Good marketing reaches the right people with the right message to drive a desired action (typically a sale). Great marketing creates a connection with your brand and builds relationships that make you the go-to in your industry. 
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Enter organic social media marketing. That’s the free kind: posts, comments, stories, and everyone’s favorite… Reels! Organic social is an excellent way to build brand awareness and grow an audience of engaged followers. As your other marketing channels, word-of-mouth, or a brick-and-mortar store deliver additional brand impressions to that audience, your prospects become more likely to convert into paying customers. In fact, there’s a marketing hypothesis that posits that consumers need to see a brand seven times before they’re likely to become conscious of it! Organic social media is a valuable facet in the buyer journey, helping you nurture fans into loyal customers. 

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Follow these ten do's and don'ts to make your organic social efforts work for you, not the other way around.

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Content for Social Channels

Let’s dive into the deep end: content creation. How to do it, what to consider, and common pitfalls to avoid.

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DO: Speak to Your Ideal Audience

Craft your social media content to speak to your target segments and other stakeholders you need to reach (for example, if you’re a nonprofit, your social strategy will need to reach those needing your services in addition to donors and volunteers.) This could mean using different platforms to reach different buyer personas or varying the content to touch upon the unique needs of different segments. Remember, strong brand loyalty is built on being the best option for the right people, rather than a standardized option made to please everyone.

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Don’t have your buyer personas clearly defined? Check out this article: What Are Buyer Personas and Why Are They Important?

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DON’T: Forget Your Values

Social media content should reflect the values of your organization, reinforcing who you are and what you stand for. This can either be subtly, through the tone or wording of a social media post, or more directly, by centering social media content on a particular core value of your organization.
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DO: Use CTAs

Calls to Action (CTAs) increase engagement with your social media posts and should, ideally, send your viewers and followers onto the next best place to interact with your brand and deepen the connection. In most cases, this is your website. When you drive social traffic to your site, your SEO gets a boost, and you’ll benefit from the increased chance your followers will stick around on your website to learn more about the value you have to offer.
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DON’T: Ignore Your Brand Voice

Once you decide on the “voice” of your organization, tailor it to the marketing channels you use. Do you want to sound professional and academic? Warm and friendly? Cheeky and innovative? Think of how you can best express your expertise while still relating to your target audiences, and use that as your guiding light when navigating how to create content for the different channels in your marketing plan.
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DO: Get Graphic (and Video!)

Most social media algorithms prioritize video. Even with those that don’t, visual content gets the most clicks, comments, likes, and shares (generally, engagement). Decide on a consistent visual identity across all platforms that reinforces your brand values and appeals to your buyer personas. 

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Social Media Management and Planning

DON’T: Hop on Every Platform Immediately

Don’t spread yourself thin by trying to use every social media platform on the planet! Research which platforms are most likely to be used by your target audiences – especially taking into consideration age groups – and identify where there’s alignment with your brand. Then focus your efforts there first. 
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Do: Develop a Manageable Strategy

Stay organized by developing a content calendar around:

• Reaching every buyer persona
• Posting at least once a day on each platform
• Expressing core values in equal measure
• Sharing timely news and updates

Share content duties across multiple team members if you need to, and utilize third-party platforms that let you organize content and schedule it in advance. 
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DON’T: Think you’re too small to use helpful tools and features

Every social media platform has both native and 3rd-party tools and features designed to help you plan, deliver, and monitor your social channels, as well as help people find you, follow you, and become interested in what you have to say. 

Features like hashtags, location tagging, and links can be used to improve the value of your organic social efforts. Content schedulers make coordination and batching a breeze.

Social features change constantly, so following social media blogs and using third-party tools can keep you in the loop on the current best practices specific to each platform. 

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DO: Engage, Engage, Engage

Social media networks are called networks for a reason: they’re best used to facilitate communities of people, and people tend to stick around if there are others to engage with. Build your community by tagging other organizations or companies, always responding to followers, and sharing reputable, third-party content. Don’t forget to follow people and orgs that align with your mission. 
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DON’T: Ignore Available Data

When you use business accounts on social media platforms, you have access to dashboards that tell you how well your content is performing. If you use third-party apps such as Sprout Social, you’ll have access to even more robust analytics across all your social media accounts in one place, along with competitor data. Continually review this data and keep a running list of what works and what doesn’t to help you develop an ongoing social media strategy that is geared towards optimization.

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Dial in Your Social Efforts with Us

If you’re ready to tackle the world of organic social media marketing, but don’t want to go it alone, Mustard & Moxie is here to support you. Our social experts can hone your strategy, content, and execution to reach your audience in an impactful way. Drop us a line!

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Photo by Merakist via Unsplash.