To connect with their targeted audiences in an increasingly crowded digital landscape, brands must have a cohesive marketing strategy for building lasting relationships with customers online. Social media marketing is crucial for accomplishing this goal, bringing corporations into direct contact with their customers and opening new avenues to tell the brand’s story through organic content and paid advertising.
Avila University’s online Master of Arts (M.A.) in Management with a concentration in Marketing program provides communications professionals with work-relevant skills in social media, marketing and management. Graduates gain technical expertise and practical skills that prepare them to develop digital marketing campaigns and engage organic social media content that inspires loyalty from their customer base.
What Is Organic Marketing?
In the digital space, organic marketing refers to online content shared for free without spending money to increase the number of people it reaches or converts into customers, according to Sprout Social. Organic marketing is often multifaceted, involving a combination of search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing and email marketing to loyal customers.
Social media marketing is a crucial piece of the puzzle, offering brands a chance to create content specifically for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X. As Buffer points out, companies often use organic social media content to help, educate and entertain customers. Those efforts drive customers to feel positively toward the brand and return for customer service and future purchases.
An effective organic social media marketing strategy understands the opportunities and limitations of using free tools to connect with their target audiences. In comparison to paid social media advertising, which boosts social media posts to potential customers, organic social media posts have a limited reach, according to Socxo.
Paid social media marketing gives companies a certain degree of control over results and reach, while organic marketing can take more time to bear fruit. Organic social media content must be consistent in terms of frequency and quality to connect with core audiences and build a brand’s reputation, while paid campaigns provide immediate increases in web traffic and new customers.
At the same time, organic social media is vital for responding to customer inquiries promptly and making customers feel as if they are conversing with a brand. A 2023 Sprout Social survey found that 30% of consumers expect to hear back from a company within 24 hours of their initial message, with 51% reporting that the most memorable brands on social media respond to their customers.
Building Audiences With Social Media Marketing Strategies
In a crowded online marketplace, a compelling organic social strategy can make companies stand out. While companies will turn to paid social advertising to attract new customers, organic social media presence keeps them coming back, according to WebFX. The digital marketing agency suggests that marketers identify the social media platforms that are most beneficial to their business and follow the general 80-20 rule for content. Under those guidelines, companies should make 80% of posts informational, entertaining or educational and 20% promotional.
Hootsuite advises companies to encourage employees to share company content with their personal networks, expanding their reach to a like-minded audience. Brands can also share user-generated content stemming from online contests or product reviews, fostering community around their brand without monetary incentives.
To drive organic traffic to social media accounts, organizations often turn to popular content formats promoted by algorithms and audience preference. For example, short-form videos — like TikTok and Instagram Reels — remain the most engaging type of in-feed content, according to Sprout Social. By creating short videos and jumping on trends that make sense for the brand, unpaid social media content finds new audiences that will have a positive impression of the company.
Master Organic Digital Marketing Tools With Avila University
Students in Avila University’s online M.A. in Management with a concentration in Marketing program dig into the ins and outs of digital, social and mobile marketing strategies through the Digital Marketing Communication course. The coursework highlights the core features of digital media tools and how they help marketers deliver the right messaging to the desired target audiences through the channels they prefer. Students also learn how to interpret marketing analytics reports and use them to adapt their strategies to a rapidly changing digital environment.
To build a successful digital marketing strategy, marketers must effectively mix organic social media content with paid campaigns that elevate the brand’s messaging. Upon graduation from Avila University’s online M.A. in Management with a concentration in Marketing program, marketing professionals are prepared to develop and execute marketing plans that resonate with loyal customers and new audiences.
Learn more about Avila University’s online M.A. in Management with a concentration in Marketing program.
