While the social media town crier endlessly wails “Social Media Is Pay to Play!” a budget conscious social media manager can make sure to fully utilize free engagement boosters before throwing down cash into the digital machine.

Boosting organic reach and engagement takes a serious investment of your time, but can be budget friendly for those brands and clients who aren’t yet ready to fork up serious cash to the social media ad universe.

Go Live!

Live video rakes in the views. Broadcast high-impact content to your audience to garner attention from the newsfeed scrollers among us. Post relevant Q&A streams, exclusive and entertaining behind the scenes, or product demos and how-tos. Be creative and think about what your audience would most likely stop scrolling to engage with.

Facebook Live doesn’t just garner views- it also boosts engagement. Live videos receive 10 times more comments than regular videos on Facebook, according to the platform’s newsroom.

Remember, Facebook Live means you can:

1. Respond to what users are commenting in real time!
2. Repurpose the content by publishing the video to live on your page once the broadcast is over.

Giveaways

While this will cost your brand a small amount in prizes and shipping, it also guarantees to spark interest. People love the chance to win- and this gives your brand the opportunity to show off the goods or services you do best.

Curate and Repurpose- it's ok!

The truth is, regardless how awesome your social media presence is, not all of your followers actually follow everything you post. Shocking, I know. Create evergreen content that can thrill, entertain, and educate your audience time and again.

Don’t be afraid to curate, either. Collaborating with sources and brands that impact your audience is a great place to start some cross-promotion. Be social with other brands and influencers on social media. Share their content if it’s of value to your audience and keep that relationship growing between potential content partners.