Is Organic Reach Dead?

Imagine you run a business. You have a new product or service you’d like people to know about. If your first inclination is to turn to social media, you would have taken a page out of the modern marketing playbook.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—these are the prevailing platforms of choice for entrepreneurs wanting to promote themselves without breaking the bank. After all, they have a wide userbase, are easy to jump in and navigate, and most importantly: free.

The Digital 2022 Global Overview Report brings optimism. Jointly conducted by We Are Social and Hootsuite, the annual study lends insight into the trends that have shaped the online world. The latest data points to a more connected global society than ever before.

Internet penetration stands at 62.5 percent of the total population, 424 million new accounts delivered more than 10 percent growth in social media usage, mobile connectivity encompasses 5.32 billion unique SIM cards, and the average person is wired in for almost seven hours a day across all devices. That is roughly 40 percent of their time awake!

At first glance, the sheer audience volume indicates that it must be simpler and more accessible to drive engagement. The reality, however, is anything but.

Organic reach is the measurement referring to the number of people who see your posts without being backed by ad dollars. Paid reach, as the name implies, is the inverse of that.

Organic reach has been in decline as social networks increasingly enforce a pay-to-play model. Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm restricts the average visibility of non-promoted content to 5.2 percent, meaning only one in 19 people who like a Page would see a particular post. The same report shows that Instagram interactions hover around the 0.96 percent mark (one in every 100 followers) while another research shared that Twitter’s is even lower at 0.045 percent.

This has led to speculation that organic reach will eventually hit rock bottom, and paid advertising will become obligatory rather than supplementary. The writing is on the wall: up your budget or risk disappearing into the crowded marketplace.

Despite the difficulty, I believe there remains a place for organic marketing. This is especially so for SMEs that do not have the resources on tap to invest in social media buying. Campaigns, whether in the short or long term, do not necessarily need cash injections but simply a consistent and creative presence that strengthens brand awareness, equity, and trust.

This takes careful strategy tuned to the preferences and habits of today’s digitally native consumer. The Digital 2022 Global Overview Report offers context and clues to help towards that direction.

While social media commands an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes in daily time spent, the diversity in other categories and considerable accompanying figures mean that businesses have a wider range of options. Television (broadcast and streaming) weighed in at 3 hours 20 minutes with press media (online and physical print) and podcasts standing at 2 hours and 55 minutes respectively. Neither require money to leverage on their benefits, and present growth opportunities for those seeking to raise their public profiles.

One example is Twitch, which has emerged as a video streaming behemoth rivalling YouTube. In the second quarter of 2021, viewers poured a whopping 6.51 billion hours on the more than 10.4 million unique channels that call the website home. It is not just their time that audiences are willing to part with. They are also able to support their favourite streamers with tips, ranging from US$5 to the upper five digits. With so many captive eyes (and wallets) on the platform, the potential impact of Twitch as a marketing vehicle cannot be dismissed. Though gaming still rules the roost of views, content has run the gamut from lifecasting, music, and art through to mukbang and sleeping.

The rise of Discord cannot be discounted either. In recent times, we have seen businesses including chat services like WhatsApp and Telegram as part of their marketing plans. Widely used by gaming communities, Discord is now the go-to platform for YouTubers, livestreamers, and other online influencers seeking to build engaged followings. Users can set up their own private groups, a.k.a. servers, and invite others to join. Inside each server, they can then set up channels for specific topics. As of 2020, the website counts over 140 million active users. It is not supported by ad revenue, with optional subscriptions that offer functional perks like custom emojis and larger file upload sizes.

TikTok is another that has captured much mainstream attention but still leaves further room for opportunity. Despite receiving just 4.3 percent of the vote in terms of favourite social media, the bite-sized video sharing app saw a 71 percent hike in the final 90 days of the survey and according to App Annie enjoyed the most downloads in 2021. This suggests that TikTok’s boom in popularity has yet to reach its zenith, and it has been making moves to attract commercial rather than recreational usage. The pros go further than ecommerce integration. Central to the TikTok experience is authenticity. As a result, users are more receptive to it as a platform for brand discovery.?

This correlates with the list of the top sources for learning about new products and services. Search engines may have a stranglehold on first place (31.7 percent), but organic methods are not far behind. Word of mouth recommendations (28.1 percent), recommendations and comments on social media (22.8 percent), consumer review sites (22.5 percent), and brand social media updates (16.5 percent) all make significant contributions to purchasing decisions. Genuine praise will always trump manufactured hype, and companies would do well to amp up their efforts in encouraging realism in their marketing.

The idea of paid placements being a necessity can be a bitter pill to swallow, particularly for those who are accustomed to social media being “free” services. I think it is important to keep in mind that these tools are just one part of an overall marketing strategy, and there are multiple avenues through which to convey effective messaging about your brand. By looking beyond the surface level and concentrating where organic engagement thrives, you can certainly stand above the noise without reaching into your bank balance. ?

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