Social Reach Optimization, or SRO, began life as the solution to a problem.

Since their inception, social media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook have evolved to support content shared by peers over content shared by companies. This happened because users didn’t want their timelines to be filled with corporate content, so it was seen as a positive move. On the other hand, this means that company pages have fallen out of favor and the only real way to get in front of potential supporters has been to increase advertising spend. 

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In communications, another shift took place. Companies started to understand that voices from the frontline, behind the scenes or out in the field, told a much more compelling story about a business than a standard press release. 

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It became obvious that the way to share these stories in an authentic way was to empower staff to distribute them via their own channels. Today, the best and most organic route to increasing your online reach is something we call Social Reach Optimization.

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What is Social Reach Optimization?

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To understand what SRO is, it helps to remind ourselves of some similar methods we’ve become familiar with over the years, that may or may not be working for you.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how you increase ranking and visibility in search engines such as Google, slowly moving up the rankings for specific keywords and search terms. For this to work, you need to wait a long time.
• Search Engine Advertising (SEA) is a quick, yet costly, method for marketers to buy reach by purchasing advertisements in Google Ads. For this to work, you need a big budget.
• Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the act of optimizing content on your social media channels to make it shareable. For this to work, you already need a wide, established audience.

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I don’t have time, money or a big audience… what can I do?

We believe that the problems of not enough time, too little budget and not enough reach, are solved by Social Reach Optimization. Adopting this method, you will optimize your organic reach on social media by communicating via existing personal networks. Your people become your story.

The best way to put inspiring people and stories at the heart of your social media strategy is to create a team of brand ambassadors. These can be staff in any role, any team and at varying levels of seniority and can also include other stakeholders such as dealers and franchisees. The only necessary attribute is enthusiasm for sharing company news via their own social media channels. 

Not only corporate news, but real stories from staff developing your products or services, interacting with customers and suppliers and showing how your company fulfills its commitments and objectives in their natural environments.

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Why will Social Reach Optimization work for me?

Using personal social media profiles increases your organic reach. The ambassador retains control over their account and uses their credibility and influence within their network to spread positive information about your company.

Secondly, optimizing your online reach will provide greater visibility and findability on social media. Through your brand ambassadors, you’ll reach many more potential customers, employees, and other prospects than you would using standard company pages alone. More on the benefits here.

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