Is Organic Reach Declining on Facebook?

We all know that organic reach on social media is defined as the unique number of people who have seen your post in their news feed or on your page. It also includes people who saw your story or shared it with a friend. According to Ad Age, there will be a day when organic reach will eventually decline to a point where no one will be able to obtain organic growth for free. Is Organic Reach Declining on Facebook?

Big brands are complaining that the number of fans who see posts that aren’t supported by ad spend is dropping. When social media first became popular it exploded in advertising and marketing, suddenly people, big brands, and small businesses were investing a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter etc., because it was a free and great way to connect with consumers and spread information about their brand.

One reason why brands may be having trouble with reaching their consumers is because they aren’t posting content that is relevant or interesting. A person may “like” Lululemon on Facebook because they are loyal to the brand and live a certain type of lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean they constantly want to be bombarded with updates about Lululemon clothing. Doing that doesn’t incline Lulu lovers to keep up with what the brand is posting on their Facebook page. People want to interact with a brand that does something interesting to harness their attention.

To be a great social media manager people need to create something interesting that is going to be talked about by millions of people. If you don’t have a constant buzz surrounding your brand people will eventually lose interest and move on to the next best thing. A few things to keep in mind while creating a social media campaign are patience, routine, expectations and consistency. People need to know that your brand is there, but they don’t want to be overwhelmed by it either. If your brand has a great promotion coming up in store let people know about it, but do it in an interesting way. Buzz doesn’t need to be just about your product; it can also be a value or view on something your consumers can resonate with. Speak up about it and always ask your consumers their opinion.

An example of an effective use of social media that spread like wildfire is WestJet’s Christmas Miracle campaign. At airports in Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario video booths were set up in boarding pass counters where passengers recorded their Christmas wishes on a live chat with Santa before heading on their four-hour flights to Calgary. During their flight WestJet staff took that enormous wish list and rushed to stores to purchase the gifts just in time for the flights arrival. When the gifts arrived at the baggage claim passengers were filled with cheer. When this video of their campaign was posted to YouTube it gained 2 million views in just two days.

WestJet was able to take advantage of timing and because of this, they were able to produce something that enabled them to interact with flyers in a creative way. This proves that if you do something consumers care about you will always be able to obtain organic growth without paying for it.

Patricia Ferreira, Raven5 Ltd, Oakville, Ontario March 2014.

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