Organic content marketing is vital to modern strategies, allowing brands to connect with their audiences without relying on paid promotions.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore what organic content is, the key benefits it offers, the different types of organic content, and best practices for creating content that connects with your target audience.
What is organic content in marketing?
Organic content in marketing is a more subtle approach that prioritizes natural outreach strategies over promotional content and paid advertising. If you have a TikTok account, send out newsletters, or manage a blog, you are practicing organic marketing.
By creating high-quality content that offers value to potential consumers at little to no cost, organic marketing seeks to attract and convert people who find your brand naturally.
Investing in organic marketing means investing in the long term. From growing an audience on social media to filling your blog with relevant, quality content, organic marketing requires time and consistent effort.
The main goal of organic marketing is to increase brand awareness and build a connection with your audience through educational or entertaining content.
Benefits of organic content
Organic content marketing offers numerous advantages for businesses looking to grow their online presence. Here are some of the key benefits:
1. Increase visibility in search engines
One of the most important benefits of organic content is its ability to improve a brand’s visibility in search results. By focusing on relevant keywords and providing valuable content, businesses can increase their chances of ranking high for terms that potential customers are actively searching for.
When executed correctly, organic content can help a website achieve higher rankings for important keywords, leading to more traffic over time.
For example, after optimizing their blog posts with relevant keywords, one company saw a steady increase in their leads, reaching an average of 100 new leads per week. This was largely due to the improved ranking of their content in search results.
2. Profitable and durable
Compared to paid advertising, organic content is much more cost-effective. Once created, it can continue to generate traffic and attract users without the need for additional payments. A well-crafted article or blog post can attract visitors for months or even years.
The return on investment (ROI) of organic content is often much higher in the long run, as it continues to work for the business long after it is published.
Of course, it’s important to regularly update your content to keep it relevant, but organic content has a longevity that paid ads simply can’t replicate.
3. Improve customer engagement
Effective organic content has the potential to significantly increase user engagement. When customers find value in your content—whether it’s a blog post, video, or infographic—they’re more likely to engage with it.
Engaged users are also more likely to share content with their own networks, amplifying its reach. This can lead to an increase in brand awareness, customer loyalty, and even conversions.
For example, social media posts that generate an emotional connection or provide helpful tips can achieve high levels of engagement. This, in turn, can encourage users to follow the brand and stay engaged with its future content, strengthening the bond with the brand.
4. Positions the company as a leader in the industry
Organic content is a great way for businesses to showcase their expertise and establish themselves as leaders in their industry. By consistently creating high-quality content, addressing industry issues, providing solutions, or educating the audience, businesses can build trust with their customers.
Over time, this trust can develop into long-term business relationships and increased credibility.
Many successful brands use blogs or whitepapers to provide detailed information about their industry, positioning themselves as leaders in their respective niches.
Types of Organic Content
Now that we understand the benefits of organic content marketing, let’s explore the different types of content that can help connect with your audience.
1. Blog posts
Blog posts are one of the most common types of organic content. They allow businesses to address specific topics, answer questions, or provide valuable information.
A well-written blog can target important keywords, educate your audience, and encourage interaction through comments or shares.
The ideal length of a blog post is usually between 1,500 and 2,500 words, allowing for in-depth coverage of the topic. These articles can be informative guides, tutorials, or trend analysis.
For example, a home improvement company could publish a detailed guide on the best types of paint for different surfaces, helping readers make informed decisions.
2. Thought leadership content
Thought leadership content involves sharing unique ideas, opinions, and perspectives from industry experts. This type of content helps companies demonstrate authority and leadership in their sector.
It can take a variety of forms, such as blog posts, social media updates, podcasts, or videos.
Thought leadership content is often highly opinionated, challenging norms and offering innovative ideas. Many companies turn to senior leaders or industry experts to create it, providing valuable insights based on their experience.
3. User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content includes any content created by customers or users, usually without compensation. It can include product reviews, social media posts mentioning a brand, or even video testimonials.
Encouraging customers to create and share content is a powerful way to build trust and demonstrate credibility.
UGC is highly valuable because it is perceived as more authentic and trustworthy compared to traditional advertising. Brands can leverage organic content marketing on social media, websites, and email marketing campaigns to strengthen customer relationships and attract new consumers.
Social media is ideal for sharing organic content. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn allow brands to interact directly with their audience.
Posts can include images, videos, polls, or written updates. Additionally, social media allows brands to humanize their message and build a community around their products or services.
Since social media users are constantly exposed to content, standing out is crucial. To do so, brands can leverage current trends, relevant hashtags, and algorithm updates to optimize their content and reach a wider audience.
5. Infographics
Infographics are a visually appealing way to present information. By combining text and images, they help simplify complex data and make it easier to understand.
Infographics are highly shareable, making them a great tool for increasing brand visibility across multiple platforms.
A well-designed infographic can break down intricate concepts, display statistics, or compare products clearly and effectively. They are an ideal choice for presenting educational content, industry reports, or product comparisons in a visually appealing way.
6. Videos
Video content has become one of the most popular formats for organic content marketing. Videos grab attention quickly and, due to their visual nature, are highly engaging.
They can take many forms, such as tutorials, product demos, interviews, or customer testimonials.
With the rise of platforms like TikTok and YouTube, video content has gained even more relevance. Videos allow businesses to communicate information in a dynamic way, demonstrate their expertise, and connect with their audience on a deeper level.
How to get started with organic content?
You may already be practicing organic content marketing without realizing it. Did you post something on Instagram? That’s organic marketing. Did you write a new blog post? That’s also organic marketing. The only thing to remember is that results take time and effort. If you’re just starting out, here are some tactics to try:
1. Create evergreen content
Having a content bank that works even when you don’t have anything new to post is critical. This content should be timeless and relevant to your audience at any given time. Blogs, podcasts, and videos fall into this category.
2. Set up an email marketing strategy
With over 4 billion people with an active email address, email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to reach your customers. Whether you set up a newsletter like Robinhood Snacks or simply send updates about your products and business, email marketing is key to an organic strategy.
To reach a wider audience, you need to have a presence on a social network relevant to your niche. Beyond simply being on the platform, the content you create and share needs to be relevant and engaging so your audience will want to share it.
Some key aspects include:
- Invest in quality photography and videography.
- Use the language of each platform (TikTok is irreverent, LinkedIn is more formal).
4. Build a community with your customers
The best way to engage your community is by maintaining constant communication with your followers. You can do this by responding to comments and reviews, and by creating spaces where they can communicate with you or your team at any time.
5. Implement link building strategies
You can build links to your site by creating evergreen content and guest writing on other websites. This will increase quality traffic to your site and strengthen your authority in the industry.
How to improve your marketing strategy with organic content
In addition to implementing different tactics, it is essential to coordinate your efforts to achieve the best results. Here are some ways to improve your strategy:
1. Keep all teams informed
For organic content to work, all teams need to be aligned on customer needs. Uncover bottlenecks in content creation, optimize processes, and communicate to management how they can support.
2. Do organic marketing internally
Keep most of your organic content in-house, as no one knows your business better than those who work in it every day. One study found that in-house organic marketing efforts generated 12% more website traffic than completely outsourced efforts. If you need to outsource, work with professionals who understand your audience.
It’s not enough to get people to click through to your blog or social media; it’s important to get them to want to come back. Elements like your brand design, website structure, and loading speed can make all the difference in audience retention.
4. Make sure your content is accessible on mobile devices
From opening Twitter to listening to a podcast, most users consume content from their phones. For an effective organic marketing strategy, optimize all your content for mobile devices, making sure to use the correct image dimensions and have a responsive website.
5. Analyze the performance of your organic marketing efforts
Tracking results is essential to ensure your strategy is working. It also helps you identify which tactics you need to scale and whether you are wasting time in any areas.
Regardless of the tactics and strategies you implement, remember that customers respond best to authentic content that fulfills a need. So even if you don’t have a large video team or a large marketing budget, you can still create valuable content that your audience will want to consume and share through organic marketing.
