Supercharge Your Social Media Reach: 5 Actionable Tips for Growth
Tired of your social media posts getting lost in the digital clutter? Well, the truth is, even with great content, some brand pages struggle to get the engagement they deserve and, ultimately, go unnoticed. The root of the problem often lies in limited social media reach. If this sounds familiar, this blog is here to help with tips to boost your brand’s visibility on social media.
Today we plan to talk about social media reach, why it matters, and how to enhance it so that your brand reaches all the right people.
So, are you ready? Let’s get started!
Social Media Reach: What It Is and Why You Should Care
The simplest way to describe social media reach is this: it is the number of individual accounts or unique users who encounter your post. These could be users who already follow your page and others who do not. Not to be confused with impressions which refers to the number of times your content is displayed (including multiple instances with the same users).
Naturally, social media reach is a crucial metric to understand how visible your brand is on social media.
Every brand has a different goal when it comes to social media. Some are looking to boost sales. Some to build their brand image. And others to increase conversions. No matter what your goals are for social media, you need to reach the right people in order to meet your goals. So, yes, social media reach is one of the most important parameters for any brand to consider.
Let’s talk about a few good reasons why social media reach is crucial:
- Reach a wider audience – did you know that about 77% of businesses consider social media to be a valuable asset to reach more customers? After all, data shows that about 90% of social media users follow at least one business account.
- This in turn leads to acquiring better leads through social media channels as well.
- Increased engagement – you want more people to like, share, and comment on your posts. But how will this happen if your posts do not reach enough number of people? So, yes, social media reach influences social media engagement.
Now before we get to the part about boosting social media reach, let’s focus on laying a strong foundation. Which is being present on the right channels! Because a good reach on an irrelevant channel is of no good to your brand.
Know Your Audience to Pick the Most Effective Platforms
Should your brand be active on all social media channels out there? While that sounds like a way to increase the chances of reaching more people, it’s actually a formula for disaster. You do not want to put your eggs in too many baskets!
The key is to understand that demographic factors like age, income, and others influence social media usage. So, to increase your social media reach. You need to compare these attributes and understand where your target customers are most active. You can then strategize based on those channels for a more targeted approach.
For instance, according to the popular social media management service provider Sprout Social, the largest age group on TikTok is 18-24 whereas on X and LinkedIn it is 25-34.
Furthermore, Snapchat has more female users than male users but Facebook has more male users than female users.
A thorough market research can thus tell you where your target audiences are. Focusing more on those channels can help save you time and effort. Secondly, understand your social media goals.
For example, if you are looking to build your brand’s authority in your niche through educational video content YouTube is the place to be. On the other hand, to highlight your company culture and humanize your brand, LinkedIn is the best option.
A few examples to explore
Apple has a UGC (user-generated content) focused Instagram page whereas the brand is inactive on X (formerly Twitter).
Evidently, except for the cover page updated to announce their latest iPhone, there is no significant activity from Apple on X.
Another example worth highlighting here is Huawei. Take a look at the posts here. The first one is from the brand’s Instagram page and the second one is from their LinkedIn page. What are the differences you spot?
To begin with, the brand’s post on Instagram appeals to a wider group of audience, the general public. Whereas on LinkedIn their content is more relevant to the B2B industry, professionals and tech enthusiasts. This is in line with the user base on respective channels.
Secondly, Huawei maintains a more casual tone and uses emojis to keep the copy engaging on Instagram. In contrast, their tone is more formal and straightforward on LinkedIn.
Such optimized use of different social media platforms helps personalize the experience for different types of users and this in turn increases your social media reach.
5 Effective Strategies Essential to Expand Your Social Media Reach
1. Harness the Power of Video Content
Data shows that video content gets about 1200% more shares than other formats like image and text. This means that by posting videos you are increasing the chance of your content reaching a wider group of audience. But yes, the relevance and quality of your video content matter more than the quantity on most channels.
- Are you sharing the right content for the target audience?
- Does your video present a unique perspective?
- Is it entertaining?
- In short, does your video create value for your customers?
Videos that create value and evoke an emotional response from your viewers are the ones that get shared. Hence they are the ones that help with social media reach.
Moreover, most social media platforms are now pushing video content. For example, X reported about 8.2 billion video views in Q2 of 2024 which was a 45% YOY increase.
And LinkedIn working on a Video feed and displaying video carousels on the main Feed underscore the growing popularity of video content. Therefore both people and algorithms love video content and hence you need to invest in them in order to boost your social media reach.
KIMP Tips:
- Keep your videos short and engaging.
- Optimize all your videos for mobile viewing for a seamless experience.
- Repurpose content – like the short video repurposed from a podcast on the IBM page here:
Need help designing short videos for your social media page? Get a KIMP Video subscription!
2. Experiment with Various Content Formats for Maximum Impact
While video is a universal hit on social media, there are other formats that do particularly well on different channels. To maximize your social media reach, it’s essential to leverage the unique features and formats offered by different platforms.
For example, carousels are some of the most popular options on Instagram. Whereas, on LinkedIn, and X, long posts and articles seem to be dominating the game.
According to Elon Musk, the best type of content to currently post on X is reportedly long-form posts.
Remember, social media platforms and their algorithms are continuously evolving. Strategies that work today might not work tomorrow. So it is all about monitoring your social media reach and tweaking your strategies to suit what works. For instance, until recently, carousel posts were the best performers on Instagram. But according to Hootsuite, as of February 2024, image posts saw the most engagement.
More engagement means a better chance to reach more new audience! Therefore, single-image posts need to be on your to-do list for Instagram reach at the moment. Or what will be even better is a good mix of visually cohesive single-image posts and carousel posts. Like the assortment shared by the popular technology news website TechCrunch.
KIMP Tips:
- Irrespective of the post format you choose, leverage storytelling and define the message to deliver through every post you share.
- Observe your competitor’s pages on various social media platforms to understand what types of content and formats work in your industry and with your target audience.
- Choose interactive themes to make these formats more engaging. Add stickers to Reels and Stories, ask questions in your carousel posts, and invite your audience to engage.
3. Tap Into Reactive Marketing
Staying ahead on social media means staying up-to-date with trends and updates. Newsjacking is one of the most intuitive ways to boost social media reach. In simple words, this is about knowing what’s trending and joining the conversation on relevant trends.
By leveraging current events, trending topics, or viral content, you can increase your social media reach, engage with your audience, and drive traffic to your website. However, it’s important to be mindful of the context and ensure your response is relevant, timely, and adds value to the conversation.
A good example to cite here is the popular smoothie brand Innocent Drinks. Take a look at their X page for some quick pointers on reactive marketing. The brand knows how to stay ahead of trends and keep the conversations lively.
The post here for instance – it took a dig at all the buzz about AI tools like ChatGPT.
Or the set of commentary-style posts here about The Great British Bake Off.
Posts like these resonate with specific niches of audiences and have a good chance of reaching a more relevant crowd as people start engaging with them. And evidently, this translates to better social media reach!
KIMP Tips:
- When monitoring and shortlisting trends to leverage, look for ones that are relevant to your brand and resonant with your brand values.
- Your content should go live within a few hours or perhaps a day post the event or update you are capitalizing on.
Creating engaging visuals to hop on trending topics feels easy when you have a dedicated design team working on your brand designs. Like the one you get with a KIMP subscription!
4. Partner With Influencers
Influencers are modern-day internet celebrities who have a strong influence on the perspectives of social media users. On several topics. From lifestyle choices to purchases, social media users are influenced by the views and recommendations of their favorite influencers.
In fact, data shows that about 69% of consumers on social media trust influencers and their recommendations. Which means that positioning your product in one of their videos is a good way to give a nudge to your social media reach.
When collaborating with influencers, ensure that the content you create preserves the influencer’s style. Content that looks staged and inauthentic does not solve the purpose after all.
For instance, the video here shared by the popular wristwatch brand Daniel Wellington looks the least bit promotional. The product is positioned seamlessly within the lifestyle video shared by the influencer making it an alluring recommendation.
KIMP Tips:
- To ensure the best fit, choose influencers whose personal brand values resonate with your brand values.
- Understand the different types of influencers and the unique benefits they bring to the table to ensure that you don’t just boost your social media reach but also reach the relevant audience through this collaboration.
5. Use Paid Posts to Unlock Your Social Media Potential
Reportedly, about 10 million advertisers around the world invest in paid ads on Facebook. And advertising on LinkedIn helps boost the purchase intent by about 33%. Data like this shows the significance of paid posts on social media.
Therefore, if you think that getting organic social media reach feels like a challenge you cannot tackle, then try running a paid campaign for a short period. It all boils down to accurate targeting and choosing the right post to boost.
Understand and explore different ad formats on various platforms. Accordingly, choose the most effective ones for that specific platform.
KIMP Tips:
- Reaching a new audience is one thing but what outcome do you expect eventually? Do you want people to visit your website or subscribe to your YouTube channel or perhaps sign up to your newsletter? Clearly defining these goals helps identify the right posts to boost and to gauge the performance of these campaigns.
- Going back to the first strategy we discussed, put your understanding of your target audience to good use when planning your paid campaigns on social media. Knowing what your target audience is looking for makes it easier to present them with the answers and thus grab their attention.
Elevate Your Social Media Reach With Designs by KIMP
We’re dealing with social media here – a visually immersive space. Therefore, whether it is social media reach or engagement or any other goal you are working toward, you need to have a plan for stunning visuals. That’s where an unlimited design service like KIMP comes in. With a dedicated design team handling all your design requirements, you can be sure that you have captivating visuals to dominate the social media realm.
So what are you waiting for? Register now for KIMP’s 7-day free trial!