What is organic reach? And is it still useful in 2025?

As a volunteer social media manager for an indie publication with a limited budget, I rely heavily on organic efforts to spread the word about our work. But it takes a lot of effort to drive brand awareness using this tactic alone. 

And with more platforms prioritizing pay-to-play models, many marketers—me included—are wondering if organic reach is dead. 

So I reached out to other social media marketers to learn more about the state of organic reach and whether it's still useful in 2025. Here's what they had to say. 

Table of contents: 

• What is organic reach

• Is organic reach dead? 

• 4 tips to improve your organic reach 

• Automate your social media

What is organic reach?

Organic reach is the number of unique users who see your social media content without paid promotion. This includes views from users who already follow you, as well as those who don't. 

Each platform breaks down organic reach by post type, which you can usually find on the post itself or in your analytics.

Why is organic reach important? 

Organic reach is the key to sustainable audience growth. When your content performs well organically, it signals to the platform's algorithm that it's valuable, which can boost visibility even further.

Strong organic reach also builds trust. People are more likely to engage with content that's shared by someone they follow or discovered naturally in their feed. And over time, consistently high organic reach means more opportunities for engagement, brand awareness, and even conversions—all without paying a cent.

Is organic reach dead?

This is a common topic in Reddit threads and marketing forums. The short answer: no, organic reach isn't dead. But it has evolved over the years. Here's a quick look at the state of organic reach across popular social media platforms. 

LinkedIn

Many of the social media marketers I talked to named LinkedIn as one of the best platforms to nurture organic reach. 

"LinkedIn is absolutely crushing it for organic reach right now," says content marketing strategist Jasmine Charbonier. "I've got several clients getting 10x more engagement from organic posts compared to their paid campaigns. The key is focusing on personal storytelling and thought leadership instead of promotional content." 

Phil Portman, CEO and founder of Textdrip, uses a similar approach. "One day, I wrote a short story of a failed SMS campaign and what we took away from it. It organically garnered over 20k views—all because it was relatable and useful. A paid post wouldn't have earned me that type of trust equity." 

TikTok

Another preferred platform for nurturing organic reach: TikTok. Ashot Nanayan, head of marketing and founder of Digital World Institute, considers it the best platform for organic reach because it prioritizes high-quality and timely content (paid and organic). For example, one of Ashot's clients, which started off with less than 300 TikTok followers, saw a boom in site traffic—up 600%—in just 72 hours thanks to one post that went viral with 1.5 million views. 

Facebook

In my experience, Facebook tends to prioritize paid ads over organic content. But one area where organic reach still works: Facebook groups. "We've had people engage like crazy in niche Facebook groups when we share helpful templates or resources," says Luke Chapman, senior SEO strategist at ClockShark. Which makes sense: if you use Facebook today, you might notice that it frequently pushes groups on the timeline, including ones you aren't a member of. 

Instagram 

While static image posts on Instagram may still earn likes from your core followers, many marketers reported that getting broader organic reach means leaning into video formats like Stories and Reels. 

For example, Kate Ross, a hair specialist with Irresistible Me, says that styling tutorials or before-and-after transformation videos often do well organically. She adds, "People like to engage with that kind of content." 

Reddit

Reddit can be a powerful platform for organic reach, but only if you play by its rules. If you jump in with salesy content, you will be downvoted into oblivion. But if you focus on contributing to the conversation and offering genuine value, you can earn visibility and credibility (Reddit karma).

X/Twitter

One Redditor sums up the state of organic reach on X: "Some businesses are still there mainly for customer service or just to have a presence, but it's not necessarily a growth driver." 

Similarly, when I first started using X (then Twitter) in 2016, it was much easier to organically engage with our community. But by the time we left the platform last year, despite our high follower count, we noticed it was much harder for people, including our own followers, to find and engage with our content. 

Bluesky 

Given the decline in organic reach across X, it makes sense that Twitter alternatives like Bluesky and Mastodon have gained popularity.  

The publication I manage social for moved to Bluesky, and I've noticed much stronger organic reach here than on X. And while Bluesky doesn't have the same user base size as X, many of X's biggest names are moving to Bluesky, so there's potential. 

4 tips to improve your organic reach 

Since each platform's algorithm plays a major role in how organic reach works, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to improving your reach. But there are different strategies you can try. Here are four tried-and-true tips to incorporate in your social media strategy.

1. Work with the algorithm and trends

For better or worse, every platform's algorithm favors accounts that lean into trends and platform-native features. For example, Instagram prioritizes video content, like Reels and Stories, but it'll deprioritize Reels that were originally made on TikTok instead of using Instagram's built-in video creation tools. 

This isn't to say you have to mimic trending content to a T. Instead, pay attention to what's trending—like a clever caption, point of view, or audio—and then add your own personality.

2. Get hyper-local 

If you run a local business, use your social presence to organically connect with your community.  

Caleb John, director of sales and marketing at Exceed Plumbing and Air Con, uses this "hyper-local touch" to boost his organic reach. "Tag suburbs and talk to people like they're neighbors—not customers," says Caleb. "The more you sound like the guy next door, the more they share your stuff."

3. Share behind-the-scenes content  

People love watching behind-the-scenes content—whether it's a GRWM (get ready with me) video or a TikTok of everything that went into prepping for your first product launch. Craighill, a design and manufacturing brand, uses Reels to showcase how they build solutions to common problems—many of which get hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of views. 

4. Create platform-exclusive communities 

Most platforms have built-in tools that allow you to create exclusive online communities—for example, invite-only Facebook groups, Instagram channels, and Discord servers—which are perfect for connecting with your community and driving organic reach. For example, Linus Tech Tips has a Discord server where members can talk about technology and get help with their devices.

Organic reach: It's a long game 

This whole article is my long-winded way of saying yes, organic reach is still useful. But you have to be strategic about it. 

Phil Portman from Textdrip summarizes the compounding effect of investing in organic reach: "One quality organic post establishes trust, and that trust amplifies the following post. If you're regular, human, and helpful, you'll grow organically—even in 2025." 

Automate your social media 

If you're managing socials for your company or another brand, you're probably using a social media management tool like Buffer or Hootsuite. With Zapier, you can connect your social media manager with thousands of other apps so you can automate every part of your social media workflow—from writing social media posts to repurposing content to responding to DMs. 

Learn more about social media automation, or get started with one of these pre-made workflows. 

Related reading:

• Social media marketing examples for inspiration

• What is share of voice? And how to calculate it

• How to check Instagram analytics (and apply them to your social strategy)