2024 was a significant year for social media. AI emerged and drastically reshaped the landscape, while algorithms continued evolving, prioritising content interactions over mere reach.
In 2025, social media usage is projected to reach 5.42 billion people globally. Nearly half (48%) of consumers report interacting with brands on social media more frequently than they did six months ago.
Organic community management and growth have never been more vital for individuals and brands alike. Effective community engagement doesn't just increase visibility, it also fosters meaningful connections with potential and existing customers. This connection builds positive brand relationships, encourages advocacy, and stimulates genuine user-generated content (UGC). We're referring to authentic, spontaneous UGC, the type of genuine content that paid influencer collaborations and sponsored UGC campaigns aim to emulate.
Don’t Make It a One-Way Conversation
It’s tempting to continuously post promotional content and attractive visuals, but take a moment to step into your audience’s shoes. Is there genuinely something they can engage with, like, or comment on? Often, the answer is no. While adding calls-to-action like 'tell us in the comments' or 'what do you think?' can occasionally spark responses, authentic conversations usually happen spontaneously.
What We've Learned from Managing Multiple Brand Communities:
Conversations thrive on a bit of controversy—not serious crises, but topics that naturally provoke opinions. For example, sharing trending baby names like 'River' or 'Stone' can ignite lively discussions among parents eager to express their viewpoints. We didn't explicitly prompt them; we simply provided content worth talking about and allowed the conversation to unfold organically.
Respond to Everyone
It's easy to underestimate the impact of a brand’s acknowledgment on social media. Taking the time to reply to every comment, positive or negative, demonstrates genuine care and encourages further engagement. It can even inspire others, who might otherwise remain silent, to join the conversation. Beyond increasing interaction numbers, responding consistently shows you're an active participant in your community. It positions your brand as approachable, relatable, and genuinely interested in your customers, creating positive experiences and fostering loyalty.
Try Community first.
There's a lot of buzz around "social-first" content with brands chasing viral moments and letting social trends guide their product and branding decisions.
However, we've found remarkable success with a slightly different approach: community-first content.
By putting your community at the centre of your content strategy, two key benefits quickly emerge:
Increased Engagement: Your audience actively participates, resulting in more comments, shares, and interactions.
Enhanced Content Relevance: Your topics and messaging naturally evolve to align closely with what genuinely matters to your community, unlocking more content opportunities.
Adopting a community-first lens essentially unlocks an entirely new content pillar - one rooted in authentic connection and relevance. Although "community-focused" might already be listed among your existing pillars (and if you don’t have clearly defined content pillars yet, it’s time to address that), true effectiveness comes when you genuinely listen, understand, and deliver exactly what your community wants and needs.