Facebook Reach & How to Outsmart the Algorithm via HubSpot

“First, there's simply too much content being published on Facebook, making visibility in the News Feed increasingly competitive. Second, Facebook is deliberately trying to show people the content that is most relevant to them.”

From Facebook's perspective, it’s just not an ideal user experience to flood someone's News Feed with posts just because a Page has lots of Likes and is publishing consistently. So what can you do to get back that lost audience? Read this comprehensive guide filled with tips to find out.

Don’t Get Left Behind: 6 SEO Trends That’ll Affect Your Traffic via Neil Patel

“The fact that you placed the keyword in the headline or meta description isn’t the determining factor it used to be. The overall user experience that your web page creates is what counts.”

Social Media and SEO work hand-in-hand. Having a strong presence on social media helps you build authority and enhance brand mentions and co-citation, which are signals that will impact your search rankings in the long-run. Read all about this intertwined relationship here.

50 Ways To Maximize Your Organic Visibility On Social Media via Forbes

“If you’re posting blindly, or without a strategy, you may find yourself frustrated, wondering how it’s possible for companies to reach and grow bigger and bigger audiences— without resorting to buying followers with paid ads.”

50 focused strategies to tackle social media, that's a lot! Here are just a handful of tips from the article that we find helpful:

• Re-syndicate your content - A tweet only has a lifespan of about 18 minutes! Share it a few times to extend its reach.
• Revisit your most successful posts - These represent some of your best work, so don’t let them slip away. Run a follow-up piece, expand upon your original post, or rework it into another form of media like a video!
• Engage in Facebook and LinkedIn groups - Find relevant groups to your brand, or ones full of your target demographics, and engage with them. Just be sure not to shove your brand in their face with every post. Be subtle!

No, Organic Content Isn’t Dead: It Just Has a New Purpose via AdWeek

“And as the platforms change, so must your organic content strategy. Instead of reach and scale, discovery and relevance are now they keys to the castle.”

Wait! Think twice before you scrap your organic strategy all together. This article will give you 6 compelling reasons why you shouldn't abandon ship.

Report

Content Trends 2018: BuzzSumo Research Report via BuzzSumo

“If you’re sticking with your content approach from three years ago, it’s now 50% less effective.”

BuzzSumo's 2018 Content Trends Report reveals what has changed in the world of social sharing and what you can do about it.

Here are a few key findings from the report:

• Based on a sample of 100 million posts published in 2017, social sharing of content has been cut in half since 2015.
• Social traffic referrals have declined sharply, with Google sites now driving twice as many referrals to publishers.
• In this new world of content saturation and falling social shares, the big winners are sites that have built a strong reputation for original, authoritative content.

Podcast

The Death of Organic Social Media with Mike Stelzner: Episode 82 via Digital Marketer

“Funny enough, social traffic for us is only like 4% of our traffic, which is kind of surprising when you got a website called Social Media Examiner.”

The Founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner agrees that organic reach from social has reduced to almost nothing. In this podcast you'll learn why marketers are turing away from traditional social channels and to Facebook Live, Facebook Groups, and Podcasts to generate more exposure.

Video

Happy Hour at The Knowledge Bar: Facebook Algorithm Change via campaign creators

The new Facebook is a lot like a bar. The algorithm means the entry rules to the bar have changed and those pesky promoters are being kicked to the curb. So how do you stay in? Tune in to happy hour with us to find out.

We hope these resources will help you when re-thinking your awareness strategy. Creating your own high quality content hosted on your website is a great way to help you build authority and increase your organic reach, so we're sharing a comprehensive Rules to Blog By Checklist that provides you with blogging best practices that'll ensure your blog is attracting high quality leads for your business.

Has your company shifted focus from social to SEO? What are you doing differently now? Let us know!