When looking to make the most of your social media presence, one of the main things you must focus on is increasing your organic reach on the most popular social media platform – Facebook. Organic reach is defined as the amount of people that see your posts for free, or without you paying for a targeted ad. You can read more about the difference between organic and paid reach in our blog here.

Recently, Facebook has revamped their algorithm, and many business pages are finding it harder to get people to see their posts without having to pay. This is because the news feed on Facebook is becoming more and more crowded, and so Facebook tries to determine what is the most relevant content to a person. The most relevant content, as determined by Facebook, is what the person sees in their News Feed.Likes, shares, comments, video views, link clicks, etc. all help Facebook determine what a person may want to see in their News Feed.

You want to increase your organic reach because the more you can encourage target customers to interact with your posts naturally, the more likely they are to see your posts on a regular basis, and the less you will have to pay for people to see your posts. So, how do you increase your organic reach on social media? Here are 4 simple ways.

1. Be natural.

Social media is called SOCIAL media for a reason. People want to know about YOU! Post pictures of you and your co-workers at local events, community causes, at work, anything that shows people more about your business and the people that work there. This includes favorite memes, selfies of you and your staff, videos of an event in your community, helpful blogs that relate to your business, and so much more! Posting varying types of content such as pictures, videos, polls, events, and offers gives your audience more chances to engage with your business, and will increase your organic reach over time.

2. Get your audience involved.

Even if you only have a small following, it’s a good idea to encourage your audience to interact with your posts. For example, posting pictures of customers usually encourages the people who know them to like, and comment on the post. Of course, always make sure you have the person’s permission to post their picture before you post for the world to see. Another idea to encourage people to interact with your page is to ask your audience to share experiences they have had with your business. By getting your audience involved, you are letting them help you spread the word about your business.

3. Be consistent.

Post regularly. This doesn’t mean all day every day, but pick an amount of posts per week and stick to it. But, don’t post just to post something. Make sure that your content is interesting and engaging. This way, your audience knows what to expect from you without getting sick of your posts, and also without forgetting about your page.

4. Plan ahead.

This tip ties in with #3, being consistent. Plan your promotions and events ahead of time, and then make a calendar. This will help you make sure to post a variety of types of content, and that you get the right messages out for your business. Facebook makes it easier for you to manage your posting calendar by allowing you to schedule posts ahead of time. We highly recommend taking advantage of this. Schedule your posts directly in Facebook, and not through a third party service. It’s tempting to use something like HootSuite or Sprout to post on multiple social media platforms, but posting to Facebook through a third party service tends to decrease your organic reach. Scheduling posts will help you visualize when and how often you should post.

Of course, paying to boost your posts for doing targeted ads will help your page reach even more, and his is just a short list of ways to increase your organic reach on Facebook.