Gaining organic growth on social media
After averaging about 20,000 views a day on all platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, Youtube, Linkedin) here are some lessons that were learned along the way. All methods are organic, and took about 3 months to get here.
How I got here, and what I have learned:
Since December 26th, I have been posting 2 - 3x per day. Of late, I have been only posting 1 - 2x per day, and sometimes 3 - 5x per week at most.
Try to arbitrage the same piece of content on each platform to see what sticks against the wall. You never know what might.
Reels and videos work best for new followers, period.
Keep clips 6 - 13 seconds long. Most viewers who don't follow you won't be won over with long pieces of content.
Longer clips for followers. As followers grow, they will return to view your content.
Analyze data. Who's viewing, what age group, and what countries are they in? I focus more on the United States.
Platform-specific. Pinterest is great for products, mood boards, fashion, and sort of "softer" things. TikTok is a brain-drain, you gotta snap people into loving your stuff within 3 seconds, it's wild.
Have something interesting. I know people like what I have, my web traffic follows my social trends heavily and they are referred quite a bit. I won't discuss that here.
Interesting things that you may not catch (though not proven):
We often forget that the data and graphs are human behavior. It seems that views come in packs, I cannot predict when they come, sometimes it's dead, but when they come it all comes at once. I am never available to actually see the spikes in views, it's only after the fact once it has died down.
Post frequently, not because it will help you go viral, but because when the feeding frenzy begins, will you have edible content to be consumed by the herd? You have to be ready for the wave, or miss it completely.
3 months is a healthy marker. I personally think that these "feeding frenzy" moments come and go, and a 3-month window can give you an opportunity to see movement. Just keep posting into the movement, even it it's a little bit.
Repeat what works. You're going to create something that works, then create something that "you love more" because you think it is cool. This won't work. If something worked, literally repeat that same piece of content, with a new media clip, slightly altered title and captions.
Titles, Hooks, and cover images matter. Lead off with the best you have within the first .03 microseconds. STIMULATE VIEWERS.
Avoid social gurus that charge to help you grow online. All they are doing is growing their following telling you how to grow your following, according to the platform. So they don't actually know what they are talking about, and how it relates to your product or service. Yes, I actually provide a "design-related" service. I am not a social media guru, as I mentioned at the top of this post.
Organic vs. PPC (A perspective):
All of my current traffic is organic. I have tried PPC in the past, but as soon as you stop paying you LITERALLY HAVE NO TRAFFIC. It's BS. If you have a highly desirable product, try using Pinterest's free $100 Ad credit to see what types of content do well. I say content and anything that looks organic. The video responds well, and articles get a low CPC.
Your product will make the difference. Don't reinvent the wheel. If you have competitors doing well on their organics, just re-create what they do, don't be afraid to keep it close. Not all of us are super creative types. I certainly am not, I just want to push forward and learn while remaining disciplined.
Consider your platform and your product, what will do the best?
Analyze your funnel. Think AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action). If you make people aware of your product or service on social media, they may follow you. If you show them something again, they may visit your website. At each checkpoint have something interesting enough to drag them to the next step of your funnel. Keep it simple. Straight-forward copy. No jargon. HOW DO YOU HELP ME SOLVE MY PROBLEM. SERVICE OTHERS FIRST ALWAYS.
What are my goals?
This is business #2 for me. In my first business, I only used PPC. This time around I really desire to master social and to build something that lasts a lifetime. I also want to fall in love with my process so when I get tired, I have an easy way to maintain if not scale business through my efforts that can help me to obtain escape velocity.
I also really want to "productize" my offering, to help obtain that escape velocity.
In summary
There will be many bumps on the road. Such as:
Show up, trust your process, and do what you can. No 2 days are the same.
Viewers have short-term memory. If you make a mistake, don't beat yourself up too much.
Positivity and negativity are Yin/Yang. You'll get both. Understand this early and often.
Copyright and credit claims to content. Try not to play it too close.
Days people don't respond well to what you create. This happens.
Days of lower engagement. Remember the whole herd thing?
Days of super-high engagement, with no new content.
Days with no engagement and no content (take a break).
Platforms may block your posts, or remove them for music copyright, or community guidelines violations. Don't worry, just try your best, be honest, and learn from what you did to get better.
Honestly. I could go on, but the truth is that I am still learning. I'm not an expert so I am limited in my responses outside of my perspective I just shared.
Side note: You can ask what I do, but message me please, I want to keep the thread as "clean" as possible.
I hope this helps. Remember, about 3 months in is where I am at. Happy to check back in at the 6 month, and 12-month marks. My goal is to average millions of views per day by then, and to create more long-form content!
Edit: Since this post WAS CREATED, the number has gone from 20,000 views per day across all platforms to 666k views per day. YES, THE NUMBER 666 IS WILD HAHA!
Find the original Reddit Post Here
